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The Quiet Man Reviews

No other John Ford movie provides me with as much pure pleasure -- and leaves a perpetual grin on my mug -- as the Irish-American director’s ode to his family’s ancestral country.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Sep 8, 2023

Ford early on captures the film's more dramatic moments before giving way to its lightly romantic humor.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 20, 2020

A lovely film. A bucolic romance with a western soul. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Sep 14, 2020

It may not be a Western, but it's one of director John Ford's finest collaborations with John Wayne.

Full Review | Original Score: 10/10 | Aug 23, 2020

The Quiet Man is John Ford's best picture since The Informer, but much, much funnier.

Full Review | Jul 24, 2019

Incredible chemistry and one of the most epic kisses in all of movies make it a fun watch for me

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | May 8, 2019

Credit must go to O'Hara, who is at her most magnetic in this film, and is central to what makes "The Quiet Man" so enjoyable and so memorable.

Full Review | Mar 15, 2019

As much an anthropological adventure as a romantic rhapsody.

Full Review | Dec 5, 2016

The film's saucy mix of comedy and melodrama is one of its greatest charms, although it can give you whiplash from time to time, especially if you're not used to Ford's brand of broad, back-slapping comedy

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 27, 2016

Highly endearing even as it shows its age... filled with gorgeous shots and without a single wasted frame.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 13, 2016

[The script] tends to resolve its problems by having the cast embrace, fraternity-brother fashion, and break out into full-throated ballads.

Full Review | Sep 5, 2012

John Ford certainly has a right to some Irish blarney

Full Review | Original Score: B | Oct 25, 2011

John Ford may be the first director to make me like John Wayne.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 15, 2011

Old-fashioned charmer for the family.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 28, 2010

Brilliantly photographed romantic comedy.

Full Review | Aug 8, 2008

This is an amusing The Taming of the Shrew type comedy handled with a professional softness of touch by all concerned.

Full Review | Mar 11, 2008

This is a robust romantic drama of a native-born's return to Ireland. Director John Ford took cast and cameras to Ireland to tell the story [by Maurice Walsh] against actual backgrounds.

Ideal Sunday afternoon fare.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Mar 11, 2008

John Ford's 1952 Oscar winner is a tribute to an Ireland that exists only in the imaginations of songwriters and poets like Ford.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 29, 2008

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The Quiet Man

A retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union. A retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union. A retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union.

• Frank S. Nugent
• Maurice Walsh
• Maureen O'Hara
• Barry Fitzgerald
• 313 User reviews
• 89 Critic reviews
• 85 Metascore
• 11 wins & 8 nominations total

• Sean Thornton

• Mary Kate Danaher

• Michaleen Oge Flynn

• Father Peter Lonergan

• Squire 'Red' Will Danaher

• The Widow Sarah Tillane

• Mrs. Elizabeth Playfair
• Fishwoman with Basket at Station

• Reverend Cyril Playfair
• Hugh Forbes
• (as CHARLES fitzSIMONS)

• Father Paul
• (as James Lilburn)

• (as Sean McGlory)

• Ignatius Feeney
• (as Jack McGowran)
• Molouney - Train Guard
• Costello - Engine Driver
• Train Fireman
• Railway Porter
• John Ford (uncredited)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia John Wayne was disappointed by the unconvincing studio sets that were used for exterior scenes.
• Goofs Before Sean enters Mary Kate's home to ask her brother's permission to court her, the flowers he's carrying are very sad looking. After he enters the house, they change into a nice, full, colorful bouquet.

Mary Kate Danaher : Could you use a little water in your whiskey?

Michaleen Flynn : When I drink whiskey, I drink whiskey; and when I drink water, I drink water.

• Connections Featured in Directed by John Ford (1971)
• Soundtracks The Wild Colonial Boy (uncredited) Traditional Adapted by Sean O'Casey and Dennis O'Casey Performed by John Wayne , Ken Curtis , and Francis Ford and others in the Pub Reprised a cappella by Wayne and Victor McLaglen

User reviews 313

• michaelRokeefe
• Mar 18, 2000
• How long is The Quiet Man? Powered by Alexa
• In what year is The Quiet Man set?
• Why would Maureen O'Hara's character tell John Wayne's that she would cook him supper after he violently dragged her against the ground for several miles and he burned her money?
• What is 'The Quiet Man' about?
• September 14, 1952 (United States)
• United States
• Irish Gaelic
• Miran covek
• Cong, County Mayo, Ireland (Inisfree)
• Argosy Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $1,750,000 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 9 minutes

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Hollywood Yesterday

Old Hollywood: Movies, Actresses, and Actors

The Quiet Man: One of the Most Beautiful & Enjoyable Movies Ever Made (Review)

April 14, 2019 By Joi

The Quiet Man with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara

Father Peter Lonergan, Narrator: “Well, then. Now. I’ll begin at the beginnin’. A fine soft day in the spring, it was, when the train pulled into Castletown, three hours late as usual, and himself got off. He didn’t have the look of an American tourist at all about him. Not a camera on him; what was worse, not even a fishin’ rod.”

And with those lines, one of the most special movies you’ll ever have the privilege of watching begins.

One of my absolute favorite actresses is Maureen O’Hara. Right up there with Lucille Ball, Rita Hayworth, and Audrey Hepburn.

Two of my favorite actors are John Wayne and Barry Fitzgerald.

How could one of my favorite movies NOT be The Quiet Man ?! I mean, some things are just destiny.

Maureen O’Hara in The Quiet Man

Although.. truth be told…  the writing, scenery, production, dialogue, direction – the EVERYTHING about The Quiet Man is so perfect, I have a feeling it would be one of my favorite movies even if these three exceptional stars weren’t in it.

But am I ever glad they are.

Director John Ford created an absolute MASTERPIECE with The Quiet Man – a masterpiece wherein every single thing is perfect. While the cast is as wonderful as a cast can possibly be, they’re darn near upstaged by the incredible scenery! In a word, Ireland is breathtaking . Absolutely breathtaking.

Everything about The Quiet Man is phenomenal – the music, the scenery, the acting, the cast, the wardrobe, the dialogue, the writing. When I first watched it, years ago, I remember thinking (several times throughout the movie), “Please don’t take a bad turn… I’m falling in love with you.. please don’t go bad!”

We’ve all had movies suddenly go from great to awful, halfway through or at the end. In fact, I’ve had THREE in the last month go from 10s to 3s within the last 30 minutes! When a movie goes south, it always feels like a blow, doesn’t it?

I was so thankful when The Quiet Man just kept getting better and better with each passing minute.

John Wayne plays Sean Thornton, an ex-boxer from America who had a horrifying experience in the ring and has moved to Ireland to reclaim a family homestead and escape his past. Right off the bat, in one of the most beautiful scenes in film history, Sean notices Mary Kate Danaher (perfectly portrayed by Maureen O’Hara). She’s  (obviously) a very beautiful and spirited woman who happens to be the sister of a hot-head named “Red” Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen). Both of the Danahers (to varying enjoyable degrees!) cause trouble for Sean.

Mary Kate Danaher: Could you use a little water in your whiskey? Michaleen Flynn: When I drink whiskey, I drink whiskey; and when I drink water, I drink water.

The relationship that develops between Sean and Mary Kate could not be more enjoyable – the chemistry between the two stars is palpable and the writing is superb. John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara were friends in real life and they worked magic when they were on the screen. This was the second of five movies they made together.

While the love story is a wonderful, huge part of the movie, it doesn’t strike me as purely a romantic movie. Will’s nastiness and the underlying plot of Sean trying to escape himself, to an extent, make for a compelling and fascinating movie.

When I stop and think about The Quiet Man, the thing that truly stands out is the characters. There are so many larger than life, lovable, and FUN characters in this film – they are a joy to watch. John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara lead the way, certainly, but The Quiet Man would not be the perfect movie that it is without Barry Fitzgerald as the wonderful Michaleen Oge Flynn or Ward Bond as Father Peter Lonergan.

The characters in this film stay with you long after you’ve seen the movie.

It’s one of those movies, too, that seems to be EVEN better each time you watch it. I think it’s because you notice new things each time – and everything is so stunningly wonderful about this film, noticing new things is a huge positive. You “catch” new lines of dialogue, too. I’ve seen the movie quite a few times and I often hear something one of the characters says and think, “I didn’t know he/she said that…’ The reason is there are so many wonderful lines, you’re often laughing at one while another is being said!

Fast Facts About The Quiet Man

• The Quiet Man is one of the few Hollywood films in which Gaelic (the native Irish language) is spoken…. and it is a beautiful, beautiful thing. It adds to the authenticity of the movie so much.
• Green, Ireland’s national color, can be seen in every scene of this beautiful movie.
• In the famous scene where Sean finds Mary Kate in his cottage, the wind blew her hair so wildly that she kept squinting.  Apparently John Ford screamed at her with a stream of profanity… something that didn’t go over well with Maureen O’Hara! Apparently she yelled back at him, “What would a bald-headed son of a bitch know about hair lashing across his eyeballs.”  Sigh. I love her so.
• Cast members Charles B. Fitzsimons (Hugh Forbes) and James O’Hara (Father Paul) were Maureen O’Hara’s younger brothers.
• John Wayne described why the role of Sean Thornton (considered one of his best) was difficult to portray: “For nine weeks I was just playing straight man to those wonderful characters, and that’s really hard.”
• Barry Fitzgerald, who plays the character of the Roman Catholic Michaleen Oge Flynn (not only one of the best characters in this movie, but one of the most enjoyable ones in any movie as far as I’m concerned!), and Arthur Shields, who played the Protestant vicar Cyril ‘Snuffy’ Playfair, were brothers in real life.
• I’ve read that when Maureen O’Hara passed away (2015),  she did so while listening to Victor Young’s score to The Quiet Man.
• In 1986, a New York police officer, was shot and paralyzed on the job. His young wife mentioned to reporters that The Quiet Man was her husband’s favorite movie and that he was a huge fan of Maureen O’Hara. After reading this, Maureen O’Hara flew to New York to meet the officer and lift his spirits! She became involved with the couple as he recovered, attended their baby’s christening, and even marched in a parade on his behalf. Phenomenal woman… phenomenal.
• The Quiet Man was Maureen O’Hara’s favorite of her movies.
• The scene where Sean and Mary Kate take a stroll through the countryside is so beautiful and so perfect, it leaves me speechless. Okay, so this is more an opinion than a “fast fact,” but.. well, there you have it.

There are many movies I would “make” people watch if I had the power. You know how it is when you love a movie so much you want everyone else to experience the joy for themselves. This is one of those movies I recommend to others… then frequently bug them by asking, “Have you watched The Quiet Man yet??”

I don’t mind being a pest when it comes to The Quiet Man. In fact, I insist upon it. Speaking of which, have you watched The Quiet Man yet?

John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in The Quiet Man

Olivia de Havilland

My main goal with Hollywood Yesterday is to keep the names, faces, and films of the stars that mean so much to me shining brightly. When I’m guilty of focusing more time on my personal favorites (such as Olivia de Havilland) than other stars, I hope you’ll forgive me. I am, by all indications, very human!

Also, please know that I try to keep my posts (except for book reviews) short and to the point, so you can enjoy the pictures, grab the information, and get back to your life. I don’t appreciate anything that’s overly wordy, so I don’t want to do that to others. For better or worse, I write as I talk, so if you ever feel like you’re reading the words of someone who’s a cross between Lucy Ricardo, Daisy Duck, and a Jerry Lewis character, that’s just because you are!

Wait. What did I just admit to?? 

Barbara Stanwyck Quotes

Another personal absolute favorite of mine is Barbara Stanwyck. Not only was she beautiful and outrageously talented, she was exceptionally bright, charismatic, and colorful. This growing collection of Barbara Stanwyck Quotes will give you an idea of just how colorful she was!

Old Hollywood Movies

There’s nothing quite like watching a movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood . Whether it’s a Musical, Western, Comedy, Romance, Film Noir, or Drama – if it’s on, I’m not too far away… with popcorn and raspberry tea in hand and a couple of cats nearby.

Below are a few Old Hollywood movie reviews I’ve done on the blog. There are, as you’d imagine, a lot more to come. – Joi (“Joy”)

We’re in the Money (Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell)

The Naked Spur (James Stewart, Janet Leigh)

The Prince and the Showgirl (Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier)

The White Sister (Helen Hayes, Clark Gable)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Newmar)

Rio Bravo (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan)

El Dorado (John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey)

Rio Grande (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara)

Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein (What is it With Me and These Movies??)

The Stooge (Jerry Lewis’ favorite Lewis and Martin Movie… for good reason.)

Critic’s Choice (Hilarious movie starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball)

To Please a Lady (Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck team up in a fast track movie)

Grand Hotel (Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore)

Hearts Divided (Marion Davies, Dick Powell)

The Quiet Man (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald)

More Old Hollywood Movie Reviews

Classic Hollywood Books & Biographies (Reviews)

I Know Where I’m Going: Katharine Hepburn

Dorothy Dandridge

Getting to Know the Gorgeous and Talented Dorothy Dandridge

My Lucy Obsession

Find out just how much I (truly) Love Lucy in the Lucille Ball category. I’m warning you, I call it an obsession for a very good reason…

Legalities…

Aside from pictures of books I review, I do not claim to have taken any of the pictures on this website, nor do I own the pictures – the ones of the stars or the affiliate (product) pictures.  Other, far more talented photographers than me have the credit for the beautiful photos you see. If you would like credit for a photograph or would like one removed, please e-mail me ([email protected]).

Movie posters and promotional photos are used in the belief that they qualify for the Fair Use law. Fair use is a doctrine in the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests of copyright holders with the public interest in the wider distribution and use of creative works by allowing as a defense to copyright infringement claims certain limited uses that might otherwise be considered infringement.

When you click through an affiliate (product, book, dvds..) link, I earn a small portion of the money you spend IF you purchase anything. This does not cost you any extra money, of course. This is how I am able to work from home and support my cats! – Joi (“Joy”)

Quiet Man, The (United States, 1952)

John Ford is widely regarded as the best director of Westerns, many of which featured his good friend and favorite actor, John Wayne, as the lead. During a career that spanned nearly six decades (from 1917 through 1966), Ford helmed more than 100 movies covering almost every genre, but he is still remembered primarily for the likes of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Rio Grande, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance , and The Searchers (a film that many critics believe represents his most lasting tribute to the motion picture industry). The Academy honored Ford with four Best Director Oscars, although, oddly enough, none were for Westerns. The films were 1935's The Informer , 1940's The Grapes of Wrath , 1941's How Green Was My Valley (which also won Best Picture, defeating Citizen Kane ), and one of the filmmaker's most beloved efforts, 1952's The Quiet Man .

From the beginning, Ford stated that The Quiet Man was the most personal film he ever made (it was also one of his favorites). The film's protagonist, Sean Thornton (played by John Wayne) is an Irish American who follows his roots back to his ancestral home. Ford, also of Irish extraction, could relate to Thornton's journey (at least in a metaphysical sense), and many have seen the character as a stand-in for the director, who spent fifteen years pursuing the motion picture version of Maurice Walsh's short story, "Green Rushes," with a singleminded determination. In fact, a filmmaker with less tenacity would have given up on the project long before it was finally greenlighted.

"Green Rushes" originally appeared in serial form during 1933 in "The Saturday Evening Post." Three years later, Ford optioned the material, but, despite his enthusiasm and growing reputation as a director (he had already won his first Oscar), no studio head wanted to risk any money on a movie that apparently lacked a built-in audience. By 1945, Ford had attached both John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara to the project as the lead actor and actress, but he still couldn't attract financing. Only after signing a three-picture deal with B-movie company Republic Pictures and developing the hit Rio Grande was Ford finally allowed to make The Quiet Man . With a modest budget of under $2 million, Ford (along with his cast and crew) headed to Ireland for six weeks of location shooting. Today, such trips are routine, but, 50 years ago, they were unusual. Nevertheless, Ford wanted the sense of authenticity that could only come from filming in the country where the picture was set.

The Quiet Man is a pleasant, unassuming romantic melodrama that concentrates more on characters, atmosphere, and moments than on overall plot. It's about the tempestuous romance between solid, steady Sean Thornton, a man with a secret in his past, and fiery Mary Kate Danaher (O'Hara), whose brother, Red Will (Victor McLaglen), opposes the match. Even once the two are married - a ceremony that occurs after numerous difficulties - the trying times aren't over. Will withholds Mary Kate's dowry, and she won't allow her new husband into her bed until he retrieves the money by any means necessary.

Some have referred to his work in The Quiet Man as John Wayne's greatest performance. And, while it's true that Wayne is more subdued and less overtly macho here than in many of his other films, he doesn't do a great deal to stretch his limited range. For me, the actor's finest effort came in his last film, The Shootist . He is appealing in The Quiet Man , and has an effective foil in Maureen O'Hara (there's no denying the chemistry between the two leads), but, despite bearing the moniker of Sean Thornton, John Wayne is essentially John Wayne. That's not a bad thing, because, although he was never a top thespian in the classic sense, he was a genuine superstar - one of the few actors who could arrest an audience's attention by simply walking into frame. Wayne had presence . It's no coincidence that his voice and mannerisms are among the most frequently mimicked of anyone who has ever graced the silver screen. Over the course of his career, which spanned five decades and more than 150 movies, Wayne was nominated for three Best Actor Oscars (1949's Sands of Iwo Jima , 1960's The Alamo , and 1969's True Grit ) and won one ( True Grit ).

Wayne's Thornton is the kind of man every guy wishes he could be and every woman wishes she could be with . He's strong, silent, patient, good-natured, and, above all, willing to forgive. The Quiet Man is an apropos title - through all the swirling turmoil, Thornton is rock-solid and reliable. When complications threaten his relationship with Mary Kate, he shrugs them off and moves on, refusing to accept defeat. And when Will's stubborn refusal to hand over the dowry endangers the happiness of his union, Thornton takes decisive action.

The Quiet Man is certainly not a flawless motion picture, but it contains at least three memorable scenes. The first, and simplest, is perhaps the most enduring image The Quiet Man has to offer. It comes after Sean and Mary Kate have fled their "chaperone", Michaleen Flynn (Barry Fitzgerald), and taken off on their own. They are caught in a sudden downpour and draw together for shelter, with Mary Kate's head resting against Sean's chest. The instance is intensely romantic, and both actors play it with great tenderness. No one could have accomplished more than Wayne did in that marvelous moment.

The second is the lengthy sequence when Sean finally tames his shrew. With the town in their wake, he half drags his wife over hills and across fields. The segment is wonderful because of the way Wayne and O'Hara play it. The intent, which is achieved, is to be comical, but not overly so. This is the natural end to their struggle. To this point, Mary Kate has had the upper hand. Now, Sean is finally asserting himself, but he is not being cruel - he is simply proving to his wife that he is her match. Respect is important, and this is how Sean earns it.

Finally, there's the big fight at the end between Will and Sean, which ends up spilling into (and out of) the local pub. While this could have been played as a big action sequence, Ford opts instead to keep the tone light, so there's never any sense that real damage is going to be done to either man. The eventual resolution, which leads to peace in Inisfree and harmony within the Thornton household, represents the perfect way to end the film.

In his effort to keep the tone from ever becoming too dark or lugubrious, Ford avoided some potentially thorny issues which could crop up in this sort of drama. Early drafts of The Quiet Man contained incidents related to "The Troubles," but these were excised before shooting began. The final draft contains nothing in the way of antipathy between Protestants and Catholics. Inisfree is a predominantly Catholic town, but the locals still like and appreciate the town's Anglican minister. These quaint feelings of companionability are far different from what we have come to expect from the fine directorial efforts of a modern filmmaker like Jim Sheridan.

While the romance in The Quiet Man is definitely spirited, it's mainly an attraction of looks and actions, not words. My preference has always been for love affairs that are as rich in verbiage as in other areas (that's why I love the films of Eric Rohmer). Conversation is indeed a powerful aphrodisiac, but it's sadly missing in The Quiet Man . Granted, we don't expect John Wayne to engage in many long, deeply meaningful dialogues with his leading ladies, but a little more verbal foreplay would have been rewarding. Sean and Mary Kate have traded many glances but few words the first time they kiss (on the stormy night when Sean enters his new house and finds Mary Kate cleaning it for him).

The Quiet Man is afflicted with a common failing of many lower-budget Hollywood efforts. While the on-location scenes look spectacular (especially since they were filmed in Technicolor), many of the "outside" close-ups were actually done on sets back in California - and they look it. This flaw is not unique to The Quiet Man , but it stands out here because of the contrast between the vibrancy of the shots from Ireland and the flatness of those done inside. Some may consider this nitpicking, but I challenge anyone to watch the movie today and not be aware of where each transition occurs - they're all pretty obvious.

While John Wayne is undeniably the central figure in the film (and likely the primary reason Ford was given the go-ahead to start production), much of The Quiet Man 's success can be attributed to the other members of the cast. Irish-born Maureen O'Hara is the perfect match for Wayne: she never allows him to steal a scene without a fight, and occasionally snatches one away from him on her own. O'Hara plays Mary Kate with the fire expected from a redhead, and her character's relationship with Sean is a clear case of opposites attracting. Over the course of her career, O'Hara would play Wayne's love interest in four features (three directed by Ford). The longevity of this screen relationship (13 years) emphasized the strength of their chemistry.

In addition to Wayne and O'Hara, Ford brought along a number of his "regulars" to The Quiet Man . No one appeared in more Ford films than veteran character actor Ward Bond, who here plays the pragmatic Father Peter Lonergan. Father Peter is a likable character because he makes the kind of pragmatic statements most of us wish all priests would utter. His down-to-earth approach contrasts greatly with the didactic stance taken by many members of the clergy (both on and off screen). Another of Ford's frequent collaborators was Victor McLaglen, who plays Red Will Danaher with the perfect injection of bluster. McLaglen, who won a Best Actor Oscar for his role in Ford's 1935 picture, The Informer , was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award for The Quiet Man . A third actor making a repeat appearance for Ford was Irish performer Barry Fitzgerald. An accomplished, Dublin-based thespian, Fitzgerald portrays Michaleen Flynn, the matchmaker who arranges and supervises the courtship of Sean and Mary Kate. Fitzgerald is primarily in The Quiet Man to add color and comic relief, and he fulfills both functions ably.

The Quiet Man is most interesting because it offers fans of the cinema an opportunity to see a different side of John Wayne. The majority of the Duke's films were serious (and occasionally downright somber) affairs. The Quiet Man showcases him as the leading man in an old fashioned romantic drama. Cast against type, Wayne pulls it off with aplomb, largely because his tremendous screen presence allows him to get away with gaffes that would sink other actors. Although not a true classic, The Quiet Man is worth more than a cursory glance, especially for those who like Wayne or would like to experience more of his work.

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The Quiet Man

By Richard Brody

John Ford’s bluff and sentimental comedy, from 1952, set in the Irish countryside, is as much an anthropological adventure as a romantic rhapsody. It stars John Wayne as Sean Thornton, a big-shouldered American boxer who leaves Pittsburgh for his native Innisfree, where he buys the “wee humble cottage” where he was born. There, he meets—in a cinematically ecstatic burst of love at first sight—a flame-haired shepherdess, Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O’Hara), whose pig-headed, bull-chested brother (Victor Mc­Laglen) opposes the union. Deeply enmeshed, beyond all expectation, in local customs—including the formalized rites of courtship—Sean finds that tradition reaches all the way into the conjugal bed, as the second half of the movie pivots on the consummation of the marriage and the violent battle for family honor on which it depends. Couched as a reminiscence by the village coachman and matchmaker (Barry Fitzgerald), this lyrical ballad is filled with lavish greenery and antic characters whose manner conceals deep conscience and an iron will. Though Sean deploys the New World’s freethinking ways to break down oppressive rules, the enveloping community offers the tormented pugilist an old-school measure of redemption. (Streaming on Paramount+, Prime Video, and other services.)

• Republic Pictures (I)

Summary A retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union.

Directed By : John Ford

Written By : Frank S. Nugent, Maurice Walsh, John Ford

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The Quiet Man Reviews

• 85   Metascore
• 2 hr 9 mins
• Drama, Comedy
• Watchlist Where to Watch

A strapping Irish-American boxer (John Wayne) returns to the old sod to forget a tragic event in his prizefighting past and falls in love with the feisty colleen, the sister of a "big, bellowing bully" who hates him for purchasing property he himself had his eye on.

Epic romantic comedy, but so thick on the blarney, that it helps to be Irish, at least to a degree. Otherwise, it may be hard to get a grasp on the turbulent traditions, fiesty sentimentality and burning coldness that exists in the Irish soul. That understood, cook a corned beef and invite the neighbors over. THE QUIET MAN is Ford's sentimental journey into the past of his ancestral Ireland, a journey enacted by Ford's onscreen alter ego, John Wayne. The story begins in the 1920s, when American Sean Thornton (Wayne), a quiet fellow but a former boxer with a brutal past, arrives in Innisfree. He is met by the elfin, capricious Michaeleen Flynn (Fitzgerald), the village cabman. Sean is off to a little cottage--his birthplace, White O'Mornin'--which he has bought from a local widow (Natwick). En route, he sees in the distance a beautiful, red-haired woman framed by trees, a soft wind rippling her skirts and hair. She seems a vision of a lost world, and Wayne asks Flynn, "Is that real?" (Quips the cabbie, "Only a mirage brought on by your terrible thirst!") Wayne is really asking about the scene itself, rather than than the lovely woman gracing it, and recalls his dead mother as she described Innisfree to him as a child. Arriving at his cottage, he tells Flynn, "I'm Sean Thornton and I was born in that little cottage. I'm home and home I'm going to stay." It's almost a declaration of war against the perils of the present in favor of the safety of the past. In buying his land, Sean has alienated the richest, toughest man in the area, Red Will Danaher (McLaglen), who is doubly peeved over his being a "dirty Yank". Though his land looks fertile, Sean turns up nothing but rocks when he tries to plow it for planting. He battles the present for the illusion of the past at every turn, and is even upbraided for his romanticism when he proudly shows off his cottage to a neighbor, who inspects its thatched roof and immaculately painted walls, remarking that "It looks the way all Irish cottages should, and seldom do. And only an American would think of painting it emerald green." One day, Sean enters his cottage to find his neighbor Mary Kate (O'Hara) cleaning up for him, a gesture suggesting more than communal fellowship. Just as she is about to flee, Sean attempts to kiss her. She gives him a stiff-armed slap, but, before running off, encourages him with a kiss of her own. Later, Sean meets Red Will, Mary Kate's brutish brother, in the local pub. When Sean extends his hand, the powerful Irishman squeezes it with all his might and the ex-boxer responds with his own pressure, until both are wincing in pain. Witnessing this first confrontation between the two giants is a group of locals--most of whom hate Red Will and side with Sean. Sean has already befriended Father Lonergan (Bond), though he goes out of his way to say nothing of his past. But the local Protestant clergyman (Shields) knows Sean's dark secret and tells him so privately. The minister, a onetime amateur boxer, has kept a scrapbook about boxers the world over and knows that "Trooper Thorn" retired after accidentally killing a man in the ring. Discredited, Sean moved with his prize money to Ireland to find the peace, happiness, and beauty of his boyhood. A memorable fight with Red Will, though, awaits the "quiet man". A love story that packs a fearsome punch, THE QUIET MAN is a passionate, full-blooded film. Ford constructs the picture carefully, and lavishes the tale with some of the most visually extraordinary scenes ever filmed. Some of these, such as the idealistic vision of O'Hara in the glen herding her sheep, are presented in muted, diffused tones that suggest an ethereal world--into which Wayne has barged. THE QUIET MAN is Ford's symbolic homecoming, in which he shapes his own longing and memories in the form of living, full-blooded characters, who are at the same time representative types. Wayne is Ford's youth; O'Hara his great love, as well as all the women of Ireland; McLaglen, the sentimental bully; Bond, the priest who would rather fish than pray, though fishing is also a form of prayer; Shields, the patient outsider; Natwick, the typical Irish widow; Fitzgerald, the local conscience and historian (he also delivers the film's best line after seeing the broken wedding bed: "Impetuous! Homeric!"). The wonderful performances by Ford's stock company in these roles help make THE QUIET MAN an utterly moving and fascinating portrait of rural life in Ireland.

The Quiet Man Review

14 Sep 1952

129 minutes

Quiet Man, The

John Ford had hoped to adapt Maurice Walsh's *Saturday Evening Post  *story as an independent production in 1937 before funding problems had frustrated his plans. So, he was determined to make an occasion of this 1951 shoot, after signing off the dispiriting war documentary, This Is Korea. Returning to the Connemara he had often visited as a boy, Ford indulged his nostalgic sense of homecoming by finding work for John Wayne's kids, Maureen O'Hara's siblings and Victor McLaglen's assistant director son, as well as his own offspring and brother, Francis, who was making the penultimate of his 29 appearances in Ford's films. Even brothers Barry Fitzgerald and Arthur Shields were reunited with old friends from the Abbey Theatre.

       But while many critics lauded this as a charming slice of Oirish whimsy,  The Quiet Man represented an inversion of the stark social message of  How Green Was My Valley. There was certainly plenty of the manly bravura familiar from the barrack-room sequences in Ford's Cavalry pictures, and the fight between Wayne and McLaglen that thundered through the village remained among his best-remembered set-pieces.

       Yet, there was a real feel for the savage simplicity of life in the impecunious county and, while the troubles of the 1920s were downplayed, the tensions between the different social and religious groupings still simmered beneath the surface of Winton Hoch and Archie Stout's Oscar-winning Technicolor imagery.

       Ford also exposed the hypocritical repression imposed by the Catholic Church. But he saved his special ire for Sean Thornton's barely suppressed brutishness that not only caused him to kill a man in the ring, but also inspired his chauvinist attitude towards Mary Kate. However, such boorishness was also intended to symbolise American insensitivity to local custom and practice, as it warmed to its self-appointed task of policing the world.

Faced with having to play stooge to a cast of natural born scene-stealers, Wayne always counted this display of emotional and cultural incivility among his toughest assignments. However, he was overlooked by the Academy, while Ford received his fourth and last Best Director award.

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Movies | 16 07 2017

The Quiet Man Review

Silence isn't always golden....

In something of a reversal of the usual result of games that use live-action cutscenes, Human Head’s ambitious attempt to tell a story from the perspective of a deaf protagonist gets a lot more right about its video half than its game half. Its cinematics are technically competent – even impressive – at conveying characters’ emotions without sound, but the story it’s telling is uninspired and the playable third-person combat sequences are overly simplistic and repetitive. At times, The Quiet Man feels like it was made for network television, and the interactive elements are more of an afterthought.

Screens - The Quiet Man

In a gaming landscape where sensory overload is everywhere, The Quiet Man offers something quite different and unexpected. The bold choice to mute out nearly all sound effectively adds mystery and tension. But Dane’s story is brief and not especially original, and the combat becomes repetitive very quickly, making this movie/game hybrid difficult to recommend as something you’d want to experience as a whole.

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Charming romantic comedy, has some very mild domestic violence (common in old movies)

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Produced and directed by John Ford, The Quiet Man movie was released in 1952. It is a romantic comedy-drama featuring John Wayne, Ward Bond, Maureen O’Hara and Barry Fitzgerald. Frank S Nugent, the movie’s writer, drew inspiration from a 1933 Saturday Evening Post by Maurice Walsh, an Irish author. The short story post had the same name as the film.

The Quiet Man is known for its engaging cinematography, which Winton C. Hoch facilitated. It won three awards, including the Academy Awards for the Best Cinematography – Color and Best Picture categories. Beyond the awards, it has been nominated for different categories, including the Golden Globes Award. In 1952, it was officially selected for the Venice Film Festival.

The Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the US National Film Registry for featuring cultural and historical themes.

Enduring Irish Themes

One of the factors that contributed to the movie’s widespread adoption was its captivating Irish landscapes and musical themes. The Quiet Man is an example of how content creators continue to draw inspiration from Ireland to appeal to large audiences. The love for such themes is evident in how, after watching the movie, viewers want to visit the places physically. That explains why many other content creators from different industries, including iGaming, use Irish themes.

In the casino industry, for instance, Irish themes have become popular in different casino products, especially online slots. From providing book of slots variations like Book of Irish to classics like Irish Frenzy with the country’s themes, casino platforms ensure they cater to varied preferences.

The musical score, composed by Victor Young, also was comprised of traditional Irish melodies like Rakes of Mallow. The song of Isle of Innisfree, written by Richard Farrelly, is the most dominant musical piece in the film and was chosen by Ford. Throughout the whole movie, the tune is played at least eleven times.

Film Production

After Ford read Maurice Walsh’s short story, he purchased it for $10. Republic Pictures later spent $2500 to acquire the story’s idea and another $3750 when the story was filmed. This would be one of the few movies Republic Pictures would have filmed in Technicolor.

Production began in 1951, with the majority of filming taking place on location in the picturesque village of Cong in County Mayo, Ireland. The decision to shoot on location was deliberated by director John Ford, who wanted to capture the authentic beauty of the Irish landscape. The lush green countryside, quaint cottages, and rolling hills were the perfect backdrop for the film’s storyline.

Source: Unsplash

John Wayne, known for his roles in Westerns, took on a different character in The Quiet Man. Unlike his usual tough and rugged on-screen persona, he portrayed Sean Thornton as a quiet and reserved man. Maureen O’Hara’s portrayal of Mary Kate Danaher added depth and strength to the female lead, making her a memorable character in the film.

In summary, The Quiet Man movie has received a multicultural reception thanks to its engaging photography and Irish themes. The two Academy Awards and the stellar performance of the cast show how the movie’s cinematography continues to appeal to many audiences across all generations.

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The Englishman is sad and lonely. He suffers from the indignity of growing too old for romance while not yet free of yearning. He is in love for one last time. He doesn't even fully understand it is love until he is about to lose it. He is a newspaper correspondent in Saigon, and she is a dance-hall girl 30 or 40 years younger. She loves him because he pays her to. This arrangement suits them both. He tells himself he is "helping" her. Well, he is, and she is helping him.

His name is Fowler, and he is played by Michael Caine in a performance that seems to descend perfectly formed. There is no artifice in it, no unneeded energy, no tricks, no effort. It is there. Her name is Phuong ( Do Hai Yen ), and like all beautiful women who reveal little of their true feelings, she makes it possible for him to project his own upon her. He loves her for what he can tell himself about her.

Between them steps Alden Pyle ( Brendan Fraser ), the quiet young American who has come to Vietnam, he believes, to save it. Eventually he also believes he will save Phuong. Young men like old ones find it easy to believe hired love is real, and so believe a girl like Phuong would prefer a young man to an old one, when all youth represents is more work.

Graham Greene's novel The Quiet American (1955) told the story of this triangle against the background of America's adventure in Vietnam in the early 1950s--when, he shows us, the CIA used pleasant, presentable agents like Pyle to pose as "aid workers" while arranging terrorist acts that would justify our intervention there.

The novel inspired a 1958 Hollywood version in which the director Joseph Mankiewicz turned the story on its head, making Fowler the bad guy and Pyle the hero. Did the CIA have a hand in funding that film? Stranger things have happened: The animated version of "Animal Farm" (1948) was paid for by a CIA front, and twisted Orwell's fable about totalitarianism both East and West into a simplistic anti-communist cartoon.

Now comes another version of "The Quiet American," this one directed by the Australian Phillip Noyce and truer to the Greene novel. It is a film with a political point of view, but often its characters lose sight of that, in their fascination with each other and with the girl. A question every viewer will have to answer at the end is whether a final death is the result of moral conviction, or romantic compulsion.

The film is narrated by Caine's character, in that conversational voice weary with wisdom; we are reminded of the tired cynicism of the opening narration in the great film of Greene's The Third Man . Pyle has "a face with no history, no problems," Fowler tells us; his own face is a map of both. "I'm just a reporter," he says. "I offer no point of view, I take no action, I don't get involved." Indeed, he has scarcely filed a story in the past year for his paper, the Times of London; he is too absorbed in Phuong, and opium.

The irony is that Pyle, who he actually likes at first, jars him into action and involvement. What he finally cannot abide is the younger man's cheerful certainty that he is absolutely right: "Saving the country and saving a woman would be the same thing to a man like that." As luck would have it, "The Quiet American" was planned for release in the autumn of 2001. It was shelved after 9/11, when Miramax president Harvey Weinstein decided, no doubt correctly, that the national mood was not ripe for a film pointing out that the United States is guilty of terrorist acts of its own. Caine appealed to Weinstein, who a year later allowed the film to be shown at the Toronto Film Festival, where it was so well received by the public and critics that Miramax opened it for Oscar consideration in December. Now it goes into national release, on what appears to be the eve of another dubious war.

It would be unfortunate if people went to the movie, or stayed away, because of its political beliefs. There is no longer much controversy about the CIA's hand in stirring the Vietnam pot, and the movie is not an expose but another of Greene's stories about a worn-down, morally exhausted man clinging to shreds of hope in a world whose cynicism has long since rendered him obsolete. Both men "love" Phuong, but for Pyle she is less crucial. Fowler, on the other hand, admits: "I know I'm not essential to Phuong, but if I were to lose her, for me that would be the beginning of death." What Phuong herself thinks is not the point with either man, since they are both convinced she wants them.

Fraser, who often stars as a walking cartoon (" Dudley Do-Right ," " George of the Jungle ") has shown in other pictures, like " Gods and Monsters ," that he is a gifted actor, and here he finds just the right balance between confidence and blindness: What he does is evil, but he is convinced it is good, and has a simple, sunny view that maddens an old hand like Fowler. The two characters work well together because there is an undercurrent of commonality: They are both floating in the last currents of colonialism, in which life in Saigon can be very good, unless you get killed.

Noyce made two great pictures close together, this one and " Rabbit-Proof Fence ," which I reviewed last December. He feels anger as he tells this story, but he conceals it, because the story as it stands is enough. Some viewers will not even intercept the political message. It was that way with Greene: The politics were in the very weave of the cloth, not worth talking about. Here, in a rare Western feature shot in Vietnam, with real locations and sets that look well-worn enough to be real, with wonderful performances, he suggests a world view more mature and knowing than the simplistic pieties that provide the public face of foreign policy.

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Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

The Quiet American (2003)

Rated R For Images Of Violence and Some Language

118 minutes

Michael Caine as Thomas Fowler

Brendan Fraser as Alden Pyle

Do Hai Yen as Phuong

Rade Sherbedgia as Inspector Vigot

Tzi Ma as Hinh

Robert Stanton as Joe Tunney

Holmes Osborne as Bill Granger

Quang Hai as General The

Ferdinand Hoang as Mr. Muoi

Directed by

• Phillip Noyce
• Christopher Hampton
• Robert Schenkkan

Based On The Novel by

• Graham Greene

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Review: ‘In the Land of Saints and Sinners,’ where Liam Neeson once again has his vengeance

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At this point, it’s hack to refer to Liam Neeson’s “very particular set of skills,” but there’s no denying that the actor has made his bread and butter parlaying just that during the past 15 years, playing variations on a theme in an array of B-movie thrillers. Neeson has enacted bloody revenge on a train, on a plane, in the snow, on a ranch and now, in his native land, with “In the Land of Saints and Sinners,” a thriller set in Ireland during the Troubles, directed by Robert Lorenz , Clint Eastwood’s longtime producer and the director of the 2021 Neeson film “The Marksman.”

We open in Belfast in 1974, just moments before a car bombing takes six lives, including those of several children. The perpetrators, a group of Irish Republican Army foot soldiers, beat a hasty retreat for a small village, Glencolmcille in County Donegal. It just so happens to be the same place where Finbar Murphy (Neeson) has been trying to retire from a secretive life as a hit man.

This unique geographic, historical and political milieu confers a certain intrigue to this otherwise familiar fare, but the story itself is pure Western, the classic genre explicitly referenced in the plaintive score by sibling composers Diego, Nora and Lionel Baldenweg, and in the seasoned narrative beats of the script by Mark Michael McNally and Terry Loane.

Finbar is the longtime gunfighter who works by a strict moral code, looking to finally hang up his spurs and domesticate himself. When a group of baddies invade his small town and rough up the vulnerable residents, he has to put his talents to use one last time in order to protect the homestead.

Colm Meaney co-stars as Finbar’s broker, Ciarán Hinds as the local Garda (basically a sheriff) unaware of his friend’s line of work, and Jack Gleeson of “Game of Thrones” is unrecognizable as a merry young hit man with a blackly Irish sense of humor. But the most terrifying person on screen is Kerry Condon , playing the steely IRA warrior Doireann McCann (possibly inspired by the notorious Dolours Price), the leader of the gang who has brought her cohort to Glencolmcille. When her loathsome brother Curtis (Desmond Eastwood) goes missing, Doireann emerges from hiding with vengeance in her heart.

Condon was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Martin McDonagh’s 2022 “The Banshees of Inisherin,” a film that took a glancing metaphorical approach to its Troubles themes. “In the Land of Saints and Sinners” is direct and obvious. This longtime national conflict comes home to roost in a small town, and while the hero and antagonist are far more similar than they think, sharing the same kind of fierce loyalty to their loved ones and personal beliefs, their goals put them at odds with each other. The political conflict is simultaneously simple but abstracted from the blood that soaks the streets of this small village.

There’s no profound political commentary in “In the Land of Saints and Sinners,” the setting providing the background and plot stakes. This is a true Western tale set among the rolling green hills of Ireland, the landscape captured beautifully by cinematographer Tom Stern. Condon is utterly captivating as a brutal villain, and no one plays a valiantly chagrined hero like Neeson, sorrowful and suffering. In the “Neeson skills” canon, “In the Land of Saints and Sinners” proves to be a gem, the performances elevating a enjoyably pulpy thriller.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

'In the Land of Saints and Sinners'

Rating: R, for violence and language throughout Running time: 1 hour, 46 minutes Playing: Now in wide release

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The Quiet Man

Call me a sentimentalist, but it’s one of my favourite short stories, evoking an Ireland that no longer is, but may be again:

https://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/walshm-quietman/walshm-quietman-00-h.html

The 1952 film version of The Quiet Man , with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, as is usual for Hollywood, takes great liberties with its source material, and is really a different story altogether. The original terse tale is more vivid in its depiction of married love, honour, courage, duty and, underneath it all, the Faith that held Ireland, and the world, together.

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Dev Patel has exited the James Bond rumour mill by showing us exactly the sort of action star he wants to be. He acts, writes, produces, and directs Monkey Man , a midnight thrill of a film – dark, violent, and sexy. It’s his directorial debut and, like many of the best first features, Monkey Man demonstrates a lifetime of cinephilia, offering a direct shout-out to recent hit John Wick , but tracing back, too, through the history of Indonesian, Korean, Indian, and Hong Kong action cinema (think The Raid , Oldboy , Koyla , and Enter the Dragon ).

It begins with a simple story: Patel plays Kid, a young man with no name living in a fictional Indian city, seeking revenge against the man who murdered his mother. So, he pummels and stabs his way to the guilty party, chief of police Rana Singh (Sikandar Kher). And after that, he pummels and stabs his way to that guy’s boss, a religious leader with political ambitions, Baba Shakti (Makarand Deshpande).

Brahim Chab’s impressive fight choreography evens out the blunt-force brutality with a dash of morbid humour – Kid does some very nasty work with a knife in his mouth, while his chivalric attitude towards women reaches its apex when he deploys a cast-off high-heeled shoe to viciously beat one of the bad guys – now that’s what we call feminist allyship! Meanwhile, cinematographer Sharone Meir lends the city an intimacy and enriches the fights with a new electricity. Monkey Man is a film that relishes the details: milk poured delicately into a teacup; the grooves carved deep into Kid’s scarred hands.

Patel, who co-wrote the screenplay with John Collee and Paul Angunawela, has thoughtfully considered his place within the genre. He has smartly (and correctly) recognised his type as the philosopher-poet called reluctantly to violence, an energy embodied by Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze before him . He’s maybe even learnt a little from how beautifully David Lowery framed him in 2021’s mediaeval epic The Green Knight , repeating that same approach here – his profile caught in the light, a little curl falling softly on his forehead. His threat isn’t brawn but pure nerve.

Monkey Man , too, is also firmly rooted in the question of faith – how it can both empower the individual and be wielded as a weapon by the institution. Kid was raised on his mother’s stories of Hanuman the Monkey God, whose divine punishment eventually endowed him with immense power.

At first, Kid carries these stories as a burden, choosing to wear a monkey mask while throwing fights in an underground ring for the shady Tiger (Shartlo Copley). But eventually, he finds allies in the marginalised trans and intersex community, legally recognised in India as a “third gender”, who are specifically targeted by Baba Shakti’s fictionalised Hindu nationalist party that also drives farmers out of their homes to seize their land under the pretext that they’re holy sites. Alpha (Vipin Sharma) – a priestess for the deity Ardhanarishvara (a half-male, half-female composite of the god Shiva, creator and destroyer, and his consort Parvati) – opens Kid’s eyes to the community that faith can foster, its stories shared through art, puppetry, and music.

Monkey Man , then, builds its gleeful genre play around a steely political heart. This made it of logical interest to producer Jordan Peele , who’s done the same in the horror space with Get Out , Us , and Nope . His company Monkeypaw Productions picked up the film, wrestling it away from a straight-to-streaming fate over at Netflix. It was a smart call. Monkey Man deserves to be a hit.

Dir: Dev Patel. Starring: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Sobhita Dhulipala, Sikandar Kher, Vipin Sharma, Ashwini Kalsekar. Cert 18, 121 minutes

‘Monkey Man’ is in cinemas from 5 April

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