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It's the outstanding comedy line in one of Scotland’s best-loved movies, Local Hero.
But as families settled down to watch Bill Forsyth’s 1983 masterpiece, a woke decision to censor the gag meant they had to miss out on one of its funniest scenes.
Around 20 minutes in, an old sea dog called Gideon is painting a boat’s name in the harbour at Pennan in Aberdeenshire.
An elderly chum, intently watching the paint slowly dry on The Silver Dollar, inquires of him ‘Are you sure there are two ‘l’s’ in ‘‘Dollar’’?
In the original, one of the funniest lines in the film then follows. ‘Aye,’ replies Gideon, ‘and are there are two ‘g’s’ in ‘‘bugger off?’’’
The hilarious exchange has regularly topped polls of Local Hero’s funniest lines, most recently on the streaming service YouTube.
However, eagle-eyed viewers noticed the line’s omission when the film was screened last Sunday, on Channel 4 just after lunch-time.
The famous gag was delivered by character Gideon as he paints a boat’s name in the harbour
Peter Riegert and Chris Rozycki in a scene from Bill Forsyth's 1983 film Local Hero
The cast from iconic movie Local Hero, which included Peter Capaldi, Denis Lawson, Burt Lancaster, Jennifer Black, Peter Riegert, Fulton Mackay, Chris Chris Rozychi
When the classic was later added to C4’s on-demand platform More Four it still ran without Gideon’s immortal quote.
Asked for an explanation, a C4 spokesman said ‘Local Hero’ was edited to allow it to play pre-watershed, i.e. just after 1pm when children could be watching.
She said Channel 4 streaming now carries the same version that was transmitted on the TV channel, meaning viewers still miss out on the joke, even if they are watching after 9pm.
Brian Pendreigh, a Scots-based film critic, said: ‘You have to say this is a bit over-the-top.
‘I can understand why this joke might be removed if the film was being screened pre-watershed but people could be watching the catch-up version at any time of the day or night.’
Mr Pendreigh said he is frustrated that broadcasters actually employ somebody to pore over scenes and scripts to uncover the slightest perception of offence.
Filmed between Pennan, where a red phone box was famously featured in the film, and Morar in Inverness-shire, Local Hero tells of a community heading for oil industry millions before the Texan tycoon – played by Burt Lancaster – has a change of heart.
It provided an early role for Glasgow actor Peter Capaldi, who went on to win an Oscar for his short film Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life. He also starred in Dr Who from 2014-2017.
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