The Maggie
| The Maggie | |
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Original British quad-sized poster
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| Directed by | Alexander Mackendrick |
| Produced by |
Michael Balcon Michael Truman |
| Screenplay by | William Rose |
| Story by | Alexander Mackendrick |
| Starring |
Alex Mackenzie Paul Douglas |
| Music by | John Addison |
| Cinematography | Gordon Dines |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
GFD (UK) Universal-International (US) |
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Release date
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Running time
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92 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Maggie (released in the U.S. as High and Dry) is a 1954 British comedy film produced by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain.
The story was inspired by Neil Munro's short stories of the Vital Spark and her captain, Para Handy.
The Maggie is a typical Clyde puffer, a small, aged cargo boat with a varied, irascible and argumentative crew. MacTaggart (Alex Mackenzie), her rascal of a captain, is in dire need of 300 pounds to renew his licence. In a shipping office by chance, he meets Mr Pusey (Hubert Gregg). Pusey, a proper Englishman complete with bowler hat and umbrella, is trying to arrange for the transportation of some personal furniture for his boss, American Calvin B. Marshall (Paul Douglas), as a present for his wife to furnish their new home. The big company has no ships immediately available, but MacTaggart gets the job when Pusey mistakenly believes that he works for the reputable shipping company and that the more modern vessel docked next to the Maggie is MacTaggart's.
Marshall is a wealthy industrialist, a stubborn and determined self-made man. When he eventually learns the truth, he sets out in pursuit of the boat by aeroplane and hired car. Catching up with the puffer, he puts Pusey on board to ensure the cargo is transferred to another boat. But his underling is no match for the captain; he ends up in jail on a charge of poaching. Marshall realizes that he will have to handle the matter personally. After another costly chase, he boards the boat himself to spur the transfer of his cargo onto another vessel. However, the route and timing of the voyage are governed by tidal variations and local community priorities.
Marshall's hostile attitude gradually softens somewhat. He is particularly touched by the loyalty of the "wee boy", Dougie (Tommy Kearins), to his captain. At one point, when Marshall threatens to buy the boat from the owner, MacTaggart's sister, and sell it for scrap, Dougie drops a board on him, knocking him unconscious. His mood changes again when the wily Mactaggart moors the puffer under a wooden jetty across which the furniture must be carried in order to offload it; as the tide rises the jetty is torn apart, making unloading impossible.
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Wikipedia