Oller Kahn with megalomania

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Movie
German title Oller Kahn with megalomania
Original title The Maggie
Country of production United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 1954
length 92 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Alexander Mackendrick
script William Rose
production Michael Balcon
Michael Truman
music John Addison
camera Gordon Dines
cut Peter Tanner
occupation

Oller Kahn mit megalomania is a British feature film by Alexander Mackendrick , which focuses on a small, old barge, a so-called Clyde Puffer . In typical Ealing comedy fashion, the clash of two cultures is thematized in a satirical way, namely in the form of a cranky, cunning, Scottish inland ship and a boisterous American businessman.

action

The "Maggie" has survived many a decade on British inland waterways. Her "pace of life" corresponds entirely to the disposition of her curious captain, the gruff and argumentative Scot MacTaggart, a proven rascal. Since he urgently needs 300 pounds to renew his ship's license, MacTaggart, willy-nilly, accepts an offer that the rigid Englishman Mr. Pusey makes him: MacTaggart's boat is supposed to transport the furniture for an American who has his wife's furnishings to redesign the just bought home would like to give. This solid US businessman Calvin B. Marshall is the complete opposite of the Scotsman, who, despite all the bizarre nature, is always calm: Marshall is constantly electrified and is the epitome of a haunted urban Yankee. MacTaggart was awarded this contract by Pusey - but only because of a misunderstanding: The Englishman, representative of a fully loaded shipping company, mistakenly believed that the more modern Pott, which anchored right next to the "Maggie", was the ship with them who MacTaggart uses to transport his cargo.

Calvin Marshall, who is used to getting only the best, is appalled when he learns which rattle boat is traveling his precious furniture. Immediately the driven man swings into the plane and also rents a car in order to watch “Maggie” chugging quietly along her waterway from the air and on land. Finally he catches up with the boat and orders Pusey, who “got him” this deal, to see to it that the cargo is reloaded onto a more modern and seaworthy ship as soon as possible. MacTaggart doesn't like this at all, and he makes sure that this uninvited guest disappears from board soon: Pusey is taken away by the police for alleged poaching. Now Marshall sees no other option than to take matters into his own hands. So MacTaggart will soon have the next unwelcome guest on board, who, however, is far from being tricked as easily as the blasé Englishman and also drives the crew on. However, the tides and the local bureaucracy quickly thwart the American's efforts to ensure that the cargo leaves the "Maggie" and is reloaded on a ship that, in his eyes, is safer.

In the course of the involuntary journey together, Marshall is tempered towards the crew and they gradually get closer. Captain MacTaggart also shows himself to be a cunning fur seal, in which he once makes the unloading of Marshall's cargo impossible through a clever ship maneuver. Marshall soon begins to adapt to the Scottish understanding that life is a calm river, and he is no longer out of his mind when the “Maggie” is briefly docked to attend the birthday of a 100-year-old islander. The precocious wisdom of a 19-year-old who is faced with the decision of her life to marry one of two possible men also leaves Marshall his own marriage, which is not going well because he is more concerned with his business than dedicated to his wife.

After some back and forth, the “Maggie” gradually approaches its destination - the engine fails. Shortly before the finish line, the shirt-sleeved Marshall doesn't let that get him down and gets the machine running again. But at the moment of inattention, the boat with the repaired engine chugs too close to the coast and hits a rock. Marshall is aware that you can only get the "Maggie" afloat if the crew throws its cargo overboard. MacTaggart informs his American client that the freight is not insured. It doesn't matter now, and Marshall gives his okay to throw the furniture overboard. In the end, everyone arrived safely at their destination, without a load, but as friends. Marshall even gives MacTaggart the money to ship the freight, even though the furniture has long been on the seabed. Out of gratitude that the American's generosity allowed him to renew the urgently needed license, Captain MacTaggart renames his “Maggie” to “Calvin B. Marshall”.

Production notes

Oller Kahn with megalomania , later also shown under the titles The Maggie and The Old Kahn , was created on location in Scotland in 1953 and was premiered in Great Britain on February 25, 1954. The German premiere took place on December 25, 1958 in the original version. On January 29, 1967, the film was shown in a dubbed version for the first time on German television ( ZDF ).

The buildings were designed by Jim Morahan .

Reviews

“Blessed be Mr. Mackendrick and the cunning of the Scots. Blessed are Michael Balcon and his Ealing Studios. For the smooth combination of all these factors that are shown in this film, making it a fun piece of entertainment that is as refreshing as the air of the Hebrides. "

- Bosley Crowther in The New York Times, August 31, 1954

"Somewhat amusing comedy about the cracked Scots, not the best comedy in the studio, but quite amusing."

- Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition , New York 1989, p. 634

"A comedy film that wins people over with its humor and lovingly realistic character drawing."

Individual evidence

  1. Oller Kahn with megalomania. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 

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