Ward Bond, who played the village priest,, was one of the great supporting actors in Hollywood. You might remember him a Burt the cop in It's a Wonderful Life. His presence in a film practically guaranteed it an Oscar nomination.
A brides fortune (dowry) was very important in Ireland at that time. My aunt eloped and her husband came to my grandfather to ask for her fortune. My granddad was a horse dealer and he was shoeing one of hs horses at the time and my granddad handed him the bent horseshoe nail he had just pulled out of the horse's hoof and told him flat out that that was the only fortune he was going to get from him. My uncle wore that bent nail on his watch chain till the day he died...a very wealthy man. Hr always said it made his fortune. He and Aunt Minnie had 18 children.
That is a great story and just the type of behavior I heard of from about my grandfather and great-uncle. Grudges get held for a long time and very openly.
It's also worth noting that while there is certainly a very complicated and problematic history with dowries, by the time this story takes place they are mostly pragmatic. There was no allowance in the law for women to own property, so when her father (or brother, in this case) gives a dowry to her husband it is her inheritance. If it were given to her directly she'd have no recourse if someone stole it.
The reason everyone stares at Sean is mostly due to his size. "Red" Will Danaher is the town bully and built like a mountain. When Sean arrives, the townsfolk see him are impressed. Plus, in a town like Innisfree, visitors are rare. "Black" beer is either a Porter or a Stout...like Guinness. Re: the wedding photo. Back in the day, taking photographs was a much longer ordeal than today. Exposure time was long, the flash POWDER was a pain, so poses had to be held. Few people can hold a smile and sit motionless for very long. That's why most people looked so serious.
The movie is set in the 1920s...photography had moved past the point you're describing by then. I think the reason they weren't smiling is because they both had a "what the hell have I just done" look on their faces.
Also add in that strangers were also a problem because of spies. The Irish Rebellion is still very much a thing. Red asks the two gentleman if the IRA is now involved in his family troubles. And one replies if they were, they would of burned his house down by then. O'Flynn talks about being in the IRA as well.
@@Widdershins. Well it is also not far enough behind them that those times aren't "how you do pictures" yet, so not smiling was still very common in "Official Pictures of Events". But, yes, photography had progressed from minutes of exposure time to fractions of a second, but only well lit close to photos, in those days, daylight was a LOT less available indoors, so it was darker, and a photo could be ruined if you moved in a couple of seconds. We weren't at a level of sensitivity that we got in 1960s.
So glad you liked this movie. John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara were golden together. When Micheleen stated Sean was a millionaire he was stereotyping him because he was a "Yank", and many small town Europeans thought all Americans were rich. Mary Kate was a product of centuries of tradition. A wife's dowery was proof of her worth. Without it she felt second class. It was her rightful inheritance from her mother. We don't understand it, but it was different customs in a different place in a different time. Please look for more pairings of these two. They are magic together from 1950 to 1971 in 5 movies.
He may have been stereotyping, but it was obvious that Sean had some serious cash. When he offered 1,000 for the property, we knew he could have gone on forever.
John Ford, the director of this movie, is one the great names from the Hollywood era - he and John Wayne worked together a lot. He also had a stable of actors who worked with him, including Victor McLaglen (Denneher) and Ward Bond (the tall priest/narrator). Most of them had Irish backgrounds, and Ford had wanted to make this movie for simply ages. No one would back him until finally, one of the studio heads said that if Ford would make a particular western, he would finance this one as a loss. To the surprise of everyone, "The Quiet Man" became a hit. We're cheering the Protestant Bishop because, despite religious differences, everyone likes the Reverend Mr. Playfair. His congregation in this Catholic town is very small, and he might be transferred. No one wants that, and that's why Bond tells everyone to "Cheer like Protestants" for the Bishop. Incidentally: I'm a big fan of the 19th century writing sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte. Their father, Patrick, came from a very large, poor Irish family, and there's a story about his brother taking part in a huge fight that drew crowds from all over the area (the brother was defending a disabled child who had been laughed at). I always wondered if the original writer of "The Quiet Man" knew about this incident. I never liked John Wayne until I saw this movie. The dowery is actually a big deal: it was the only real financial independence a woman had once she was married (especially when you remember how much arrangement there used to be in getting married), and also formed a substantial part of how a married couple could get along economically. As the Reverend Playfair briefly says, there's a good reason for her to care so much. Now it's true that this marriage won't run into the sort of dangers that could happen. And one of the townspeople does answer her question of what kind of man she's married with "A better one, I think, than you know". But. Remember the atmosphere she's been living in all her life, the brother she has, and the reputation we hear about at the start of the movie. If you walk in her shoes for a bit, you can see why any claim to independence means a lot to her.
“Who just whips out an accordion?” Something I always marvel to think about is prior to a little over 100 years ago if you were listening to music someone would have to be playing live within 100 yards of you. This film is set in the 1920s so commercial record sales were still young and novel. Up to that time music had to be played by the locals/people in a community. The time of travelling troubadours too. I boggle thinking about music sales in the 1800s were measured in sheet music sales. There are famous names of artists in history whose sound and greatest achievements we will never know except by report… Now we gratefully have recordings of the great musicians and singers from the past century recorded for future generations to hear. Artists in their prime! It has also been in only the last 30 years that we have had access to any music we want on-demand. Before that you had to go out and buy music recordings to listened to them. A remarkably brief history of recorded music in the history of music when you think about it.
She apparently thought the pub should have had a jukebox or a dj. By the way, the accordion player/singer was Ken Curtis, who later became famous as Festus Hagen on Gunsmoke. Curtis was director John Ford's son-in-law, and was in many Ford's (and therefore John Wayne's) films.
As John Philip Sousa told Congress in 1906... "These talking machines are going to ruin the artistic development of music in this country. When I was a boy… in front of every house in the summer evenings, you would find young people together singing the songs of the day or old songs. Today you hear these infernal machines going night and day. We will not have a vocal cord left. The vocal cord will be eliminated by a process of evolution, as was the tail of man when he came from the ape."
I have loved this movie for over 40 years. Over the years I've owned multiple copies on VHS and DVDs, but even the special anniversary editions transfer quality sucked. For 50 years there was not a decent copy of this wonderful movie. They finally restored the movie about 10 years ago. I bought my first Blu-ray player just so I could finally see this movie the way it was meant to look. It always makes me want to visit Ireland.
This fight scene was the entire reason it's my favorite John Wayne movie. As an Irish ex-boxer I can attest to the mindset displayed in all these characters. Too fun!
Danaher (Victor McLaglen) , The priest(Ward Bond), Maureen O'Hara and the accordion player (ken Curtiss) were all in several John Wayne movies. McLaglen was a former heavyweight boxer and big enough to look like it might be a fair fight with John Wayne.
Our Irish mom made sure we watched this movie every St. Patrick's Day. She loved John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara as well. In addition to being a non Western film, it's a charming, folksy sort of feeling kind of movie. Definitely not the sort of film that was typical for him. Glad you liked it. I agree that it's more of a watch maybe once or twice a year or so. However, there's LOTS of dialogue my family and I use from this movie on a very regular basis. (With the Irish brogue, of course.) Peace!
On a motorbike tour round Ireland, swept round a corner and there it was The Quiet Man cottage. Pulled over the bike and got off and did my happy dance The others had no clue what I was on about and thought I'd lost it but I was happy😊. Once sat in John Wayne's seat at the Bafta cinema - I doubt he ever sat it in mind 😁😂
He only says Pilgrim in TMWSLV. If you want to see more of Maureen O’Hara in an “Irish” role: The Long Grey Line, I think you might like it. She is also very Good in one of my favorite movies (next to, To Kill A Mockingbird): How Green Was My Valley, which is about a Welsh mining family. I can not watch this film without crying. I am glad you enjoyed The Quiet Man and hope you can curl up on the sofa with your hubby on St. Patrick’s Day to watch it, with maybe a glass of stout, or some Bailey’s Irish Cream. Early Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!👒🍀🍀🍀💚
Nope, he says pilgrim in some others, like McClintock 'I haven't lost my temper in forty years, but pilgrim you caused a lot of trouble this morning, might have got somebody killed... and somebody oughta belt you in the mouth.'
The director of this movie wanted Ireland to be one of the stars that is why there are so many long scenes involving the scenery. He said the movie was a love letter to Ireland and it's traditions. If you shorten scenes you would lose that
Here's a bit of Quiet Man trivia: The young man singing and playing the accordion in the pub is played by Ken Curtis, who many years later, played Festus, the likable, grizzled deputy on the long-running TV show Gunsmoke. Curtis was also married, for a time, to Barbara Ford, daughter of director John Ford (who directed this film as well as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among many other classics).
There is so much Hollywood history in this movie. Victor McLaglen starred in silent movies (The Unholy Three with Lon Chaney is my favorite) and his son became a Director noted for his Westerns. The guy playing the accordion is Ken Curtis, who replaced Frank Sinatra in the Tommy Dorsey Band when Frank went solo. He is also in The Searchers with John Wayne and went on to play Festus on Gunsmoke. The Matchmaker was played by Barry Fitzgerald, who was a wonderful character actor and was the only person ever nominated for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in the same year for the same role. And the Protestant Minister was played by his real brother. Mildred Natwick (The Widow Trelaine) was also in The Court Jester with Danny Kaye and The Trouble with Harry Directed by Alfred Hitchcock and she worked into the late 1980's. Wow! What a great movie!
This is my absolute favorite movie. I'm glad to have seen you react to it. As to the length, the movie was originally much longer. But the studio wanted it to be 2 hours and no longer. John Ford cut as much as he could, but the movie was still long. So when he screened it for the execs, he had them in the palm of his hand, loving it. When the fight was about to begin, the projector cut off and the lights came up. He shrugged and said, "I couldn't figure out what else to cut, so I figured I'd just end it there." The studio relented and the movie came out at two hours and nine minutes. McClintock!, Chisum, El Dorado, The Sons of Katie Elder, Big Jake and Donavan's Reef, should be on your radar for John Wayn films next.
Ashleigh, John Wayne had a style that he easily adapted to whether it be serious westerns, comical westerns, romantic westerns, serious war movies, serious espionage movie or even serious police movies. He kept "Pilgrim" for westerns as you correctly guessed. His sons actually followed in his footsteps becoming actors although his son Patrick was the one who stayed with acting the longest. Maureen O'Hara actually starred in 5 movies with John and was pretty much one of his best friends in the industry. I remember seeing her tear up when interviewed about him after his death.
John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara both ended their movie careers on a high note. I do not want to give away any spoilers about the films but I will say O'Hara plays John Candy's mother in " Only the Lonely" I would be shocked if you did not love that film. Especially the performances of Candy and O'Hara. Again without giving to much away Wayne's last film is a western about the end of the old west and of of his career as a gunman. Thus the title " The Shootist" It is not a tear jerker per see , but I could see Ashleigh shedding a tear or two at the ending. Both movies are well worth a video review.
Cong village in County Mayo,Ireland is where the exterior shots of the pub were filmed,and the local scenery featured too.Quiet Man tourism is still a thing in the area!
I watch this every St. Patrick's Day since I was a kid. Such a great film that I'm glad people are watching around the holiday even though it has nothing to do with St. Pattys day. Utterly great film. It's a little bit of a bummer she's missing a ton of little nuances, meanings, and symbolisms. But hey, if this becomes her new St. Ptraicks Day tradition, she'll love it more and more with each viewing. I'm curious if Ashleigh will review Darby O'Gill and the Little People to continue the Holiday theme.
Maureen O'Hara is one of the main reasons I'm so fond of red heads. Absolutely love her. So much is about Irish pride which is more valuable than money and riches. That's one of the reasons why a bride's dowery is so important to her. The cross-country fight scene is one of the most classic fights in film. To see more of Wayne's and O'Hara's chemistry together, "McLintock" is a must see. John Wayne also played in many military movies. At one time he was such an icon of patriotism the leaders of the Soviet Union put a bounty on his head.
The movie was a rare, filmed in color, for this period. The background and scenery was the bonus. Thus, the scenic scenes and their length. Glad to see Chris got you to watch this. One of my top 10 ever.
Another movie with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara was "McLintock!". This was a western where they played a married couple who were estranged. One of my favorites. John Wayne's son Patrick, played a hired hand on his ranch who romanced Wayne and O'Hara's daughter, played by Stephanie Powers.
4:20 they are called strike anywhere matches, generally they are under the brand diamond but there are a few others out there, BUT, ***be sure to read the description*** , don't confuse the strike on the box with strike any where, they are wooden matches and come about 300 to a box, just google ***strike anywhere matches*** you 'll see. 9:10 the beer they are drinking is guiness, they roast the hops to the point that they are very dark, like coffee beans, i remember my first mouth full of guiness, it was like a mouth full of burnt toast.
So many tidbits from and in this movie! John Ford directed, his brother is Dan Tobin, he played the old man on his deathbed. John Wayne’s children are with Maureen O’Hara at the horse race. The name Mary-Kate comes from the two women who John Wayne loved, Mary Wayne, his wife, and Kate is for Katherine Hepburn. When Maureen slapped John she broke a bone in her hand. Maureen didn’t use a stunt double when she was dragged through the field, not only was she bruised from it, but the field was filled with manure. Another Wayne movie to watch is McLintock (1963), also Brannigan (1975).
I have so been waiting for you to watch this! It is one of my favorite movies. Glad you enjoyed it. It was so different for the time and one that went against John Wayne's tough guy persona. In many ways a true romantic comedy that holds up pretty damn well even today. And the quintessential redhead of all time - Maureen O'Hara was always a strong woman on and off the silver screen. John Wayne may have given her a rough time, but she fired right back - they were actually dear friends and Wayne said she was his favorite actor to work with.
If you want humor like this but also a bit of classic John Wayne western. Then you'll love Mclintock. Mclintock and The Quiet Man are my grandmother's favorites. She's a huge John Wayne fan. I've seen these two movies so much that I can just about recite them line for line.
There's some subtext here. In the Tain, part of the "Ulster Cycle" of Irish folklore, Connacht and Ulster go to war over a bull - because the queen of Connacht doesn't have one and her husband does. Therefore he's richer than she is, which in turn means that he's in charge of the marriage. Traditionally, a woman needed a dowry when she married in order to ensure that the marriage is an equal partnership. That's why Mary Kate's dowry is so important.
The lengthy scenes of people waking amongst the green hills of Ireland was because this was director John Ford's love-letter to his family's Irish roots. You also understandably missed why there are two 'holy men" in town, and the veiled references to "The Troubles (of the 20's)". In the 1920's & 30's there was massive upheaval in Ireland, including the separation of Ireland and Northern Ireland, leading to a civil war, plus the Catholic and Protestants were on separate sides in that conflict. This movie takes place right in the middle of those times.
Mary Kate's reaction during the rainstorm with Sean is because they are IN A CEMETERY, and she's kinda taking it as God saying "Behave yourself, girlie!".
Ashleigh, are you going to watch 'Darby O'Gill And The Little People' for St. Patrick's day? It's got a young Sean Connery who I predict could absolutely "get it." Other fun Irish movies: 'The Secret of Roan Innish' 'High Spirits' 'The Secret of Kells'
One of 14 film collaborations between John Ford and John Wayne, more are definitely worth checking out. The grab and kiss scene in the storm appeared the film E.T., The Extraterrestrial. For some reason, the early Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies come mind for watching though parts may not be considered appropriate for today's audience but they are true adventure. :)
I highly recommend The Searchers, starring John Wayne and lso directed by John Ford. It's one of the greatest movies ever of any genre. Stage Coach also is great with Wayne and Ford. Another great western not starring john wayne is Shane.
What à great movie ! I love it and watched it so many times… I already had seen Wayne/O’Hara in Rio Grande before. I particularly enjoyed Barry Fitzgerald’s character (Michaleen O’Flynn) so I wanted to see more movies starring him, that led me to watch Going My Way for which he was nominated both for main and supporting actor, which he won, that’s how, from one actor to an other, I watched more and more films and now I own over 2,000 DVDs 😁. Do you know he is the Anglican minister’s brother ? About the matches that you can light on everything, they were forbidden because they might get contact to one another and light inside the box, it was too dangerous especially in the planes. Salute from France 🇫🇷
Victor McLaughlin that played Denneher was a heavyweight champion boxer. And if you like Maureen O'Hara you should watch her first film the 1939 The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Charles Laughton. People talk about Heath Ledger as the Joker being outstandimg, Laughton as the Hunchback is a phenominal work of acting.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time! I sometimes assign it to couples for whom I'm doing per-marital counseling. You might try another John Wayne movie called "Donovan's Reef". It too is a comedy and he pairs up again with Lee Marvin who played the title role as Liberty Valance. It's not a western or an Irish theme but something completely different.
Donovan's Reef has always puzzled me because the it never reveals how the Doc's daughter puts the whole story together. Probably on the cutting room floor, never to be seen.
Maureen O'Hara played the mom in "Miracle On 34th Street". Great actress, did a lot of movies with John Wayne. The John Wayne I want you to watch more than any other is the one that put him on the map: "Stagecoach", one of the greatest and most archetypal westerns ever. (Both The Quiet Man and Stagecoach are directed by John Ford, the greatest of all western directors, and one of the great directors, period. "My Darling Clementine" is another fantastic western he directed, though John Wayne isn't in it.)
Another movie of hers I recommend is "Only the Lonely", an VERY under-rated film. She's older in that one and plays John Candy's mom!! It also stars Ally Sheedy!
Fun fact.....The very last scene where Maureen O'Hara whispers something into John Wayne's ear and he looks surprised. The director had told her what to say and she was initially reluctant......but eventually did. None of them ever confirmed just what it was she said.......but I'd bet it was naughty for 1952
I first watched this movie in my junior year of high school in class. Thereafter, I always watched it when it was on T.V. I came across the DVD 20 years and had to buy it. I watch it once a year, the same DVD. I've moved 4 different times in the last 20 years and this movie goes with me. The fight scene is one of my favorites in cinema.
An Irish Pub, that be "Stout Ale", like a Guinness Stout pint. This may be John Wayne's best performance, and likely his best movie. There is a whole backstory for this movie. Wayne won an Oscar for True Grit, but for story-telling, and performances up and down the cast, this is a top flight film. Set in Ireland, could be 30's-40's 50's. He and O'Hara did other movies and 'McClintock' is technically a western, but not a typical John Wayne western.
If you want to check out John Wayne in his prime, you need to see Stagecoach. It was the movie that made him a star after spending a decade appearing in low budget westerns and action films. It was also the first of 13 John Ford movies he starred in.
I have seen several John Wayne movies and the only ones I remember he said "pilgrim " were " McClintock " , which also had Maureen O'Hara in it , and " The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance " . If you want to see more westerns , then I would recommend " The Cowboys " , probably one of the best of John Wayne's later movies . Also one western to recommend is " Unforgiven " , with Clint Eastwood , Morgan Freeman , and Gene Hackman . You may want to watch it last , because it's kinda considered the end of the western genre and it goes against the typical Hollywood western where there were honorable good guys against bad guys . In " Unforgiven " there are really no good people with any redeeming qualities , showing a much grittier side of westerns , and that the violence depicted in them is really not glamorous .
I've said it before but one of the greatest westerns is "The Big Country".....Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Burl Ives, Chuck Conners.....awesome cast, story, and score
Yes, it's completely normal even now in Ireland for people to take their musical instruments to the pub. The black beer is Guinness, and it's not beer, it's stout :-)
Random fact of the day…. I use this movie specifically to connect John Wayne to Kevin Bacon when playing “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”. - John Wayne is in ‘The Quiet Man’ with Maureen O’Hara… - Maureen O’Hara is in ‘Only the Lonely’ with John Candy… - And John Candy is in ‘JFK’ with Kevin Bacon! Did it in three degrees of separation! (If you are confused…there was a game where just about any actor/actress could be connected to Kevin Bacon with six degrees, or less, of separation. And 99% of the time, it is possible! 🤣
My favorite John Wayne movie is North to Alaska. It's hilarious smart whitty and quick on the comedy. Lots of beer everywhere on the production. Hope u feel better soon AB.
This was a DELIGHTFUL reaction. Happy to see you're feeling a little better. PS: I believe the use of the word "pilgrim" by John Wayne is limited to "Man Who Shot Liberty Valance".
Shorten the courtship scenes? The fight scene? Every scene in this film contributes to the story. I hate to think what you would have to say about Gone With The Wind (3 hrs and 58 minutes)!
Great reaction. you really should go to Ireland, its a great place to visit. The town this movie was shot in actually has a statue of John Wayne carrying Maureen O'Hara (Cong, in County Mayo) ... it really is a wonderful little town.
I swear that half of Ashley motivation to do this channel is so she can fill out her hall pass list. "John Wayne in x film, wouldn't get it, but in the quiet man he could get it " 😁😁🤣
How did the horse know to stop at the bar? Because that horse always stops at that bar on it's route. It used to be that teamster managers would take their drivers horses out and if the horse stopped regular at a pub, well the usual driver of that route was a drunk.
I love these old movies and i always wath them when they are on TV, no matter what. I LOVE how people in english speaking countries talked back then. (I'm from germany so sorry if that's somehow inappropriate in the US nowadays." Btw: Don't get this the wrong way, but you look absolutely stunning! (Like a beautiful and super sweet mermaid ❤🔥)
Here's some more Irish move that you will like too watch Michael Colins The Guard My left foot The siege of jadotville Circle of friends Darby O' Gill and the little people The Commitments (And last but not least my favourite one from 1994) War Of The Buttons And there's so many more Irish moves too see.
