Please don't spend money on this.

Let's be realistic.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Here's another entertaining Ealing Comedy from the early 50's. The tale is simple, gruff but wealthy American Calvin B Thomson is desperate to get a minor flotilla of valuable goods to his fiancé on the out of the way island of Kilterra from the River Clyde in Glasgow. With no other boat available, he's inveigled by the crafty captain of an old sea puffer on its last legs to use his old boat for the trip in exchange for a much needed considerable fee.They all eventually get there, if not with the cargo, by a somewhat circuitous route, not without some hair-brained, hair-raising and hair-pulling-out happenings along the way, the journey symbolic of the relationship between the big-mouthed Yank and the couthy crew of the old "Maggie". From the start, Thomson, played with much personality by Paul Douglas, is sceptical and mistrusting of the laid-back captain, as happy with a drink in his hand as the drink beneath him, but they never quite come to the blows you expect them to and by the time of the delivery of the story's moral, something along the lines of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em", something approaching grudging respect is fostered between them, although it needs the constant interference of the twinkle-eyed ship's boy to help them get that far.The humour is gentle, the photography very fine indeed and the acting by all is also very good. There's a nice interlude between Douglas and a bonnie Scots lass as they discuss matters of the heart, but the main thrust of the film is the canny contrariness of the down-at-heel locals pitted against the bombast of the cash-flashing American. The story is a bit episodic and I'm not sure I didn't have a lot of sympathy for the duped American, as he's continually gulled by his transporters plus I was waiting for a bigger finish than I think I got.Nevertheless, it was a sheer delight for me to see vintage film of two places where I have had homes, namely the River Clyde which I can see from my front window today and the Crinan Canal near where I lived for a couple of years some 25 years ago and which I revisited and walked around last year on my birthday. "The Maggie" may not be the best of the Ealing Comedies but it stays afloat throughout and gets to its ending in an acceptably ship-shape fashion.

The Maggie. An underrated, gentle little comedy, the sort of which Ealing are associated with. The storyline packs quite a punch on American capitalism as a tycoon gets to believe that, after cutting corners and underestimating the crew of the 'Maggie', he can buy out his mistake with dollars alone.Great cast that play a Clydeside crew, that quietly and cannily let things gently take their course. The scenery is more Whisky Galore than the East-end that is the more usual home of Ealing and the nice black and white photography suits the subject well. Pacing is a far cry from the frenetic of The Lavender Hill Mob and lets it story breathe quietly.It's one of my favourite Ealings. If you haven't seen it, give it a try, you might add it to yours, too!

Having seen other Ealing films, I came to this film with the expectation of quality, humor and charm, but this film devoid of all three. Watching four conniving and deceiving village idiots break a man's spirit and ruin his life is neither humorous nor charming. It is despicable. How this film could be called a comedy or even entertainment of any sort is a complete mystery to me. It paints a very grim picture of British people in general, and of Scottish people in particular. If they're anything like the people in this movie, you'd do well to steer clear of both. And above all, steer clear of this film. Tbere are Ealing films worth a look, but this is definitely not one of them.

I have loved the Ealing Studios comedies for years. They have been clever and charming without exception until I saw "The Maggie"--and, oddly, I felt amazingly indifferent about this film. While well acted and occasionally interesting, it sure felt like one of their lesser films.The Maggie is a tiny old boat that is nearly ready for the scrap heap. Yet, inexplicably, the owner and his crew are amazingly attached to this craft and are scrambling to find a way to keep their failing business afloat (as well as the boat). In a last-ditch effort to come up with funds, they agree to transport some items for an American industrialist (Paul Douglas)--even though they are woefully equipped to do this. The boat is too small, too slow and 100% wrong for the job. Once Douglas realizes he's been had, the Maggie's crew absconds with his cargo--making the run anyway. Douglas is infuriated and spends much of the film looking for these men to get his goods back and send the items on a REAL ship. When he does find the Maggie, it's too late to arrange for another ship, so he joins the crew--all the while mad that he's stuck on a slug-like craft that has long outlasted her usefulness.While this plot is reasonably diverting, what happens towards the end of the film makes zero sense--NONE whatsoever. In fact, it comes so far out of left field that it made me mad about seeing the film. The end, simply put, was overly sentimental and formulaic--something I never expected from Ealing. This 'happily ever after' ending is something more like you might find in Hollywood--but even then, the ending seemed very, very strained.I see a lot of people reviewing the film liked it. I assume they could accept the way this film ended...I just know I couldn't.