Green Grow the Rushes

Brandy-smuggling locals resist government interference in this Ealing-esque comedy, filmed on Romney Marsh

This Ealing-esque comedy focuses on a small Kent village where the community is supported by brandy smuggling. When visitors from Whitehall come with proposals for redevelopment, the smugglers resolve to resist. A pre-fame Richard Burton stars alongside Honor Blackman and Roger Livesey. Adapted from a novel by Howard Clewes (who co-wrote the screenplay), Green Grow the Rushes owes an obvious debt to the hit Ealing comedy Whisky Galore (1949).

This was the first feature made by ACT Films, the production company formed by the cinema technicians’ union. As if there was any doubt about its influences, Green Grow the Rushes was retitled Brandy Ashore on its re-release in 1954.