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Title: WHISKY ISLAND

Reference number: T2239

Date: 1963*

Production company: Scottish Television

Sound: sound

Original format: 16mm

Colour: bw

Fiction: non-fiction

Running time: 25.09 mins

Description: Documentary about the present and future of Islay, touching on its main industries of whisky and tourism, concentrating on new approaches to the problems of depopulation and transport.

Credits: narr. John Toye
ph. Bill Scott
sd. rec. Len Southam, Geoff Robertson
film ed. Fred Bull
programme ed. Henry May

Shotlist: Scottish Television logo (0.10) Title, superimposed on aerial shot of Islay (0.45) ls large herd of sheep run across field (0.50) c/u landing gear, shots of landing and airport; passengers alight from BEA flight (1.09) tracking shot of beach; gvs island's seven distilleries (1.59) short iv with two holidaymakers seated on beach ["It's just a place you can get away from all the rellys"] (2.26) ms two older men discuss the travel habits of Islay tourists (3.52) gvs barrels of Ardbeg whisky being loaded on boat "Pibroch" (4.27) gvs distilleries; Mrs Bessie Campbell, only female distillery owner on Islay, speaks about the qualities of Islay whisky in v/o over images of peat and men loading barrels of whisky; talking head same (5.41) shots of distillery and barrels of whisky loaded on van (6.03) c/u sign "Bowmore Post Office and Savings Bank" (6.04) street scenes showing children playing [v/o speaks about net emigration] (6.58) brief shots cattle; gvs ruined buildings in Port na Haven (7.25) talking head older woman speaks about the employment which draws young people away, intercut with images of decay on island (7.54) ms man cutting peat (8.08) brief shot tourists arriving (8.12) tourist office spokesman speaks about the development of the tourist trade, intercut with images of houses, hotels and scenery, including sheep strolling around waiting car, MacBraynes bus, harbour, lone angler; man passes camera in pony and trap [in v/o tourist office spokesman speaks about bumper visit in 1964] (10.47) shots of airport and Machrie golf course; single sunbather lies in centre of empty beach (11.23) shots of ancient carved cross; shots of streets and signs: "Bruthach Dubh", "Cnoc Iain Phail" (11.50) talking head islander gives opinion on the question of whether the island could become "another Isle of Man or Blackpool" intercut with shots of Islay (12.30) talking head hotelier who owns Machrie golf course, intercut with course with golfer, then covered in a herd of cattle (13.45) other hotelier gives his opinion that island appeals only to a minority, and that limited transport on the island holds the industry back (14.57) iv with second hotelier continues; he speaks about the difficulty of expanding accommodation without services to attract trade and development (16.15) shots of BEA "Viscount" plane (16.28) ms MacBraynes Port Ellen; shot of steamer "Loch Nevis" (16.40) ms man discusses island's heavy freight charges (17.16) ints. grocers shop; lady compares higher cost of living to the benefits of living on Islay (18.06) ls hovercraft manoeuvring near shore (18.28) iv small scale hovercraft operator; ls hovercraft (19.58) small operator unloading a car from a prototype roro ferry supported by the HIDB; businessman describes the idea (21.01) talking head, businessman describes a route using the shortest sea crossing, intercut with shots of his boat and and briefly a map showing the route (22.01) man expresses his belief that the short sea crossing ferry will be bad for Islay and Colonsay (23.19) shot of kilted man waving to camera with his newspaper at airport (23.41) iv American man in greenhouse, intercut with images of island; he speaks about returning to his father's birthplace (24.14) ecs (25.09)