El soñador rebelde

Stage Door Theatre, San Francisco; May 19, 1965. An East Side arthouse in a West Coast town; the perfect venue for the pictorial beauty and distinctly Irish attitude of this largely forgotten film. Superb perf by Rod Taylor, an ideal choice for the title role, in an always interesting vision of the early life and career of Irish playwright Sean O'Casey, from his autobiography. Dublin in the 1920s, with all the period feel and detail John Ford can muster. He fell ill and was replaced by Jack Cardiff, who carried on seamlessly. Ted Scaife photographed it brilliantly, in gorgeous Color, on actual locations. A splendid cast brought the days of O'Casey and the Troubles to vibrant and bitter life. Rod Taylor's best perf in many ways, though he did so many good movies and gave so many fine perfs during his heyday, it's hard for me to choose just one. Maggie Smith is marvelous as O'Casey's lost love: "I'm a small simple girl. I need a small simple life, not your terrible dreams and your anger." Smart girl, but two hearts are broken as Sean boards the boat for parts unknown. Julie Christie's a revelation as Daisy, one of three stunningly good perfs she gave in her golden year. Michael Redgrave's perfect as Yeats; and Flora Robson gets a late career lift as O'Casey's ma. The entire production takes the viewer back in time, to the setting of this exceptionally good and unfairly overlooked film.

I was most amused to see the credits start presenting a John Ford film and the credits ending with "directed by Jack Cardiff."

I believe John Ford was responsible for a few scenes in the film, including the scene where Rod Taylor (Sean O'Casey/Cassidy) enters the room where his mother (Dame Flora Robson) lies dead. This sequence is extraordinary--described and narrated by Taylor's monologue and actions. This does not stand up to the quality of the rest of the film, which is below average. Now Cardiff is a good cinematographer. He has to deal with a great cast assembled by Ford, who individually perform very well, and are captured well by Cardiff's visual eye but lack the vision of a great director to string the pearls together into a great necklace. The film's ending is amusing--a poor man turned rich man handing a crown to a vagrant who appreciates the worth of the money. What had the ending to do with what preceded it? If anything, the final scene is ambiguous and one begins to wonder whether the director was making a hero of Sean O'Casey or was he chastising him as are the film's oblique comments on Yeats living in sheltered house, policed by the British. The poor man turned into a rich and famous playwright is presented to us in fits and starts. The film did have a good intention but it lapses into mediocrity. Only two characters develop well--the mother (Robson) and Nora (Maggie Smith).

Julie Christie is mesmerising in any film but her character is never developed. Maggie Smith has charmed audiences over the years but this film is definitely one of her finest. Dames Robson and Evans are daunting thespians. Add to them Michael Redgrave. All great actors--including Aussie Rod Taylor. The film does not end with a bang but with a whimper.

Two scenes, but one of them is the best of the whole movie:the mother's death.The camera only shows the hero when he enters the fateful room;we see the tragedy on his face longer than usual before the camera reaches the deathbed.There's a similar scene in JF 's "three godfathers" when the outlaws meet the dying mother in her wagon.The second scene is the fight in the pub which recalls "the quiet man" .

As for the lead,Ford wanted Sean Connery but he was too busy playing OO7.The female parts are strong,featuring Flora Robson,Maggie Smith and Julie Christie ,but the latter only appears for a few minutes.A lot of colorful characters ,from the stingy heartless undertakers to the "keep cool boy" grocer,from the old lady mixing with the riffraff by welcoming the playwright's committed dramas to the obscure librarian ,give the movie substance.

These two scenes and "Seven women" two years later were John Ford's swansong.

Stage Door Theatre, San Francisco; May 19, 1965. Perfect venue for such things; an East Side art house in a West Coast town. I truly enjoyed every minute of this movie that night, and I still love it today. Rod Taylor was the ideal choice for the lead role in this always interesting vision of early life and career of Irish playwright Sean O'Casey, from his autobiog.

Dublin in the 1920s, with all the period feel and detail John Ford and Jack Cardiff could muster, beautifully photographed in Color and on location by Ted Scaife.

A splendid cast brings the days of O'Casey and the Troubles to vibrant and bitter life. Taylor's best work in many ways, though he did so many good movies and gave so many good pefs in his heyday, it's hard to pick just one.

Maggie Smith is marvelous as Cassidy's lost love: "I'm a small simple girl. I need a small simple life, not your terrible dreams and your anger." Smart girl, but two hearts are broken as Cassidy boards the boat for parts unknown.

Julie Christie's a revelation as Daisy, one of three stunningly good perfs she delivered in her Oscar winning golden year. Michael Redgrave is just right as Yeats; and Flora Robson gets a late career lift as Cassidy's Ma.

The entire production takes the viewer back in time to the turbulent setting of O'Casey's youth, in an exceptionally good yet unfairly overlooked film.

Interesting biopic of O'Casey - named John Cassidy here - based on the pre-exile, Irish part of his life. The cast is very high-powered and the cameos by Michael Redrave (as W.B.Yeats) and Edith Evans (as Lady Gregory) are superb - as is a young Maggie Smith as O'Casey's girlfriend. Julie Christie looks great, but doesn't have much to do. Rod Taylor is surprisingly good in the main role, but I feel it suffers a little from the change of director, and is ultimately unsatisfying, rather rushing towards its conclusion. It could have been a great movie, but the pacing is off. For me, the 60s Dublin locations are the real stars.