The Quiet Woman

The Quiet Woman is a low key affair indeed, it starts off at a very casual pace, indeed the first half hour feels like it could have been a comedy, it's pleasant, but slow. At about halfway there is a change up, and the thriller element comes through, for me it then becomes a lot more interesting, we get to learn why the two women are there, it's good.

Harry Towb was very good as Jim, he added something that had lacked, a bit of grit. His appearance does change things up.

I just love Dora Bryan, she was a true unique talent, she adds a lift to this film.

It looks very nice, good location work, it's nicely filmed, and stands up well.

It's a good, if slow moving film, 6/10.

I have this film on DVD, it is a great film from the 1950's, great acting and a good story line makes this movie, and with most old movies they where film on location as is this one, not in a studio I think it is always good to get a feeling of natural surroundings, which was filmed in Sussex in one of my local pubs, which is called "The Star Inn" the pub is located in the small coastal village of Normans Bay, East Sussex and still retains a lot of the original features from the movie. The pub dates back to 1402. Dora Bryan was in the film, she sadly died back in 2014 in Hove, East Sussex which is not far from where this film was made. I think most of the cast has sadly departed us now.

The Quiet Woman is directed by John Gilling and Gilling writes the screenplay from a story by Ruth Adams. It stars Derek Bond, Jane Hylton, Dora Bryan, Michael Balfour, Dianne Foster and John Horsley. Music is by John Lanchbery and cinematography is by Monty Berman.

The Quiet Woman of the title is double meaning, it's the name of the Inn that Jane Foster (Hylton) has become the landlady of, while it also appertains to herself once the story takes its turn into thriller territory.

It's a decent enough "B" picture, where a smuggling discovery leads to romance, which leads to jealousy, which leads to something from the past surfacing to set up for the nifty last quarter. The short running time means the pic doesn't have time to bore, but the whole splendid time capsule of the era is enjoyable, and so too is the East Sussex waterside locations used on the production. 6/10

I have always craved for British crime dramas or thrillers from the late fifties and early sixties period. But this one was made in 1951, so in a way, we still are in the forties mode. Very very British in the style, without any influence from the American film industry, and maybe not always in the good way. This film is talkative, it lacks something which we will find several years later, especially from John Gilling, the future director of FLESH AND THE FIENDS, SHADOW OF THE CAT, FURY AT SMUGGLERS BAY, BANDIT OF ZHOBE, THE CHALLENGE...Actually, this thriller drama is interesting for those who like the British cinema of this period, for its atmosphere, settings. Yes, from this angle, point of view, it is charming. But nothing exceptional.

Having previously been married to a criminal, Jane Foster (Jane Hylton) takes over a coastal pub named 'The Quiet Woman' to start a new life with the help of her loyal and protective employee Elsie (Dora Bryan). She is indignant to discover that the previous owner had allowed an amiable local artist and part-time smuggler Duncan McLeod (Derek Bond) to use the pub for storing contraband goods but despite this, a romantic attachment develops between them. Helen (Dianne Foster), an old flame of McLeods, tricks her way into staying at the pub to pose for him but becomes jealous of Jane and taunts her about knowing her past and threatens to expose her. Pressure then mounts on McLeod when an old Naval colleague Inspector Bromley (John Horsley) arrives at the pub to stay for several weeks. He now is working as a customs officer. And then Jane's escaped convict husband turns up and demands her help.

This is a pretty typical British B picture of the period with flimsy plot and the minimum of props, much being made of outdoor filming and studio-bound back projection of seascapes in the latter stages that fail to convince the viewer the action is taking place in mid-English Channel. The best aspects of this film are the solid acting from a cast of well-known character actors/actresses of the period. In particular Dora Bryan gives a nice performance as Jane's trusted friend who is fiercely protective of her employer while keeping the romantic aspirations of McLeod's sidekick Lefty (Michael Balfour) at bay. The pleasant coastal photography gives the film a genuine seaside atmosphere.

If like me, you grew up with second feature films like this in the early 1950s, then you accept them as entertainment and enjoy the way things were done in those far more innocent times. If you criticise them, it should only be done against the criteria that prevailed then and not by today's standards. Given that, the only disappointment for me was the weak, improbable ending. I have the distinct impression that the scriptwriter suddenly decided he had better things to do than invent a plausible finale. A pity.