Rocket's Galore 1958 Based on a Compton MacKenzie novel, screenplay by Monja Danischewsky, direction by Michael Relph. It was called Mad Little Island in the US.
The government has decided that the next likely location for a missile base is the island of Todday in the Hebrides. They send Donald Sinden along to negotiate with the locals. They aren't too keen on the idea of losing their homes and a revolution starts. There's a good bit of collateral damage going on.
Jeannie Carson is a local woman whom Donald takes a liking to but his job gets in the way of their romance. A test missile from a nearby land location crashes on the island and the military scientists are stopped from retrieving it when the locals claim it's on private property. It's burned on the site but that doesn't seem to be the end of the plan to build the site.
The local priest comes up with an plan and the island is saved. It's pretty silly stuff but most of the jokes work well enough for me to have a laugh or two. Roland Culver takes over the part of Captain Waggett as Basil Radford past away 3 years after the first movie was made. A few of the actors from the first movie are back but some play different parts. Ronnie Corbett has a small part and John Laurie is there briefly.
Some compare it to Bill Forsyth's 1983 movie Local Hero and it does share a few similarities. There's someone wanting their land and there's an Eco-friendly ending. The big different is the people of Todday want to stay in their homes, the people in Ferness have dollar signs in their eyes and they can't wait to be rich. Rocket's Galore ends on a happier note but Local Hero is much funnier. You can watch Rocket's Galore on YouTube.
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