kcterrell-25046 John Ford and John Wayne: a guaranteed good watch. Throw in Maureen O'Hara (Mary Kate Danaher), and this time you end up with my favorite John Wayne film. That may partially be because this film is not the John Wayne of Westerns or wars. His role in The Quiet Man is like no other role he ever played, and he shines. He did make other comedies (such as the 1963 quasi remake of this film, McLintock), but here he is legend. The story sets up with Sean Thornton coming home to his family's native land holding in Ireland after accidentally killing a man in a boxing match in America. His psyche is clearly bruised as a result, and he has a beautiful homestead to help him recover. Enter O'Hara, and the film morphs into a loose remake of The Taming of the Shrew. Touching and sentimental throughout, the film captures the viewer's attention and never lets go. That's even though we are sure of the eventual outcome. Witty at times, hilarious at others, Sean and Mary Kate capture our hearts along with some of the local characters played to perfection by a superlative cast, including Ward Bond as Father Lonergan, Victor McLaglan as Mary Kate's brother "Red" Danaher, and Barry Fitzgerald as Michaleen Flynn. There is some stunning on location filming, but the studio sets are not at all off-putting, because Wayne and O'Hara are the focus no matter where they might be courting or rebelling. I have seen this film more than a dozen times, and when I do decide to watch it, I clear out two hours for uninterrupted pleasure. The writing and dialogue are precise and imaginative, and Ford's direction is at his peak. He was the master of cinema story-telling and oh what a story this one is. The whole experience has never once seemed trite or stale. Just good old fashion entertainment. No one should go through life without seeing this film at least twice.

tomgillespie2002 It's a cliché to say, about a movie especially, that "they don't make 'em like that anymore." But in the case of The Quiet Man, a gentle comedy drama from John Ford, they really don't. If it was made today, this romantic tale set in the luscious green countryside of Ireland would no doubt star some square-jawed pretty-boy as the male lead, with the role of the leading lady going to some vacuous up-and-comer hoping to make the transition from TV into film before fading into utter obscurity. Back in 1952 they got two of cinema's Golden Age powerhouses, John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, who sizzle with chemistry, charisma and charm, combining to help create one of the finest films of its time.Something of a departure for Ford and Wayne, who were most famous for delivering tough horse operas in the Old West, the film was only made by Republic Picture on the promise that Ford make a western for them first to make up for question mark looming over the box-office appeal of The Quiet Man. He obliged and made Rio Grande (1950), before setting off for Ireland to make the passion project he purchased the movie rights to back in the 1930's. He brought Wayne with him too, but he would kill no injuns and saddle no horses (although he does get to briefly ride one) here, but instead play Sean Thornton, the 'quiet man' of the title - a dashing, friendly American who retreats to his birthplace of Ireland carrying a dark secret on his shoulders.Soon upon arriving, Sean is struck by the beauty of the temperamental Mary Kate Danaher (O'Hara), the sister of landowner Squire 'Red' Will Danaher (Victor McLagen). When Sean quickly purchases the cottage in which he was born, he finds himself immediately at odds with the loud-mouthed and brutish Will, who has had his eyes on the land for years. Sean and Mary Kate are soon in love, but Will stubbornly refuses to consent to the marriage. Local drunk and matchmaker Michaleen (Barry Fitzgerald), sympathising with the two lovers, hatches a plan with the other locals to manipulate Will into thinking the marriage is in his best interests, and they are soon wed. But when Will uncovers the plot and tries to sabotage the marriage, Sean must face the demons of his past and confront the bullying tyrant.Winner of 2 Academy Awards and nominated for 5 more, The Quiet Man was a roaring success and is loved by many to this day, but was undoubtedly a massive gamble by Ford. People paid to see John Wayne punch bad guys and get the girl, but this was a film about a man who makes an active decision not to fight and, although he gets the girl early on, he struggles to keep a hold of her. Funnily enough, this is one of Wayne's best performances, a rare opportunity to see his warmer, gentler side, and his interaction with O'Hara, who is also terrific, is one of the movie's main strengths. The slow pace pays off at the end, climaxing with one of the best fist-fights in cinema. It's played mainly for laughs and no one draws blood, but the absurdity and the sheer length of it is a hoot. Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

lasttimeisaw John Ford swooped his historically fourth BEST DIRECTOR win for THE QUIET MAN in the Oscars, a record very much likely will never be matched, to say nothing of being surpassed. But it was his only win from a Ford-Wayne picture, THE SEARCHERS (1956) was wholesomely snubbed, but it is not a conventional Ford-Wayne picture either, its locale is deviant from their usual Western landscape.Wayne plays Sean Thornton, an Irish-born American from Pittsburgh, returns to his homeland, a backwater town called Inisfree (a fictional place) in the 1920s, he reclaims his family land from widow Sarah Tillane (Natwick) and falls for an ardent ginger Mary-Kate Danaher (O'Hara), after locking horns with her eldest brother Squire Will Danaher (McLaglen), a loutish heavy who also sets his eyes on Thornton's farm, and according to the provincial tradition, Mary-Kate cannot marry without Squire's consent.With a little conspiracy from Sean's new local friends - yes, Sean is the new apple of the eye for this jerkwater town, who can easily gain trust and favour from denizens over the unwelcome Squire himself. - including the matchmaker Michaeleen Flynn (Fitzgerald), reverend Cyril Playfair's (Shields) and his wife (Crowe), who fabricate a quid pro quo to inveigle Squire to marry Mary-Kate to Sean, so himself in return could marry Ms. Tillane, and the plan works (for the first half), Sean and Mary-Kate ties the knot, but an unknowing Ms. Tillane refuses to take Squire for the team, after a bout of ruckus, Squire holds back Mary-Kate's dowry, which according to Sean's noble confession, doesn't mean anything to him, what he loves is her, not her fortune, but talking about different values, for Mary-Kate, her dowry is not just money, it is her own reputation at stake, that's something worth her husband to fight for, but Sean seems to be unmotivated.Sean's past in USA has been carefully veiled in the narrative, only his burly figure and the occasional attention from reverend Playfair, who is a fervent sport fan, knowingly suggest his vocation, a former prizefighter, who has sworn to abnegate boxing after accidentally knocking off an opponent during a match. Now, coerced by an obdurate Mary-Kate, Sean has to use his fists to earn back her respect and prove that he is not a coward, even though in his mind, it is plumb purposeless, but the point is, that's what husbands must do to defend his womenfolk, so a long- delayed close-range brawl between Sean and Squire arrives ebulliently with on-lookers betting their money on who is the last man standing.THE QUIET MAN adheres to the conventional criteria of a patriarchal society under the microcosm of Inisfree, machismo reeks of booze, smoke, gambles and sweat after a fist fight, even Mary-Kate, a perfect specimen of a fine lady, blindly hamstrings her pride in the shibboleth, which leaves the picture a smack outmoded in the eyes of a new viewer six decades later.Visually expansive, thanks to the sublime topography of the Irish countryside (in the sunny days only) and John Ford's discerning sense of aesthetics, THE QUIET MAN also elicits a more layered performance from John Wayne, not merely a macho bigot bogged in his own intransigence, he can also be a rose-loving, violence-relinquishing pacifist, paired with a strikingly zealous Ms. O'Hara, who is so ambidextrous both indoor and outdoor, whether she is playing harpsichord or playing rough against Wayne. Slas, Wayne finds his match, a virtuous leading lady who can both physically and characteristically challenge him in a Ford picture.Victor McLaglen, who is visibly too old to play big brother of O'Hara (34 years of her senior), is the only member in the cast rewarded with an Oscar nomination, but in retrospect, he chews the scenery a bit little. Yet, it is Barry Fitzgerald who almost single-handedly holds intact the film's comedic vibe as the booze-dependent Flynn, with gusto and impeccable foibles, and in truth, THE QUIET MAN aims to be a bubbly ethnographic study sending a more liberal message - there is no reason why Catholicism and Protestantism cannot co-exist harmoniously under the same roof, maybe not all roads can lead to Rome, but at least there are several of them can. A final nod to Victor Young's majestic score, utterly pertinent to accompany a jolly journey in that bygone era and faraway place.

Edgar Allan Pooh " . . . if he ever lives that long," Victor McLaglen's "Red Will" says of John Wayne's "Sean Thornton" early on in John Ford's THE QUIET MAN. Few truer words were ever said, and they could apply to pretty much all the American cast and crew with whom McLaglen was hanging out. Though the UNHOLY THREE is the title of a Silent Classic, it's hard to think of a more apt umbrella to cover QUIET director Ford, star Wayne, and narrator Ward Bond. Few Americans have hurt more of their fellow citizens with Racist and Anti-Semitic outbursts. One of these men was involved with the mendacious Silent BIRTH OF A NATION. Another was on the Racists-Will-Rise-Again GONE WITH THE WIND payroll. The third led the Kill-the-Jews (often literally, as with John Garfield) Hollywood Witch Hunts immediately after World War Two (while enlisting the help of the first two for his pogrom). Eva Braun found out that History judged her by the company she kept. Watching THE QUIET MAN, one is torn between pity and contempt for its female lead, Maureen O'Hara. Of course, Bobby Darin sang that Mack the Knife could be as charming as he needed to be. But when you frolic and splash around in a blood-filled swimming pool, your judgment is open to question.