The Hills of Donegal

A shame, but quite a good ensemble cast of British stage actors just can't inject anything to alleviate the ennui created after about ten minutes of this rather unremarkable melodrama. Dinah Sheridan is a successful chanteuse who inherits a ramshackle estate in Ireland - which her husband John Bentley (who has quite a bit of debt) wants her to sell. She doesn't want to, and soon allies with local lad James Etherington; much to the chagrin of her increasingly broke/jealous husband. Tamara Desni and Irene Handl co-star with some fun ceilidh music and dancing but it's all just a bit too old hat with a suitable silly ending.

Dinah Sheridan stars in this bit of Irish whimsy.Supposedly playing an Irish woman,she lets her accent slip most of the time.It is a great surprise to see John Bentley as a villain,bearing in mind that he spent most of his career playing a detective and getting the girl in the last reel.Moore Mariott is his usual self in his fourth film of 1947.He made none the following year and 2 in 1949,the year of his death.Irene Handel appears in a small role before she became comedy character actress in the fifties.This looks to be a very cheap production,which is little surprise bearing in mind that this is a Butchers Film.The film is very disjointed due to the many musical interludes which include opera,gypsy music and an Irish jig.

Eileen Hannay (Dinah Sheridan) is the singing star of an Irish operatic society but gives up to marry Terry O'Keefe (John Bentley) who, we soon discover, is something of a ne'er-do-well. Unbeknown to Eileen, Terry had been involved with Carole Wells, another singer in the society who had loaned him some money. Peeved at him now marrying Eileen she tells him to pay up, take up again with her or suffer the consequences. Meanwhile Terry and Eileen return to her late parent's run down estate in Donegal to start married life but thanks to Terry's intolerance of the local Romany's (Eileen's mother was a gypsy), his fondness for drink and pressure from Carole, things start to fall apart.

I could best describe this film as a very modest drama-cum-musical with a dollop of schmaltz here and there, particularly in scenes featuring the boy Paddy. In other words the hackneyed plot has a bit of everything in it yet probably appealed to a 1940s audience. With an operatic society and gypsy encampment featured, there are excuses for musical interludes of an Irish flavour but they don't blend in well with the action, rather they appear to be there just to prolong the film.

This was John Bentley's first film and he went on to become a stalwart of many a British second feature films particularly in the 1950s and often on the side of the law so it's unusual to see him play the 'baddie'. Dinah Sheridan was already a veteran of some dozen films by this time and she gives a competent if unspectacular performance but she does look lovely. We do, thankfully get some light relief in the form of Moore Marriot who seems to be reprising his popular character Harbottle from the Will Hay films albeit with an Irish accent.

All in all, a film of its time with curiosity value only.

I loved this film. It's a good thing I didn't read these reviews before watching, but went by the quality of the cast. It had everything a melodrama should have and included wonderful singing to boot!

I agree with sharonjudithlee that this is a wonderful film, and it is unfortunate that it is virtually unknown. I loved the ethnic music, the charming Irish homes, and the scenery. I also found the plot unique since it revolves around a jilted woman who tries to blackmail her former lover after he has married someone else.

I was especially impressed by the acting of Brendan Clegg, a British child actor who reminds me so much of Tommy Rettig. Unfortunately, the biography section of imdb has no real information on him, except that he had roles in one other motion picture. I found the child's portrayal very innocent, clever, and endearing, and it is a shame his acting career did not continue as it should have.

I also was glad to see Wilfrid Brambell, who portrayed Paul McCartney's grandfather in "A Hard Day's Night."

I plan to watch the film again to fix key elements in my mind. I believe it truly should have become classic, and I hope it will be remastered to improve the clarity of the production and to gain a following among today's motion picture fans. I really love everything about it.