Der Sieger

It's not only the fact that I'm actually from County Mayo in Ireland where most of the outdoor scenes from The Quiet Man were filmed in the summer of 1951, that makes it my favorite movie of all time. This film has damn near everything for everyone in it without being offensive to anyone (Though the occasional hypersensitive Irish person or Feminist or "Yank" might take unfounded offense at the various pokes of fun that are made at various traditions!)

For the romantics this has romance in abundance and probabaly some of the most famously erotic (and much copied - A further indication of how hight in esteem this movie is held) scenes ever put on celluoid (without ever more that an absolute minimum of bare flesh being exposed to satify the puritans). Steven Spielburg most famously gives the cottage kissing scene the nod in "ET" and it was said of the "Wet shirt" Graveyard kissing scene in the rain that, during the many takes it took to get it in the can, Director John Ford only got John Wayne to do everything he wanted to do to Maureen O'Hara himself.

For the action brigade it has probabaly the longest and one of the most enthralling fight scenes of any movie.

For the comics the entire film is laced with Irishisms and good humor and wild banter and loads of "craic"

For the weepies it has tragedy and death and a haunting from the past.

And for the pure sentimental including myself the film has my beautiful country lavishly and lovingly displayed in glorious technicholor compliments of Winston C Hoch amnd Archie Stout which deservedly won it an Oscar for cinematography.

And it has all this and more...

If one cares to delve deeper it touches on themes of Shakespeare (Taming of the Shrew) and the best traditions of Irish literature (JM Synge and WB Yeats).

Testament to it's greatness are the many books and documentries that have been created about it in it's wake (Try Des McHales "The Complete Guide to the Quiet Man" or Gerry McEntees' "In the footsteps of the Quiet Man" for starters!) along with the many tourist that still visit Cong, County Mayo in search of their own dream Inishfree.

I've lost count how many times I've seen this movie both in Ireland and in Exile both here in the US and in England, but suffice to say that at this stage I can now quote liberally from such classic lines as Feeney's: "Silence if you please, Parlimentary procedure, Squire Danagher has the floor" or Micheleen Og Flynn's "Homeric, impetious" upon viewing the marriage bed of Sean and Mary Kate and coming to his own conclusions on the events that may have occured in it.

After owning a variety of VHS (both Pal and US versions) of the movie I've finally purchaced the DVD also which allows one (If one so wishes) to watch every frame of the movie digitally remastered - If you are a fanatic like me or Quiet Maniacs as we are sometimes known this allows you to catch a glimpse of such things as a fly landing on Maureen O'Hara cheek during one shot or (In a daring unintentionally risque scene for the 1950's) her momentarially exposing her underwear whilst jumping over a trunk.

If you haven't seen this movie (and I'm increasing surprised how many of the younger Blockbuster New Release weaned movie viewers haven't) get yerself down to yer local video store now and look in the Classic Shelves for one of those classics that is sure to be there alongside Ben Hur, Gone with the Wind and Casablanca and rent it out for a great nights entertainment. Better still go and buy a copy 'cos once you've viewed it once like me you'll most likely be hooked and will want to watch it again and again (Even sometimes late at night, round Christmastime, sipping a hot Irish whiskey!)

Maureen O'Hara in Technicolor is surely any Irishman's dream, and "The Quiet Man" would be timeless for that alone. But O'Hara's performance is all the more indelible for the great good humor she bestows on her character, Mary Kate Danaher. Let's face it; with any other actress, this could have been a disaster.

Sean Thornton (John Wayne) comes back to County Mayo, his birthplace, to find a peace he lost tragically back home in America. He immediately discovers some old friends, and a new one, too, Mary Kate, who while herding sheep stares back at him in what James Joyce might have called "a significant manner."

Director John Ford elects to shoot O'Hara from an odd angle, and with an unusual overhead shadow crossing O'Hara's face, that in anyone else's hands would have totally blown the shot but here creates something, well, "Homerific." It's one of many amazing shots in a film that seems more painted than photographed, and is perhaps the most strikingly lovely film ever made.

The shot of O'Hara looking back at Wayne also clues you onto something else, that this is going to be her story as much as it is Thornton's. In fact, it's really more about her than it is about him, a film about romance and a woman's liberation at the hands of her lover. We call them "chick flicks" today. But since John Wayne is the nominal star and no one ever confused Ford with Douglas Sirk, "The Quiet Man" isn't popularly regarded this way.

It's fun to read all the comments about poor Mary Kate and how this film glamorizes the mistreatment of women. They have one thing right, it's a film about spousal domination, but it's the wife ruling the husband. Think about it: She makes her lover do just about everything he does in the film, even risk bodily injury at the hands of her brutish brother (she doesn't know about his past and thinks she married "a coward.") People complain that he drags her across a dung-covered field, while a helpful woman hands him a stick "to beat the lovely lady with." But of course it's Mary Kate who's in total control of the situation. She wants Thornton to fight for her, in every sense of the word, and won't make it easy. She wants him to adapt to her culture, rather than adapt to his. (She's not one to be "honked at," as she puts it.) It's not surprising she trips and falls at one point while Thornton pulls her across a field; probably one of those puppet strings of hers got in the way.

But there are worse things in life than being enslaved by the likes of Maureen O'Hara, like not being enslaved by the likes of Maureen O'Hara. She's not only beautiful and pure-hearted, but such a hilarious joy to be around. O'Hara plays up the comedy of her scenes very well; she could have opted for a more regal distance from the slapstick but plays it as rowdy as the rest instead. The scene when she spits in her hand before shaking with matchmaker Michaleen Flynn (Barry Fitzgerald, who gives the next-best performance after O'Hara) tells you who she is better than any of her many sexy moments on screen. It also gets back to the point of why she's so essential in this film. She is Ireland, the spirit of Erin, and you want her to win, not because she's so pretty but because you know she's good and right for Sean, too.

About the only things wrong with the film are the action sequences, the horse race and the fistfight between Sean and Mary Kate's brother. It's not because the scenes aren't terrific, but because they are so abbreviated, especially the fistfight, which feels likes its building to something even funnier and more rousing than what's come before when it just sort of stops. Ford apparently had to do some cutting to get his film in at the required length, and with his focus as much on Mary Kate as possible, probably preferred to trim the scenes that had the least to do with her. But since the focus on O'Hara is what makes the film anyway, this is a small matter. Wayne fans wanting more action will just have to content themselves with almost every other film the Duke ever made.

Seeing this film for the first time reminded me a lot of "Local Hero," the 1982 comedy. Not only is "The Quiet Man" also a fish-out-of-water story about an American in the British Isles (Scotland in "Local Hero"), both films maintain a very delicate balancing act between whimsy and pathos, with "The Quiet Man," siding on the former direction and "Local Hero" the latter. Definitely worth checking out the one if you saw and liked the other. But "Quiet Man" was there first.

The Quiet Man is a wonderfully layered and at times hilariously ironic portrayal of Ireland as seen by an American.

For those who doubt the film's sense of irony, just re-watch the scene where Sean (John Wayne) paints the door of his cottage. The Vicar's wife remarks on its beauty and in a deadpan manner suggests "only an American would have thought of Emerald Green". Only an American (or a foreigner), is the implication, would think that the picturebook Ireland they are seeing in this film is a realistic portrayal of a lived experience of the country. An Irish person would have painted the door red, she says. It weathers better that way.

The film takes ideas of Irishness and exaggerates them to brilliant and comic effect. The drinking Mickaleen, the patriarchal rule, the idyllic countryside. But beneath the Oirish exterior is a sharp intelligence and a subversion of what the film at first glance seems to suggest.

Beneath the idyllic countryside are elemental forces that are waiting to be disturbed, as we see in the two scenes where Sean and Mary-kate kiss. Storm clouds fill the sky and the wind whips about them. The countryside which previously seemed so welcoming is now tempestuous and threatening. Theirs are passions which do not fit in the comic book world which we have previously seen. Yet they exist.

The portrayal of women, and particularly Sean's treatment of Mary-Kate when he drags her through the field is not so oppressive as it might seem. Remember that it is her who insists on receiving her dowry, who equates her possessions to her worth. It is she who forces Sean to act the way he does and fight Will Danaher. She indoctrinates him into her society by threatening to leave him. She withholds the marital bed. Sean eventually becomes the man she wants him to be.

In short this is a portrayal of Irish, or more importantly, rural life that is very much from the point of view of the outsider. Of the city folk. Yet it always acknowledges that and has great fun playing with its stereotypes. Its funny, its romantic, it appeals to the part of us that yearns to live a simple life away from the complex world, much as we know that life does not exist. Enjoy it!

The lush and beautiful countryside of Ireland provides the setting for this engaging tale of an Irishman, raised in America, going back home to escape a past he'd just as soon forget. In `The Quiet Man,' director John Ford returns to his own roots, going on location to tell the story of Sean Thornton (John Wayne), a man troubled by an incident that changed his life, and now doing what he can to forget about it and just move on. And toward that end, Sean travels to the place he knows so well from the stories told him by his mother, to Innisfree, intending to buy the cottage in which he was born, White O'Morn, where he can make a fresh start and build a new life for himself. There's a problem, however; the land and the cottage is owned by the widow Sarah Tillane (Mildred Natwick), and borders the estate of one Red Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen), who not only fancies the widow herself, but wants to buy her land. Squire Danaher (as he's known) is not the only one Sean must deal with, though, as other matters arise upon his arrival in the small hamlet of his birth. And her name is Mary Kate (Maureen O'Hara)-- who just happens to be Squire Danaher's sister. But Danaher or no, it makes no difference to Sean, who as soon as he lays eyes on Mary Kate determines to make her his wife.

Sean soon learns that in Ireland, however, such things are pursued quite differently than in America. To win the hand of Mary Kate he must employ the services of Michaleen Flynn (Barry Fitzgerald) a kind of matchmaker/chaperone/marriage broker, who will help him secure the consent of Squire Danaher, without which the marriage cannot and will not take place. So Sean has no choice but to acquiesce to the local traditions and customs, and Michaleen forthwith commences the appropriate overtures. In the meantime, he awaits the decision of the widow Tillane as to the purchase of White O'Morn, which he is determined to have at any cost.

John Ford directed more than 140 motion pictures, going back to the days of silent films, and his favorite star, with whom he worked in at least a dozen of his feature films, was John Wayne. And when you think of the John Ford/John Wayne collaborations, it's the Western that instantly comes to mind: `Stagecoach,' `She Wore A Yellow Ribbon,' `Fort Apache,' `Rio Grande' or `The Searchers,' (to name a few). Yet, `The Quiet Man' is perhaps their most memorable effort, and remains a favorite among fans to this day. Ford (who received an Oscar for Best Director for it) presents the story on a very personal level, and in Sean and Mary Kate gives the audience characters to whom they can relate; and it's that personal connection he affords the viewer that may suggest the main reason behind this particular film's popularity. That, plus the fact that at the core of this story there is an honesty and genuine sincerity that rings so true-to-life. Ford also successfully captures the essence of all that is good and positive about Ireland, from the richness of all of his characters to the lavish cinematography that brings the country so vividly to life. It's quite simply a wonderful, uplifting film, impeccably crafted and delivered by Ford and his superb cast.

Too often, John Wayne's work gets a bad rap; no matter what role he takes on, you're liable to hear `John Wayne is always John Wayne, the only difference is the character's name.' And, as he proves with his portrayal of Sean Thornton, it's not only a false statement, it's so unfair to an actor who brought so much to so many, in his craft as well as in his personal life. The Oscar he finally received for 1969's `True Grit' was way overdue, especially when you consider his performances in such films as `The Searchers,' `Red River' and, of course, this one. Is he the best actor of all time? Of course not; but he is good at what he does, much better than he is usually given credit for. And he (and his films) can always-- always-- be counted on to provide good, solid entertainment. Together, he and Ford have provided some of the most memorable moments in the history of the movies, and his pairing with Maureen O'Hara was a stroke of genius. There's real chemistry between them, which enables them to play so well off of one another. They made five films together between 1950 (`Rio Grande') and 1971 (`Big Jake'), and there is always that spark of magic between them, but never better than in this film.

A gifted actor, Maureen O'Hara is also, without question, one of the most beautiful women ever to grace the silver screen. It's easy to understand how Sean Thornton can fall instantly in love with her when he first sees her walking through the fields of Innisfree. It's entirely believable. And when you get to know the woman behind the beauty-- who Mary Kate is down deep-- it's even more understandable. Perfectly cast, O'Hara, like Ford, returned to her roots to make this film (she was born in Milltown, Ireland, near Dublin), and apparently it agreed with her, because her performance is nothing less than natural and inspired. Mary Kate Danaher, in fact, is arguably one of her-- if not `the'-- most memorable roles of her career.

The supporting cast, topped by Fitzgerald (who is absolutely unforgettable as Michaleen) also includes Ward Bond (Father Lonergan), Francis Ford (Dan Tobin), Arthur Shields (Reverend Playfair) and Jack MacGowran (Feeney). A delightful and endearing motion picture, `The Quiet Man' is, of all of John Ford's achievements, one of his best. And Sean, Mary Kate, Michaleen and all the people of Innisfree are ones you'll remember and want to visit again. It's the magic of the movies. I rate this one 10/10.

One of the best directed by John Ford. An emotional, humorous look at an American, played by John Wayne, going back to his native Ireland and trying to fit in with the present culture. Sensational scenery and the grand music by Victor Young support this classic among classics. Breezy and rowdy. Too beautiful to turn your back on. A great illustration of romance. The interaction between Wayne and Maureen O'Hara is magical and hard to beat.

Other classic performances are turned in by Victor McLaglen, Ward Bond and Barry Fitzgerald.