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A Movie A Week: THE QUIET MAN (1952) Sir! Sir! Here’s a good stick to beat the lovely lady!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with the next installment of A Movie A Week.
[For those who new to the column, A Movie A Week is just that, a dedicated way for me explore vintage cinema every week. I’ll review a movie every Monday and each one will be connected to the one before it via a common thread, either an actor, director, writer, producer or some other crew member. Each film, pulled from my DVD shelf or recorded on the home DVR (I heart TCM) will be one I haven’t seen.]
This is another big one. I’ve said it in previous AMAD and AMAW articles, but to reiterate… John Wayne wasn’t particularly loved in my house growing up. My stepdad was into Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery, not the Duke. My mom couldn’t care less about it all. She likes legal dramas, comedy and horror.
When I was in high school we were shown THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE in Newspaper of all classes (“print the legend” and all that… even though that went against everything they were actually teaching us in that class) and that’s what turned me around on Wayne and got me into Westerns not starring Clint Eastwood.
So it’s been a bit of catch-up when it comes to The Duke and I’ve used AMAD and AMAW as an excuse to really analyze these flicks.
Today we’re going to take a look at a fantastic John Ford/John Wayne collaboration THE QUIET MAN.
I was immediately taken by the easy-going tone of the film, helped a great deal by the lush photography of Winton C. Hoch, which was evident even though the DVD transfer was god-awful. Is there a reason there’s not a pristine, remastered transfer of this? Yes, I want a high-def version, but I’d settle for a remastered DVD.
Anyway, Hoch’s photography of the rolling green hills of Ireland and Victor Young’s score made me instantly love this setting and that, in turn, made me relate immediately to John Wayne’s Sean Thornton. Thornton is a wealthy American who has roots in Ireland, his birth country, and is fulfilling his dream of relocating to his homeland.
Upon his arrival at the train station John Ford and screenwriter Frank Nugent give us a taste of the culture as the conductor argues with damn near everyone at the station on the best route for Wayne to take to get to his sleepy little town.
Character. That’s what I’m loving so much about John Ford’s flicks as I plow through those I haven’t seen and revisit some old favorites. Every single person you meet in his films could be the stars of their own movie or, at the very least, the star’s memorable sidekick.
Speaking of, it’s not long before we meet Wayne’s real deal little drunk Irish buddy in the flick, one Mr. Barry Fitzgerald, who we are following over from last week’s THE CATERED AFFAIR. He has a lot more to do in this one, using his heritage for all it’s worth. He plays a kind of small town matchmaker. The dude knows everybody and everybody knows him. He’s always on the hunt for a sip of whiskey and isn’t ashamed to ask for more.
When Wayne blows into town Fitzgerald’s Flynn is at his side and hardly ever leaves. That’s a good thing for Wayne because he soon makes eyes at Mary Kate Danaher, sister to the wealthiest brute in town and a fiery redhead who is as quick with her fists as she is with her tongue.
Maureen O’Hara plays Mary Kate and boy… it’s easy to see why Wayne falls for her instantly. I loved seeing her barriers drop one after the other as Wayne’s charm worked its way through.
And Wayne deserves a lot of credit for his work here, too. Yes, he’s always a version of himself, but that’s kind of the reason for his iconic status. Here he’s incredibly vulnerable. He is indeed a tough guy, but one that is running from his past, determined not to use his considerable phyiscal strength. He's passive through most of this film. A non-violent John Wayne is a bit of a shocker, right? I think it took a lot of guts for him to drop his usual tough guy persona and open himself up here.
His passiveness is put to the test by an almost instantaneous rivalry with Mary Kate’s thuggish brother, Will Danaher, played by the always great Victor McLaglen. The brute is begging for it the whole damn movie and you're just itching to see them go toe to toe.
But that’s the catch of the flick. Mary Kate is bound by the rules of her country and village, which means she can’t get married to Thornton without her brother’s consent. I figured that’d be the central drama to the whole love story, a forbidden love, but again my preconceptions were wrong.
With the help of the local priest (Ward Bond) and Fitzgerald, Thornton pulls a bit of a trick on the big, strong, but a tad dim-witted Will Danaher, playing on his own loneliness. It’s actually kind of a douchey trick they pulled, insinuating that the rich widower that McLaglen has an eye on would consider marrying him, but only if his sister moves out of the house… and what better way to do that than marry her off?
That ruse can’t (and doesn't) last for long and the second half of the movie is Mary Kate determined to get her dowry, which her own mother had spent her whole life slaving away to give her. But the problem is deeper than that. She views her new husband as a coward, not willing to stand up for her honor.
Everything comes to a head with perhaps one of the longest knock-down, drag-out fist-fights in movie history. This fight is so long that our two leads need to take a breather and there is an intermission at a pub (naturally) before taking it home.
Final Thoughts: THE QUIET MAN is just a lovely movie. I don’t know of a better word to describe it. The acting, the characterization, the score, the cinematography, locations, direction, pacing… it’s just lovely to watch. It’s such a confident, fun, entertaining film that I couldn’t help but get swept up in it. And yes, that ET moment plays so much better for me now. Of course Elliott had to lay the smackeroo on that girl in science class. I know I wanted to grab some cute girl I barely know in a windy doorway and lay one on her, but I’m no John Wayne (or even a Henry Thomas), so that probably would only gain me a restraining order and a night in the tank.
Upcoming A Movie A Week Titles:
Monday, June 15th: RIO GRANDE (1950)
Monday, June 22nd: THE GETAWAY (1972)
Monday, June 29th: THE MACKINTOSH MAN (1973)
Monday, July 6th: THE LONG HOT SUMMER (1958)
Next week brings us RIO GRANDE, also directed by John Ford and starring most of the cast of THE QUIET MAN. In fact, its history is really interesting… I’ll get more into it in my next column, but RIO GRANDE is the “sure thing” Western that Ford had to make in order to get his passion project, THE QUIET MAN, greenlit. See you folks next week for that one!
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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Previous AMAWs:
April 27th: How To Marry a Millionaire
May 4th: Phone Call From A Stranger
May 11th: Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte
May 18th: Too Late The Hero
May 25th: The Best Man
June 1st: The Catered Affair
Click here for the full 215 movie run of A Movie A Day!
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Period.
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who played Squire Danaher was just great. I remember him also from Fords "She wore a yellow ribbon" in his cavalry movies. And I THINK he was in Gunga Din as well. Also delivers a layered performance. I always felt bad for Danaher when the trick is played.
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This was the only picture that Republic would ever release that would get a Best Picture Nomination.
Republic agreed to finance the film only if Ford agreed to do a western, so Ford and Wayne did Rio Grande before this.
One of the conditions that Republic had with this film is that it had a run time of 120 minutes, but the final film was 2 hours, 15 minutes. Ford played it before the executives and stopped the film during the big climatic fight, causing the executives to relent and allow the film to run the full length.
At the film's conclusion, after the credits, we see Kate and Sean standing in their garden waving good-bye. Maureen O'Hara turns to John Wayne and whispers something in his ear, evoking a priceless reaction from Wayne. What was said was known only to O'Hara, Wayne and director John Ford. In exchange for saying this unscripted bit of text, O'Hara insisted that the exact line never be disclosed by any involved parties. In her memoirs she says that she refused to say the line at first as she 'couldn't possibly say that to Duke' but Ford insisted, claiming he needed a genuine shock reaction from Wayne. The line remains a mystery to this day.
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Had to be made first before they green-lit Rio Grande. This is what I get for not reading your entire review.
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racing neck and neck to be the king of AMAD/AMAW. Love it.
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it is my favorite of the Ford/Wayne collobartions and is right up there with El Dorado as my favorite Wayne movie. Just bliss, pure and simple bliss
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and neither has anyone else.
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And McLaglen is something to watch in Rio Grande, Gunga Din, etc. One of a kind.
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I love this Film! It was one of my Dad's favorites(we're Irish)...and my mine as well. I think the Duke was at his best in this Flick!
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I love this film. It's a firm favourite in our family, but it's about as realistic a presentation of Ireland as Brigadoon is of Scotland! But hey, it don't matter none! Maureen O'Hara is gorgeous, and the cast is perfect!
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Oh ive always wanted to read a review on this site about this film! Im an Irish man myself and im really proud of this film! Thanks again!
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awesome (never mind the skook - this is how we used to be)
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I grew up watching this movie, it's a big part of my childhood rainy day video viewing. My mom is a huge John Wayne fan and this is most likely her favorite.
To have never seen it until I was an adult would have been a little odd for me, but it would definitely have provided a much different perspective.
Keep on keepin' on Quint.
Oh, and when you get to the Getaway (ha ha) maybe keep in your mind a certain little movie called No Country For Old Men. I'd dare say there are quite the few notable (and apt) comparisons between the two films. They'd make a great double feature. -
I cannot tell you how much I love this movie , everything is perfec. How the f**k The Greatest Show on Earth won the Oscar I`ll never know. This must be one of the greatest non-Oscar winning movies ever!!!!!
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Love where John Wayne feels Maureen O'Hara up. Just a second, but they left it in. Awesome. I saw this for the first time about two years ago, and was mesmerized as my wife and children got bored and wandered away. A great performance by the Duke. And it's a movie full of tremendous quotes. Great film.
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When John Wayne grabs Maureen O'Hara, pulls her back and kisses the hound out of her. 'Cuz, course, that's what E.T. was watching when Elliot freed the frogs.Great movie, with long movie-historical fingers.
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I have the collective edition Laserdisc, and it 100% pure fucking awesome!
I love this film. It was something I used to watch repeatedly on weekends on Channel 5 in LA after the Popeye cartoon show. The artist & host sketched various situations involving characters from the cartoons. He sometimes did this for as long as 4 hours, then started the NEXT show in which he hosted 2 afternoon movies back to back!
His 2 favorite stars to play films were John Wayne & Danny Kay. Oh.. and 'Mad Mad Monster Party' >_
I really miss those shows.. they NEVER edited the movies for content, no matter WHAT was said. -
...has someone writing for it that apparently has not only not seen any movies, but also feels the need to put it out there that he hasnt.
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Such a great movie
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that version of Ireland is romanticised all to fuck, but that idealised version never actually existed.
It's as historically authentic as a typical King Arthur movie.
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Duh, you don't say?! Next you will be telling me that the old west portrayed in every John Wayne classic didn't exist either!
Who cares if it's realistic or not, it's fun and a cinematic classic. -
Wayne is so relatable in this film - it's one of his most genuine performances. I defy you to watch the final fight without a big grin on your face.
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that Quint had the money to buy all these DVDs and wasn't bothering to watch them. Then I realized I have a similar stack of DVDs I haven't watched yet. And some of you probably do as well. I always enjoy Quint's reviews and it helps point out that no matter how much of a film buff we think we are there are always good films out there that we haven't seen yet!
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with her even more in the Parent Trap. The Quiet Man is a great film. My father's favorite.
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Ms. O'Hara is stunning, the Duke is great, not a weak spot in the entire movie. We even get to hear the great Ken Curtis sing!
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The fight scene in this movie was EPIC. best part is when this old guy is on his deathbed, his family all huddled around as the parson prays, and then someone blurts through an open window that the fight is finally on. Old guy leaps from bed and runs outside to watch. Awesome.
I said this was #3 on my list of best movies. For those curious, #2 is Beau Gest and #1 is Casablanca. -
It is in the quiet moments that this movie really shines: the horse race, Maureen O'Hara doing housework, the courting ritual. And also the reason this movie won 2 of the 7 Oscars it nominated for.
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Jun 09, 2009 11:13:46 AM CDT
Best Punch in Movie History
by sent from my verizon wireless black narc
It warms my heart to see you youngsters appreciating such a wonderful film.
And replay the start of the Great Fight; Danaher swings, The Duke ducks & responds with a liver punch that makes a sound like a 5 lb. rubber mallet striking a cast-iron kettle. That's all she wrote, if it were real.
Just another perfect Fordian moment. -
"He'll regret it to his dying day, if he lives that long""I think your in-laws are coming to visit ya"The agreement to the Marquis of Queensbury rules, followed by a kick to the face.
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Absolutely love this movie. A true romantic comedy that ends with great action, Maureen is a dream in this and probably why I likes the red heads!
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I watch this classic every year on St. Paddy's Day. It's tradition in my family. This movie has one of the all time greatest fight scenes in it.
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that nothing seems forced, unlike movies today where they try to cram the jokes and romance down your throat. This movie has many great qualities and anyone that hasn't seen it needs to give it a chance.I'm a bit curious to hear Harry's thoughts on this classic.
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what the car chase in Bullitt is to.. um, car chases.
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One of the best films ever.
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with the kiss scene he recreates in the classroom after all hell breaks loose?
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I should look before I leap
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Fantastic movie. Watched this one with my father. Neither of us were big John Wayne fans but this movie was great. I saw many of the locations from this film when i visited ireland. One of the best fight scenes ever. Love the pub scenes.
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The producer on The Quiet Man was Merian C. Cooper, the driving force behind King Kong.
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i used to watch that popeye show in L.a. also, i think the hosts name was gene something. anyways, the quiet man is one of the greatest films ever, john ford was a genius and so was duke for making this picture. hopefully they will release a better transfer of it. you guys check out hatari! it wa also a ford/wayne classic.
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Fay Wray is so hot in that film. Maureen O'Hara is very hot in The Quiet Man (although nobody in The Quiet Man is as hot as The Duke, who just oozes the sort of masculinity that makes modern gelding/man-boy Hollywood queasy). Still, I love King Kong. You just can't take your eyes off Fay Wray. She was just that incredibly hot. And don't get me started on that scene with the atrociously stereotypical "African Native" in the barely moving mouth of the giant King Kong head. Man, that was so awesome. Up there with Bela Lugosi fighting the limp tentacles in Plan 9 from Outer Space.
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There's not a single misstep in this flick, a film that definitely earned its status as an all-time classic. And for those of you out there who haven't seen it, especially my fellow black people, get off your asses and check it out! It's got an unconventional romance, humor, stunning visuals and the justly famous cross-county dragging of Maureen O'Hara as the preamble to a fight that's sure to make chest hair grow on even a rock. Great stuff!
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Cooper was a pilot in WWI, an American volunteer for the Polish Army against the Russians. He was shot down and taken captive, held in a POW camp, until him and several other men escaped (killing a guard in the process).
During WWII, despite being exempt from duty because of his age, he re-enlisted and served as a Colonel in the Air Force, serving in China as part of the China Task Force. He was well known for carefully planning missions to minimize losses and casualties, and he went along on many missions himself to supervise.
He also travelled the world as a documentary film maker in the silent age, and was somewhat of an explorer.
Finally, the fighter pilots who shot down Kong? That was Cooper and co-director/producer Ernest B. Schoedsack. When trying to figure out how to kill Kong, they supposedly said "We made the damn thing. We should be the ones who kill it." -
is pretty good. It's the kind of film Michael Caine would have starred in if the director'd been someone of slightly lesser profile. Tonally, I was very much reminded of Caine's THE BLACK WINDMILL (which was apparently released a year later, says wikipedia).
By the way, Quint, I bought the Paul Newman collection after you reviewed HARPER, so I'd likely not even have seen MACKINTOSH MAN if not for your column.
As for THE QUIET MAN and RIO GRANDE, by sheer coincidence I actually bought both those films recently, and am now considering watching them in the next few days instead of waiting as I had originally planned. -
if you like "The Quiet Man", you should see "Innisfree", a documentary revisiting forty years later the town (and its citizens) where the first film was filmed. It's pure gold, man!
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... for anyone with even a remote interest in films or film history. Fantastic in every respect. I am a John Wayne fan, and no, he wasn't the greatest actor ever. But, there are easily a half-dozen films in which he does great work including Quiet Man, Liberty Valance, The Searchers, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, and even The Shootist.
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A predator and alien use the new Enterpise as their battleground. So Kirk and new crew attempt to locate a Terminator from a different timeline to fight both of them, but a drop of red goo accidently propels them all into the Star Wars Universe where they must confront the empire with the help of the Jedi. (Oh, for comic relief the Ice Age critters are thawed and run amuck! Ha, ha.)
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Ice Age talkback. Oh dear. Oh my.
Well in that case, John Wayne is also accidently revived and finds out that Maureen O'Hara's character has been reincarnated as a Jedi Princess and is strong with the force and, oh, shit, just give it up. -
SHUT THE FUCK UP!! you just embarassed the whole fuckin' country, you langer!!!
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John Wayne actually did some real acting in this film. Great film, this is the film you point out for anyone who thinks that all Ford made were westerns.
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Like in this, or The Searchers (there are, of course, rare exceptions). When someone reaches icon status they are only really useful when they are doing something interesting and tweaking the formula. Other than that the roles and acting becomes routine and lazy. Many Wayne films are lazy plays on "John Wayne." But take Paul Newman, whom we will see in a few weeks. He could have coasted as a good looking leading man but he almost always played off that image and was far more interesting as an actor for it. Wayne just stuck to the same thing with few exceptions.
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Two of my favorite John Wayne movies and they're not Westerns.
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You might think it's stating the fucking obvious, but I've had my fill of summer jobs dealing with American tourists who still think Ireland is like something they've seen out of Darby O'Gill. Begorrah and Bejayzus. They're just fucking movies.
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This really is one of the sweetest movies ever, and what is so amazing are the unbelievably great character actors that live here. Each has their own story, even if it is just for a second. John Ford's older brother plays the old bearded man who, on his death bed, leaps up to see the Wayne/Macglauglin fight. One of the great pities of many modern films is their lack of, or inability to properly use, supporting characters and actors like the ones in the Quiet Man. How much richer they make the story, and you see it in so many great directors of the day. Ford, Hawkes, Capra, Sturgess, Wilder and Curtiz.
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Stereotypes of all kinds are a big problem. I grew up in Arkansas and Texas -- you think I'm not tired of hearing "did you marry your cousin/sister/mother hillbilly rapist" jokes and questions about whether or not I own a ranch/cattle or know/vote for George W Bush? I think most intelligent people know that Ireland is much more than the Blarney Stone. Although, I do have a friend from Ireland who starts every conversation with "How the bejayzus are ya? What's the craic?"
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The fight in this movie may not be the best on film, and the kiss JW lays on Maureen in the empty house may not be the best movie kiss ever, but they are without a boubt the best movie fight/kiss combo in any movie ever made!!!!!! A truly enjoyable film in every regard. I can't imagine a person not liking this movie.
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otherwise nothing would get done, ya hillbilly!!
:)
"what's the craic?" indeed!!! -
Just perfect! Some great movies coming up too - Rio Grande, Long Hot Summer (my fav paul newman performance).
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This film is packed with relatives. First, you have the "Ford Family" who appear in many of the Wayne/Ford films, McLaglen, Mildred Natwick, Ward Bond. Then you have Mr. Wayne's kids in the race scene, Patrick, Michael and Melinda. Mr. McLaglen's son, Andrew was behind the camera. Arthur Shields, Mr. Playfair, was Barry Fitzgerald's brother. Sean McClory, one of the IRA members, is Maureen O'Hara's brother, and James O'Hara and Charles Fitzsimmons (Father Paul, the young priest and Hugh Forbes) are also her brothers. This must have been a really relaxed film, despite Ford reputation for being a bully.
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This has got the be the best movie that still hasn't gotten a decent DVD transfer. I have 2 different versions of this. Both look like they were transferred from VHS tape. Can't wait to see a DVD or even better, a BLURAY of this title. Its a no-brainer. Is there somewhere we can petition for a remaster ?
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until he's your husband and he can hit you back!
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Pure and simple. My dad turned my on to him 30 years ago, and Ive seen just about everything hes ever done. I think his politics really hampered him winning multiple Oscars, or at least getting noms. I mean how the hell didnt he get noms for Searchers or Red River. That being said. Id like to ask you all a question. Duke was who he was because of his "presense" on the screen. His incredible screen presense in True Grit, Searchers, Iwo Jima, etc. When he was on the screen you couldnt take your eyes of of him. Other actors of the time had it: McQueen, Brando, Dean and a few others. MY QUESTION is who today has that kind of presense, where there not the greatest actor, but when they are on the screen, they just demand attention. A few that I'll throw out. EARLY Bruce Willis ala Die Hard and Pulp Fiction, Daniel Day Lewis, of course none of these had it like Duke, but Im just curious as to what you all think. Oh, I consider The Searchers Dukes pinnacle and one of the top 3 westerns ever made, IMHO
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Jun 09, 2009 9:45:19 PM CDT
Irish Wedding vs Irish Funeral: The difference?
by grammaton cleric binks
One less drunk! Don't hate, I'm half Irish and tell that joke all the time.
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Wayne is masterfully reserved through most of this flick. My favorite is Fitzgerald though as he has the best lines in the movie.
"Is this a courting or a donnybrook? Have the good manners not to hit the man until he's your husband and entitled to hit you back. "
I make it point to watch this flim at least a couple of times each year, as well as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. -
This film needs to be FIXED! This is arguably the BEST John Wayne movie...and should be treated as such! How could this picture LOOK this bad with today's technology?! If it is a matter of money, then why not share the profit of a NEW release with those who would repair it? If this was remastered with modern techniques and to the level we dream, I would scoop this up in a heartbeat!
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Fantastic fight scene, a good under stated John Wayne, and just a well structured story. There isn't a flaw or false moment in this flick.
Four best John Wayne movies: The Quiet Man, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. -
I don't know if a HD transfer would make it look better. Now another Ford and Wayne movie 3 GODFATHERS on the hand has fantastic Technicolor photography. I couldn't believe how great it looked when I first saw it and it was made before THE QUIET MAN. The picture is stunning. It's almost as good as any Michael Powell movie made at the same time.
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funerals are not what they used to be. now you have to hope they don't clash with some poncey rugby game. that's so gay. the gathering in a local hotel after my grandmother's funeral ([f close to 100 family members)a few weeks ago saw everyone sitting in front of a big screen TV roaring at a game. my cousin and I were unimpressed so we ripped the power cord out of the TV and that started a riot. my mother was so proud.
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I love this movie because it glorifies my hobby of wife-beating. What do you call a woman with two black eyes? Someone who has been told twice.
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part of nearly pissed my pants laughing.
oh well, Groucho Marx always makes me laugh too. -
"Impetuous" after he sees the broken bridal bed.
"That will be three Our Father's and Three Hail Mary's" to the priest after he misleads Danaher
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and wayne was a wanker.