Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Jakester I'm guessing a fair number of people are coming to IMDb today to read about this film in the wake of its showing last night on TMC (Nov. 30, 2017). I was charmed by the picture. It's a sweet comedy with a nice story arc. I can't say I actually laughed out loud at the low-key humor but I certainly smiled throughout. The movie has a stick-to-the-ribs quality, like a serving of haggis and a dram. The main character, the Maggie, is a "puffer" - a type of coastal tramp steamer beloved in Scotland in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, and really, to the present day. The Maggie is a bedraggled little vessel with a loyal crew, including a skipper (played by Alex Mackenzie) who was born on board it, and a boy of about 12 (Tommy Kearins) who has major nautical chops. This laddie is one of the great 12- to 14-year-old boys in fiction. (See also Huckleberry Finn, Harry Potter, Jody Baxter ["The Yearling"], Wart ["The Once and Future King"], Johnny Tremaine, Hugo Cabret, etc. - all of them open to experience, entranced by the glory of the world, discovering their power.) Paul Douglas is a high-powered American business executive named Marshall who needs a modest cargo moved along the Scottish coast. He's Mr. Rush-Rush-Rush. The skipper of the Maggie is Mr. Let's Have a Drink and Ponder the Mysteries of Life and the Sea. Conflict ensues, needless to say. Douglas is hardly the world's most subtle actor but he gets the job done here. Alex Mackenzie is very good as the skipper.The film's settings are splendid - we are immersed in Scottish coastal life and get a deep feeling for the importance of the sea to this great people. The glimpses of small-town life are beautiful, including a multi-generational party where, by looking into the stunning eyes of a young lady who wants to dance, we learn something true about life, love, and the boldness of young women.One of the strengths of "The Maggie" is how it gently reminds us of the value of slowing down. The film anticipates by half a century the "Slow Movement" afoot in the world today, chronicled in such books as "In Praise of Slowness" by Carl Honore. (That said, the film has a nice crisp pace, it never lags.)By the way, puffers are still around, thanks to preservation efforts by Scottish lovers of nautical history. (See the entry "Clyde puffer" at Wikipedia. Also see "Puffer Steamboat Holidays" at Facebook.) Puffers will live forever thanks to this movie and the writing of Neil Munro, whose collected stories I am ordering immediately."The Maggie" seems to be a first cousin to "Local Hero" (1983) starring Peter Rieger and Burt Lancaster, which also has an American business executive rubbing up against Scotland.

SA 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.

ackstasis 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.

nmorris-2 I remember vividly the first time I saw this film. It was a grey afternoon, spirits were drooping and I felt as dull as the tupperware sky outside. With no great relish, I turned on the afternoon movie - The Maggie - and gently let myself become enchanted. The word "gently" says it all, for this is an uplifting movie, full of charm and the odd brush stroke of pathos. Giggles transform into laughter with this one.It's an old tale of local knowledge taking on a Corporation - though in a private capacity as Calvin B Marshall is anxious to deliver some domestic appliances, including 4 baths ("What all on one island?" asks the incredulous Wee Boy), to a Scottish retreat, part of his plan to save an ailing marriage. The cargo unwittingly falls in to the hands of the motley crew of a puffer - The Maggie - and then begins a comic chase which is a delight to behold. Once Mr Marshall gets involved in a hands on way, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery. The lessons may be homely and somewhat prissy now, but it's pleasant to wallow in a social world that could never be. More's the shame for us. Still, it remains a wonderful wish-fulfillment world, touched by the gentlest of humours. A marvellous tonic for escapists.