One of my all time favorites.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Having seen other Ealing films, I came to this film with the expectation of quality, humor and charm, but this film devoid of all three. Watching four conniving and deceiving village idiots break a man's spirit and ruin his life is neither humorous nor charming. It is despicable. How this film could be called a comedy or even entertainment of any sort is a complete mystery to me. It paints a very grim picture of British people in general, and of Scottish people in particular. If they're anything like the people in this movie, you'd do well to steer clear of both. And above all, steer clear of this film. Tbere are Ealing films worth a look, but this is definitely not one of them.

It is hard for me to judge this movie because I enjoy old movies. This type of movie was done better in the 20's and 30's when all sort of contraptions were used for transportation. The humor falls flat for me because it is based on xenophobia. I have seen too many movies that have achieved much better results with that sort of humor. But that is just the surface of its problems.The real reason that I marked the movie so low is that I did not find the characters charming or the comedy gentle. None of the actors seem to be able to handle their roles with subtlety nor could the writer nor could the director. The destruction of the pier is supposed to be funny but I found it annoying. I found the captain very annoying from beginning to end.Where's the humor? A man tries to surprise his wife with a gift and the captain thwarts this effort. Should I laugh because the man fooled is rich? Should I laugh because Pusey was arrested instead of the real poachers? The humor is neither subtle nor original nor well done.I wanted to like this film but I didn't laugh once during it. I didn't find the characters interesting so I gave it two stars because the only thing I enjoyed was seeing Scotland in the 1950s. That's it. I kept thinking that it could have been an average movie if the writer or director added depth to their characters instead of plastering the screen with superficiality.

Though 'The Maggie (1954)' is probably the weakest of the five Ealing Studios comedies I've seen to date {the others being 'The Ladykillers (1955),' 'The Man in the White Suit (1951),' 'The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)' and 'A Run for Your Money (1949)'}, it remains an enjoyable British comedy that successfully celebrates the plight of the common man. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, an interesting director if there ever was one, the film might seem a bit lightweight considering his follow-up directorial effort, but 'The Maggie' promises ninety minutes of cheerful entertainment and delivers just that. The film explores the "clash of cultures" that takes place when a wealthy American businessman unwittingly hires the rascally captain of a battered old Clyde puffer to deliver some expensive cargo. The first half, perhaps the stronger of the two, is a hilarious water-bound chase, as the American, Calvin B. Marshall, struggles to reclaim the shipment he entrusted to the grizzled Captain Mactaggart. The second half is more reserved and reflective, as Marshall experiences a frustrating but ultimately liberating journey of self-discovery.First and foremost, what makes 'The Maggie' work is its assembly of likable, contrasting characters: Mactaggart (Alex Mackenzie), the skipper, was born on his boat, and is hopelessly devoted to it, in a way that only a seaman could be. Though he does occasionally act irresponsibly, he is only trying to make a decent living, a basically honest man despite his opportunistic nature. Calvin B. Marshall (Paul Douglas), on the other hand, is extremely wealthy and successful, and he considers himself such. Though he is currently battling marital problems, he wishes to remedy the situation by delivering a shipment of expensive furniture to their holiday house. Then there's Mr. Pusey (Hubert Gregg), an uptight British gentleman whose prim and proper facade is punctuated by moments of bumbling stupidity; in the film's funniest sequence, Pusey is cleverly framed for poaching and arrested after a violent scuffle with the local magistrate. Another very important character is Dougie, "the wee boy" (played by Tommy Kearins in his only film role), an intelligent but idealistic young lad who helps teach Marshall the importance of kindness and understanding.For the character of Marshall, the film's pivotal moment comes during a 100th birthday celebration for one of Mactaggart's old sea colleagues. After being convinced to stay around and enjoy the party, Marshall finds himself talking to a nineteen-year-old girl with a romantic dilemma. Though she is expected to marry an already-successful young man with a financially-secure future, the girl instead plans to wed a modest fisherman, who would never take her for granted and would always return from the sea and into her arms. This strikes a significant chord with Marshall: his all-important shipment of furniture is, indeed, a material means of repairing his tattered relationship with his wife. What he never understood until now is that the secret behind maintaining a happy marriage is not the presentation of endless streams of expensive but hollow gifts; a loving husband must always show the proper respect and affection towards his wife, otherwise she could never be content with him. Believe it or not, a brief oceanic journey with Captain Mactaggart proves a life-changing experience, turning a selfish and money-obsessed American into somebody respectful enough to name a boat after.

I've watched and enjoyed most of Ealing's classic comedies several times over the years but, along with THE MAGNET (1950), the film under review was one which had eluded me thus far. The main reason for this, perhaps, is the fact that THE MAGGIE is hardly ever discussed when the studio's golden age is mentioned which is even more remarkable when one realizes that the film was nominated for 3 major British Film Awards in its day; having now caught up with it, all I can say is that it has been unjustly neglected for far too long.This amiably droll little film, full of the typically wry but gentle humor found in British comedies of its time, deals with a wealthy American businessman (an ideally-cast Paul Douglas) who is tricked by a group of old Scottish seamen (headed by a terrific Alex Mackenzie, whose first film this was, as the skipper) into chartering their ramshackle boat to carry a cargo of valuable furniture to his new summer residence in the British isles which he purchased as a surprise to his wife.The trouble is that Douglas, forever expecting promptness and efficiency from his subordinates, is hardly equipped to cope with the devious plans of the wily Scots who treasure their own jolly company and a good stiff drink above everything else…as the various detours they take along the way - poaching, pub-hopping, a 100-year birthday party, visits to nearby cousins, etc. - prove only too well to the increasingly exasperated Yankee. The cast is rounded out by some old reliables like Geoffrey Keen and an unrecognizably young Andrew Keir and valuable contributions are also provided by Hubert Clegg (as Douglas' befuddled secretary) and the child Tommy Kearins (as Mackenzie's fiercely loyal cabin boy).Ultimately, while perhaps not among Ealing's or director Alexander Mackendrick's very best, THE MAGGIE is certainly very enjoyable in itself and can now be seen as not only a worthy companion piece to Ealing's WHISKY GALORE! (1949) - also directed by Mackendrick and dealing with the crafty Sots, not to mention my own personal favorite among the Ealing comedies - but also another of those fondly-remembered British comedies dealing with motor vehicles of some kind like Ealing's own THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT (1953; trains) and GENEVIEVE (1953; motor cars).Once more, Optimum Releasing included a short featurette with film historian George Perry and, unfortunately, as had been the case with IT ALWAYS RAINS ON Sunday (1947), I again encountered some playback problems during the course of the film on my Pioneer DVD player but, as usual, my cheap HB model came to the rescue.