The Maggie (released in the U.S. as High and Dry) is a 1954 British comedy film produced by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain.
The story was inspired by Neil Munro's short stories of the Vital Spark and her captain, Para Handy.
The Maggie is a typical Clyde puffer, a small, aged cargo boat with a varied, irascible and argumentative crew. MacTaggart (Alex Mackenzie), her rascal of a captain, is in dire need of 300 pounds to renew his licence. In a shipping office by chance, he meets Mr Pusey (Hubert Gregg). Pusey, a proper Englishman complete with bowler hat and umbrella, is trying to arrange for the transportation of some personal furniture for his boss, American Calvin B. Marshall (Paul Douglas), as a present for his wife to furnish their new home. The big company has no ships immediately available, but MacTaggart gets the job when Pusey mistakenly believes that he works for the reputable shipping company and that the more modern vessel docked next to the Maggie is MacTaggart's.
I've tried and tried to run and hide
To find a life that's new
But wherever I go I always know
I can't escape from you
A jug of wine to numb my mind
But what good does it do?
The jug runs dry and still I cry
I can't escape from you
These wasted years are souvenirs
Of love I thought was true
Your memory is chained to me
I can't escape from you
There is no end, I can't pretend
That dreams will soon come true
A slave too long to a heart of stone
I can't escape from you