The poor, elderly—and the wily, when it comes to parting those who can afford it from their money—Scottish skipper of a broken-down old 'puffer' boat tricks an American tycoon into paying him to transport his personal cargo. When the tycoon learns of the trick, he attempts to track down the boat and remove his possessions.
Acting
Alex Mackenzie's twinkling, unshakeable skipper.
Direction
Mackendrick finds poetry in rust and river mist.
Director
Alexander Mackendrick
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The puffer boat was a real working vessel; Ealing Studios rebuilt it in their soundstage tank when location shooting proved too unpredictable on the Clyde.
Mackendrick later called this his most personal film — the American outsider baffled by Scottish intransigence mirrored his own Anglo-American identity crisis.
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