It was just yesterday when Rich reminded me I have not posted a film review in quite awhile, so here is the reinstatement of the Movie Review. Today's feature: The Quiet Man, directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, and Barry Fitzgerald.
This 1952 film takes all of the charm Americans can dream up when they think of Ireland and mix it up with all the bravado a barrel-chested man like John Wayne can muster. It's like mixing a leprechaun with a cowboy, old-world charm with new-world frankness, red-headed anger with sensual courting behind the back of a chaperon in a buggy. The Quiet Man is a treasure.
In it, John Wayne's character returns to Ireland, the land of his birth, after being raised in Pittsburgh and working in steel mills. He was also a well-known prize fighter, but after the death of an opponent in the ring, he returns to his roots to start a new life. Fresh into town, he crosses paths with Maureen O'Hara--a tempest, a shrew, a fighter. He thinks like an American and wants to take her in his arms without hesitation. But in Ireland, there is way to go about these things, and thus the beginning of their cultural conflict. Barry Fitzgerald serves as a chaperon on their first outing. Here is a snippet of dialogue from when they first connect:
Sean: If anybody had told me six months ago that today I'd be in a graveyard in Innisfree with a girl like you that I'm just about to kiss, I'd have told 'em...
Mary Kate: Oh, but the kisses are a long way off yet.
Sean: Huh?
Mary Kate: Well, we just started a-courtin', and next month, we, we start the walkin'-out, and the month after that there'll be the thrashin' parties, and the month after that...
Sean: Nope.
Mary Kate: Well, maybe we won't have to wait that month.
Sean: Yep.
Mary Kate: Or for the thrashin' parties.
Sean: Nope.
Mary Kate: Or for the walkin'-out together.
Sean: No.
Mary Kate: And so much the worse for you, Sean Thornton. For I feel the same way about it myself.
Their brief courtship, their inevitable marriage, their fiery attempt to start a life together in a town full of tradition and societal expectations make up a sensitive and beautiful tale. If you take some of the elements on their face--mainly the male dominance and apparent brutality--the film is dated and ineffective in 2007. But when viewed through its cultural context, it makes sense and is still as effective and valuable as it was in 1952. At one point in the film, a woman from town hands John Wayne a stick "to beat the lovely lady with," and at the end, Maureen O'Hara breaks the stick--they have each liberated the other and are able to enter their home in peace and equality.
This 1952 film takes all of the charm Americans can dream up when they think of Ireland and mix it up with all the bravado a barrel-chested man like John Wayne can muster. It's like mixing a leprechaun with a cowboy, old-world charm with new-world frankness, red-headed anger with sensual courting behind the back of a chaperon in a buggy. The Quiet Man is a treasure.
In it, John Wayne's character returns to Ireland, the land of his birth, after being raised in Pittsburgh and working in steel mills. He was also a well-known prize fighter, but after the death of an opponent in the ring, he returns to his roots to start a new life. Fresh into town, he crosses paths with Maureen O'Hara--a tempest, a shrew, a fighter. He thinks like an American and wants to take her in his arms without hesitation. But in Ireland, there is way to go about these things, and thus the beginning of their cultural conflict. Barry Fitzgerald serves as a chaperon on their first outing. Here is a snippet of dialogue from when they first connect:Sean: If anybody had told me six months ago that today I'd be in a graveyard in Innisfree with a girl like you that I'm just about to kiss, I'd have told 'em...
Mary Kate: Oh, but the kisses are a long way off yet.
Sean: Huh?
Mary Kate: Well, we just started a-courtin', and next month, we, we start the walkin'-out, and the month after that there'll be the thrashin' parties, and the month after that...
Sean: Nope.
Mary Kate: Well, maybe we won't have to wait that month.
Sean: Yep.
Mary Kate: Or for the thrashin' parties.
Sean: Nope.
Mary Kate: Or for the walkin'-out together.
Sean: No.
Mary Kate: And so much the worse for you, Sean Thornton. For I feel the same way about it myself.
Their brief courtship, their inevitable marriage, their fiery attempt to start a life together in a town full of tradition and societal expectations make up a sensitive and beautiful tale. If you take some of the elements on their face--mainly the male dominance and apparent brutality--the film is dated and ineffective in 2007. But when viewed through its cultural context, it makes sense and is still as effective and valuable as it was in 1952. At one point in the film, a woman from town hands John Wayne a stick "to beat the lovely lady with," and at the end, Maureen O'Hara breaks the stick--they have each liberated the other and are able to enter their home in peace and equality.As in any good film, the music serves to punctuate or underline the story--something feisty for a fight scene or something sweet and comforting for a fireside.
There aren't many films I care to own--you watch them once or twice and then send them back to Blockbuster in exchange for something else. But there are a few classics I believe are worthy of keeping in the DVD library--The Quiet Man is one of them. I just wish I could get my kids to appreciate it with me. But isn't that true of so many things.
Comments
I love the "instant courtship", though I'm not too sure about the shirt our man is wearing for his clinch with the heroine!
if the movie is as good as the food they used serve there, then perhaps I should have a look for it!
Ms Mac, I think there is something on the web about the connection between the pub and the movie. I might be wrong--I'll look it up.
Sassy, allergic? Oh, I'm sorry. I love him in True Grit and especially The Cowboys, which I think might be my favorite cowboy-Wayne film. Hmm, I think I'll write about that one next.
If you watch this one, don't be put off by the shauvinistic (spell?) setting. It all works out to equality in the end.
It's been many years since I've seen this movie. Thanks so much for bringing it back to memory for us all.
Rich, thanks for reminding me of the movie review column. I'll be thinking of the next film on the list. Any suggestions?
Rich, thanks for reminding me of the movie review column. I'll be thinking of the next film on the list. Any suggestions?
I swear at the smiling and ever so friendly IRA men in it.