''Laxdale Hall'' is a 1953 British

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

John Eldridge John Eldridge may refer to: * John Eldridge (politician) (1872–1954), Australian politician * John Eldridge (British Army officer) (1898–1985) * John Eldridge (sociologist), British sociologist * John Eldridge Jr. (1903–1942), United States ...

and starring

Ronald Squire Ronald Launcelot Squire (25 March 1886 – 16 November 1958) was an English character actor. Biography Born in Tiverton, Devon, England, the son of an army officer, Lt.-Col. Frederick Squirl and his Irish-born wife Mary (Ronald's surname 'Sq ...

Kathleen Ryan Kathleen Ryan (8 September 1922 – 11 December 1985) was an Irish actress. She was born in Dublin, Ireland of Tipperary parentage and appeared in British and Hollywood films between 1947 and 1957. In 2020, she was listed as number 40 on ''Th ...

Raymond Huntley Horace Raymond Huntley (23 April 1904 – 15 June 1990) was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s to the 1970s. He also appeared in the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' as the pragmatic family so ...

and Sebastian Shaw, with

Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a ...

and

Fulton Mackay William Fulton Beith Mackay (12 August 1922 – 6 June 1987) was a Scottish actor and playwright, best known for his role as prison officer Mr. Mackay in the 1970s television sitcom ''Porridge''. Early life Mackay was born in Paisley, Renfr ...

in early roles. Released in the U.S. as ''Scotch on the Rocks'', it was adapted from the 1951 novel ''

Laxdale Hall ''Laxdale Hall'' is a 1953 British romantic comedy film directed by John Eldridge and starring Ronald Squire, Kathleen Ryan, Raymond Huntley and Sebastian Shaw, with Prunella Scales and Fulton Mackay in early roles. Released in the U.S. as ...

'' by

Eric Linklater Eric Robert Russell Linklater CBE (8 March 1899 – 7 November 1974) was a Welsh-born Scottish poet, fiction writer, military historian, and travel writer. For ''The Wind on the Moon'', a children's fantasy novel, he won the 1944 Carnegie Meda ...

. The story is one of the few to touch on the British Town Planning system – mocking the

New Towns Act 1946 The New Towns Acts were a series of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to found new settlements or to expand substantially existing ones, to establish Development Corporations to deliver them, and to create a Commission to wind up the C ...

Plot

The few car owners of Laxdale, a remote village near the Isle of Skye at Applecross, refuse to pay their Road Fund taxes, in protest against the poor state of the only road. A series of summonses, sent out via the local police, mysteriously 'disappear'. The government sends a delegation to investigate. It is led by Samuel Pettigrew, a pompous politician and industrialist, whose Mother was born in Laxdale. He is accompanied by another MP, Hugh Marvell, and Andrew Flett from the

Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the e ...

. Pettigrew presents plans to abandon the village and set up a New Town, Brumley Dumps, 100 miles away. But the villagers are highly unimpressed. Flett (

), a former teacher, begins romancing the local schoolteacher (

). Marvell spends his time with the daughter of the Laird, a retired General. The villagers see everything differently. In the middle of torrential rain, the local poacher chats casually with the undertaker saying "och, there's a bit of mist on the hill". The hearse is used to transport his poached stag. Later, in the pouring rain, they hold an open air production of

MacBeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

. The play is abandoned when news arrives that there are poachers from Glasgow on the estate (local poachers are tolerated). They ambush the poachers and the police arrest them. By the time the delegation is ready to leave, Pettigrew has accepted the viewpoint of the villagers; they must have a new road.

Production

The external scenes were shot in

Applecross Applecross ( gd, A' Chomraich) is a peninsula north-west of Kyle of Lochalsh in the council area of Highland, Scotland. The name Applecross is at least 1,300 years old and is ''not'' used locally to refer to the 19th century village (which is ...

and "Laxdale Hall" is in fact Applecross House, an early 18th century laird's house of formal composition.

Cast

as General Matheson *

as Catriona Matheson *

as Samuel Pettigrew, M.P. * Sebastian Shaw as Hugh Marvell, M.P. *

as Andrew Flett of the Scottish Office *

Jean Colin Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

as Lucy Pettigrew *

Jameson Clark Jameson Clark (8 July 1907, Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire, Scotland – 4 January 1984, Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, ScotlandKeith Faulkner Keith Faulkner (born 25 July 1936) is a British-born Australian actor. Early life Faulkner was born in Richmond, Surrey. He started his career at Corona Academy at the age of eleven and moved on to a career in film and television in the late 195 ...

as Peter McLeod *

as Morag McLeod *

Kynaston Reeves Philip Arthur Reeves (29 May 18935 December 1971), known professionally as Kynaston Reeves, was an English character actor who appeared in numerous films and many television plays and series. Early life Reeves was born in London on 29 May 189 ...

as Reverend Ian Macaulay *

Andrew Keir Andrew Keir (né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career t ...

as McKellaig *

Nell Ballantyne Nell Ballantyne (1 December 1898 – 21 February 1959) was a Scottish stage, radio and film actress. Ballantyne was born Nellie Lochhead Ballantyne on 1 December 1898 in Glasgow, Scotland. She was the daughter of Elizabeth Lochhead and dairyma ...

as Nurse Connachy *

Roddy McMillan Roddy McMillan OBE (23 March 1923 – 9 July 1979) was a Scottish actor and playwright, possibly most famous for his comedy role as Para Handy for BBC Scotland's television series, ''The Vital Spark''. He also played the lead role in Edwa ...

as Willie John Watt *

Rikki Fulton Robert Kerr "Rikki" Fulton, OBE (15 April 1924 – 27 January 2004) was a Scottish comedian and actor best remembered for writing and performing in the long-running BBC Scotland sketch show, ''Scotch and Wry''. He was also known for his appea ...

as First Poacher *

Eric Woodburn Eric Woodburn (''né'' Eric Melville Reis; 9 March 189425 October 1981) was a Scottish stage, film and television actor. Prior to this he had a long career on the stage and was also a noted baritone singer. His most important role was as Docto ...

as Gamlie, leader of the Poachers * Archie Duncan as Police Sergeant at Kyle of Lochalsh *

Ian MacNaughton Edward Ian MacNaughton (30 December 1925 – 10 December 2002) was a Scottish actor-turned-television producer and director, best known for his work with the ''Monty Python'' team. MacNaughton was director and producer for all but four of the f ...

as Police Constable * Howard Connell as the postman

Critical reception

The ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' wrote, "The huge success of director

Alexander Mackendrick Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 – December 22, 1993) was an American-born director and professor, long based in Scotland. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and later moved to Scotland. He began making television commercials befor ...

's '' Whisky Galore!'' meant it was inevitable that film-makers would cast around for more stories of wily Scots running rings around the stiff-necked English. However, lightning didn't strike twice and this tale of the battle between Whitehall and a tiny Hebridean island, whose inhabitants won't pay a hated road tax, lacks the magic sparkle of Mackendrick's classic"; whereas ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' wrote, "The humor is subtle and gentle, but often very funny, in much the same way as that in

Bill Forsyth William David Forsyth (born 29 July 1946). known as Bill Forsyth, is a Scottish film director and writer known for his films '' Gregory's Girl'' (1981), '' Local Hero'' (1983) and '' Comfort and Joy'' (1984) as well as his adaptation of the Ma ...

's pictures ('' Local Hero'', '' Comfort and Joy'') three decades later."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0044830 1953 films 1953 romantic comedy films British romantic comedy films Films set in London Films set in Scotland British black-and-white films Films directed by John Eldridge 1950s English-language films 1950s British films