''The Rocket Post'' is a 2004 British drama film directed by

Stephen Whittaker Stephen Whittaker (28 June 19477 February 2003) was a British actor and director. He worked largely in British film and television, and attended Henley-in-Arden School in Warwickshire before further training as an actor at London's Corona Academy ...

and starring

Ulrich Thomsen Ulrich Thomsen (born 6 December 1963) is a Danish actor and filmmaker, known for his role of Christian in the 1998 film '' The Celebration'' and for the role of Kai Proctor in the Cinemax original series ''Banshee'' (2013–2016). Early and per ...

, Shauna Macdonald,

Kevin McKidd Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director best known as Dr. Owen Hunt in ''Grey's Anatomy'' and Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's '' Trainspotting'' (1996). McKidd played Colin in the 2008 film Made of Hono ...

and

Patrick Malahide Patrick Gerald Duggan (born 24 March 1945), known professionally as Patrick Malahide, is a British actor of stage and screen. His acting credits include '' The New Avengers'' (1976), '' ITV Playhouse'' (1977), '' The Eagle of the Ninth'' (1977) ...

. It is set on a remote Scottish island during the late 1930s. The arrival of German

rocket scientist A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

Gerhard Zucker is not initially welcomed by the inhabitants of the island. The film was shot in 2001, but its release was delayed by several years. Additional footage was shot in 2005, and the film was given a limited release in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

the following year. The story is very loosely based on experiments in 1934 by the German inventor Gerhard Zucker to provide a postal service to the island of Scarp by rocket mail. Another fictionalised account of the experiment formed the basis of a 2001 film, also called ''The Rocket Post'', which was filmed on

Taransay Taransay (, ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It was the host of the British television series ''Castaway 2000''. Uninhabited since 1974, except for holidaymakers, Taransay is the largest List of islands of Scotland, Scottish is ...

."The Rocket Post (2001)"
Film Hebrides. Retrieved 21 December 2008. The film's original score was composed by Nigel Clarke & Michael Csanyi-Wills and recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.

Plot

Two German rocket scientists are unable to obtain funding for their experiments from the German Government. They travel to Scarp, an island in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

. Their experiments initially end in disastrous failure. Over time one of the scientists, Heinz Dombrowsky is fed up with the primitive living conditions and returns to Germany where rocketry has obtained the interest of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. Things look up for the remaining scientist Gerhard Zucker when he falls in love with a local lass and a local handyman improves his rockets to successfully keep them from exploding. Germany desires Gerhard to return to Germany, sending a U-Boat to abduct him.

Cast

as Gerhard Zucker * Shauna Macdonald as Catherine Mackay * Gary Lewis as Jimmy Roach *

as Thomas McKinnon *

as Charles Ilford *

Eddie Marsan Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008). Early life and ...

as Heinz Dombrowsky *

Clive Russell Clive Russell (born 7 December 1945) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline in '' Ripper Street'', Angus O'Connor in ''Happiness'', Lord Lovat in '' Outlander'', and Brynden Tully in the HBO series ...

as Angus MacKay *

Jimmy Yuill James Evander Munro Yuill (born 13 February 1956) is a Scottish actor. He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and later joined the Renaissance Theatre Company. He has appeared in many of Kenneth Branagh's films, most recently as Edwa ...

as James MacLeod *

Ian McNeice Ian McNeice (born 2 October 1950) is an English film and television actor. On television, he has played government agent Harcourt in the 1985 television series ''Edge of Darkness'', Bert Large in the comedy-drama '' Doc Martin'', the Newsreade ...

as Alex Miln * John Wood as Sir Wilson Ramsay *Niall Maclennan as James Maclennan *Alasdair Maclennan as Paul Maclennan *

Tim Barlow Michael John Leigh Barlow (18 January 1936 – 20 January 2023) was an English actor who performed many small roles in a variety of films, television programmes, and plays, under the stage name Tim Barlow or Timothy Barlow. Life and career B ...

as Hector McDougal *Iain MacRae as Islander 1 *Lewis Iain MacNeill as Islander 2

References

External links

Zucker Rocket
* *

2004 films British drama films Films directed by Stephen Whittaker 2000s English-language films 2000s British films {{2000s-UK-film-stub