Whisky Galore!

Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Year Released: 1949
Rating: 2.5

During WWII, there's a whiskey drought in, of all places, Scotland, but before the D.T.s set into its chemically-dependent citizens, God himself arises from His slumber to strike down a cargo ship carrying booze to America which the alkies steal and horde like Ray Milland in Lost Weekend. Though charming in its devotion to the Devil's Saliva and quirky like so many of Ealing Studios' pictures, it doesn't move past its central conceit, beating the gag to death (though the fleeting charm it does provide appears to be enough for most viewers). Joan Greenwood, oddly underused here, still has one of the sexiest voices in the medium - I could fall asleep at night quite easily listening to her whisper dirty lullabies into my ear (and no, I don't care if I've said this before).