THE QUIET MAN - A

Director John Ford’s love story stars John Wayne as an American boxer who returns to the Irish village where he was born and has to endure an epic fight in order to secure his bride.  A strong supporting cast and Oscar-winning cinematography make this movie a paean to Ireland.  This film is my most favorite John Ford movie and in my top twenty films of all time.  The Quiet Man (1952) won Ford a Best Director Oscar and also stars Maureen O’Hara, Ward Bond, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald.  The screenplay was written by Frank Nugent and is based upon the short story by Maurice Walsh.

Most notable films directed by John Ford:  Mary of Scotland (1936, starring Katharine Hepburn and Frederic March); Stagecoach (1939, starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devinem, John Carradine and a Best Supporting Actor performance by Thomas Mitchell); Drums Along the Mohawk (1939, starring Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda, Edna May Oliver); Young Mr. Lincoln (1939, starring Henry Fonda, Alice Brady and Marjorie Weaver); Grapes of Wrath (1940, starring Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell [in her Oscar-winning Best Supporting Actress role], John Carradine for which John Ford won the Best Director Academy Award); The Long Voyage Home (1940, starring John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell and Ian Hunter); How Green Was My Valley (1941, Starring Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp [in his Oscar-winning Best Supporting Actor role] and Roddy McDowall, winner of five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director); They Were Expendable (1945, Robert Montgomery, John Wayne); Fort Apache (1948, starring John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple also written by Frank Nugent); She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949, starring John Wayne, Joanne Dru and John Agar also written by Frank Nugent and winner of Best Cinematography Oscar); Rio Grande (1950, starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Ben Johnson); The Searchers (1956, starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood also written by Frank Nugent); The Last Hurrah (1958, starring Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Dianne Foster, also written by Frank Nugent); The Horse Solders (1959, starring John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers); The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962, starring James Stewart, John Wayne and Vera Miles); How the West Was Won (1962, “Civil War” Section, starring James Stewart, John Wayne, Gregory Peck among others and winner of three Academy Awards); Donovan’s Reef (1963, starring John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Elizabeth Allen, Jack Warden and Cesar Romero also written by Frank Nugent); and Cheyenne Autumn (1964, starring Richard Widmark, Caroll Baker, Karl Malden, Sal Mineo, Dolores del Rio and Ricardo Montalban).  While this does not include all of Ford’s pictures, they are the ones I feel are worth at least one viewing.

Writer Frank Nugent also wrote Mister Roberts (1955, starring Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell and Jack Lemmon in his Oscar-winning Best Supporting Actor performance).  John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy and an uncredited Joshua Logan directed the film.  Additional notable films with Maureen O’Hara include:  The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1935, starring Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Hara and Cedric Hardwicke); Miracle on 34^th Street (1947, starring Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Gene Lockhart and Natalie Wood); Against All Flags (1952, starring Errol Flynn, Maureen O’Hara and Anthony Quinn); The Parent Trap (1961, starring Hayley Mills, Maureen O’Hara and Brian Keith); Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962, starring James Stewart and Maureen O’Hara); McClintock! (1963, starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara and Patrick Wayne); The Rare Breed (1966, starring James Stewart, Maureen O’Hara and Brian Keith) and Big Jake (1971, starring John Wayne, Richard Boone and Maureen O’Hara).  Barry Fitzgerald as well as Ward Bond and several other cast members had many bit parts in John Ford films as well as numerous others; however, most famously Barry Fitzgerald appeared in:  Bringing Up Baby (1938, starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Charles Ruggles); The Dawn Patrol (1928, starring Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone and David Niven); The Sea Wolf (1941, starring Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino and John Garfield); And Then There Were None (1945, starring Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Louis Hayward among others); and The Story of Sea Biscuit (1947, starring Shirley Temple, Barry Fitzgerald and Lon McCallister).

A Favorite Quote:  “Put his name on the list.  Now cross it off!” (Barry Fitzgerald as Michaleen Oge Flynn)

Running Time:  129 Minutes