Laxdale Hall (Original title)Poacher Story (Alternative title)Scotch on the Rocks (Alternative title)The Road to Nowhere (Alternative title)
Dates: 1952 (Copyright), 04 May 1953 (Release)Country: United KingdomDirector: John Eldridge
Synopsis: Comedy. On a small Scottish island, the locals refuse to pay their road tax until the government repairs thier crumbling pier and one road. To look into the matter, a parliamentary delegation is sent from London, led by an Samuel Pettigrew, M.P., whose mother was born on the island. The visitors from Whitehall find the place beguiling, but Pettigrew remains disinclined to recommend the rebuilding that the islanders demand and he even suggests that they all move to a purpose-built modern town hundreds of miles away. Two others of the group, Marvell and Flett, find budding romance with, respectively, the laird's daughter and the local schoolteacher. When a band of poachers invades the laird's land (during an outdoor performance of 'Macbeth', in heavy rain) the chaos that ensues affects the outcome of the visit for everyone.
Genre: Comedy
Subjects: Politics, Countryside, Poaching
Releases
Date: April 1953Country: United KingdomRelease type: TheatricalFormat: 35mm Film - Black and White - SoundRuntime: 77 mins Length: 6924 FeetDialogue (original): EnglishDistributor: Associated British Film Distributors
Date: 1954Country: USARelease type: TheatricalFormat: 35mm Film - Black and White - SoundRuntime: 76 mins 56 secs - Length: 6924 FeetDialogue (original): English
Date: July 2019Country: United KingdomRelease type: InternetFormat: not specified - Black and White - SoundRuntime: 77 mins Dialogue (original): EnglishDistributor: BFIPlayer
Dates: 1952 (Copyright), 04 May 1953 (Release)Country: United KingdomDirector: John Eldridge
Synopsis: Comedy. On a small Scottish island, the locals refuse to pay their road tax until the government repairs thier crumbling pier and one road. To look into the matter, a parliamentary delegation is sent from London, led by an Samuel Pettigrew, M.P., whose mother was born on the island. The visitors from Whitehall find the place beguiling, but Pettigrew remains disinclined to recommend the rebuilding that the islanders demand and he even suggests that they all move to a purpose-built modern town hundreds of miles away. Two others of the group, Marvell and Flett, find budding romance with, respectively, the laird's daughter and the local schoolteacher. When a band of poachers invades the laird's land (during an outdoor performance of 'Macbeth', in heavy rain) the chaos that ensues affects the outcome of the visit for everyone.
Genre: Comedy
Subjects: Politics, Countryside, Poaching
Releases
Date: April 1953Country: United KingdomRelease type: TheatricalFormat: 35mm Film - Black and White - SoundRuntime: 77 mins Length: 6924 FeetDialogue (original): EnglishDistributor: Associated British Film Distributors
Date: 1954Country: USARelease type: TheatricalFormat: 35mm Film - Black and White - SoundRuntime: 76 mins 56 secs - Length: 6924 FeetDialogue (original): English
Date: July 2019Country: United KingdomRelease type: InternetFormat: not specified - Black and White - SoundRuntime: 77 mins Dialogue (original): EnglishDistributor: BFIPlayer
Credits
(24)
©: Group 3 Limited, Production Company: Group 3, Executive Producer: John Grierson, Associate Producer: Alfred Shaughnessy, Production Manager: Frank Green, Production Supervisor: Barbara K. Emary, Production Controller: John Baxter, Assistant Director: Frank Green, Continuity: Shirley Barnes, Screenplay by: Alfred Shaughnessy, Screenplay by: John Eldridge, From the novel by: Eric Linklater, Photographed by: Arthur Grant, Camera Operator: Kenneth Hodges, Editor: Bernard Gribble, Art Director: Ray Simm, Make-up: Jim Evans, Hairdresser: June Robinson, Music composed and conducted by: Frank Spencer, Music played by: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sound Mixer: Frank Green, Sound System: RCA Sound System, Made at: Southall Studios
Cast
(30)
Ronald Squire (General Matheson, laird), Raymond Huntley (Samuel Pettigrew, M.P.), Kathleen Ryan (Catriona Matheson, laird's daughter), Sebastian Shaw (Hugh Marvell, M.P.), Jameson Clark (Roderick McLeod), Jean Colin (Lucy Pettigrew), Kynaston Reeves (Reverend Ian Macaulay), Fulton Mackay (Andrew Flett), Prunella Scales (Morag McLeod, schoolteacher), Andrew Keir (McKellaig), Roddy Macmillan (Willie John Watt), Grace Gavin (Mrs McLeod), Keith Faulkner (Peter McLeod), Nell Ballantyne (Nurse Connachy), Meg Buchanan (Mrs McKellaig), Ian MacNaughton (first constable), Tom Baird-Ferguson (second constable), Eric Woodburn (Gamlie), Rikki Fulton (first poacher), James Gilbert (second poacher), Howard Connell (postman), James Copeland (fisherman), Archie Duncan (police sergeant), Margaret Boyd (Mrs Campbell), Norman Macowan (John Rorie), James Anderson (senile crofter), Julian D'albie (cabinet minister), Walter Horsburgh (Member of Parliament), Anthony Kilshawe (colonial official), Lionel Harris (dining-car attendant)