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Great movies revisited: The Quiet Man

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The Quiet Man is a classic flick starring the legend that is John Wayne and the stunning Maureen O’Hara.

Filmed in the beautiful village of Cong in Co. Mayo in 1952 it is a classic enjoyed by many a generation all over the world.

The plot follows the retired American boxer Sean Thornton’s (Wayne) journey back to the Irish village in which he was born, Innisfree.

It is here that Sean comes to find peace following a fatal blow to an opponent in the ring. He not only eventually comes to terms with this unfortunate incident through the help of the local minister but also finds love in Mary-Kate Danaher.

Mary-Kate is a fiery red head whom immediately grabs Thornton’s attention. At a time when women, particularly Irish women, were still second class citizens, Thornton clearly admires Mary-Kate’s ability to say exactly who she is and what she thinks.

For example, when she tells him that she is “no woman to be honked at and come-a-running!” which is one of my favourite lines in the entire film as it captures perfectly the essence of Mary-Kate’s firm self of sense.

There is however a clash of cultures and personality when it comes to Mary-Kate and Sean eventually courting and getting married; her brother the squire Will Danaher.

He is a middle-aged, traditional farmer, a pillar at the heart of the rural community (or so he likes to think).

Will immediately takes a dislike to Thornton, seeing him as a threat to his alpha-male status in the community and it takes a few sneaky tactics from Michaleen Oge Flynn, played by the hilarious Barry Fitzgerald, to get Danaher to support the union of his sister to the yank, Thornton.

The resulting realisation causes a feud over Mary-Kate’s dowry. Sean, coming from the more modern America, cannot understand her pride when it comes to the issue and believes that the money shouldn’t matter and that the couple should be able to be happily married without it.

Will Danaher’s refusal to hand over his sister’s wealth leads to one of the most infamous, and in my opinion hilarious, fight scenes in film history.

This scene in particular is reason enough to watch The Quiet Man if you ask me. The whole village becomes involved, creating some very memorable moments.

However, possibly my favourite moment in the entire film is when the two men enter the local pub in the middle of their fight to have a pint of Guinness. What else would they have had in an Irish pub in the heart of Co Mayo?

Ultimately, when Mary-Kate receives her fortune it is clear that she was not ‘all about the money’ but instead the pride of a woman who built up her life and saved and she wanted to show that…before she heads home with her head held high to make the dinner!

Overall, the film is a hilarious snapshot of rural Irish life in the early 1950s infused with a love story and a dab of hyperbole for a bit of comedy genius from director John Ford.

This truly is a film loved by all generations, and one which will be for many years to come.


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