Alone again....

Wooo-oooo!!!! MrsDB is out this afternoon so I've had to find things to occupy my time. No problem. I've scanned about 250 colour slides of Highland Omnibuses in the 1970's and this led to some day dreaming about the Western Isles of Scotland which led - inevitably - to watching 'The Maggie' yet again.

In the scene above The American decides to abandon the Puffer Maggie and set about finding his cargo with out The Captain. I've Blipped the film before and I make no apology for showing it again. If you have any interest in Scotland in the 50's you'll love this film with clips of Crinan, Glasgow, Bowmore and about.

Plot according to Wikipedia....

The Maggie is a small, aged boat, a typical Clyde puffer. Mactaggart (Alex Mackenzie), a rascal of a captain, is in dire need of 300 pounds to renew his licence. By chance, he meets Mr Pusey (Hubert Gregg) at the office of a shipping firm. 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), but the big company has no ships immediately available. 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 eventually learns the truth and sets out in pursuit of the boat by aeroplane and hired car. When he catches up with Mactaggart, 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 its progress. However, the route and timing of the voyage is determined by 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.

At one of the stops, to attend the one hundredth birthday of a man, Marshall chats with a nineteen-year-old girl who is pondering her future. She has two suitors, an up-and-coming, ambitious storeowner and a poor fisherman. The American advises her to choose the former, but she believes she will marry the latter, explaining that he will give her his time, rather than just things. This strikes a chord with Marshall. He is having marital difficulties and the furniture is an attempt to patch things up with his wife.

As they finally near their destination, the engine stops working and the boat drifts onto some rocks. The only way to save the Maggie is to jettison the cargo. Despite this setback (and Mactaggart's failure to insure the furniture), Marshall allows him to keep the money he so desperately needs. In appreciation of his magnanimity, Mactaggart renames his boat the Calvin B. Marshall.

[edit]Cast

Alex Mackenzie as Captain MacTaggart
Paul Douglas as Calvin B. Marshall
Tommy Kearins as Dougie, the wee boy
James Copeland as the Mate
Abe Barker as the Engineer
Hubert Gregg as Pusey
Dorothy Alison as Miss Peters, Marshall's secretary
Meg Buchanan as Sarah MacTaggart, the owner of the ship
Geoffrey Keen as Campbell, the owner of the large shipping company
Mark Dignam as the Laird who jails Pusey[/i]