Here’s a St. Pat’s must-see
In 1951 director John Ford and actors John Wayne, Maureen
O’Hara, Victor McLaglen and Ward Bond journeyed to Ireland to make
the film
”
The Quiet Man.
”
Here’s a St. Pat’s must-see
In 1951 director John Ford and actors John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Victor McLaglen and Ward Bond journeyed to Ireland to make the film “The Quiet Man.”
They were called the John Ford Stock Company. They were a group of actors that John Ford trusted, loved and used repeatedly. It was comprised of John Wayne, Ward Bond, Harry Carey Jr., Victor McLaglen, Maureen O’Hara, Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda.
They were more than a film crew. They were a family. Ford’s nickname was The Old Man and Wayne called him Pappy. Ford was the curmudgeonly father figure. John Wayne was the heroic older brother; Ward Bond the loveable uncle and Maureen O’Hara the loving mother.
John Ford was born in 1894 as John Martin Feeney in Maine. He was the son of Irish immigrants. In 1914 he followed his older brother Francis, who was directing films, out to Hollywood where he worked as a stuntman and acted in small parts. In 1917 he directed his first film called “The Tornado.”
In the late 1920s Ford met a young USC student named Marion Morrison who was working at the movie studio during the summer. He took a liking to the young man who later became an actor named John Wayne. In 1939 he gave Wayne his first important starring role in 1939’s “Stagecoach.”
“The Quiet Man” was a Saturday Evening Post story written by Maurice Walsh and published in 1933. Ford read the story and was eager to make it into a film. He hired Frank S. Nugent to write a script. In 1944 he shook hands with both Wayne and O’Hara for their agreement to star in the film. Most of the studios didn’t want to produce the story thinking that it would be a flop.
By 1952 Wayne was one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Ford asked him to see if Republic Studios (where Wayne was under contract) would make the film. The notoriously cheap studio chief Herbert Yates said that they could make it, but first he wanted a western that would make money. Ford got Wayne, McLaglen and O’Hara together and they made the western “Rio Grande” in 32 days.
There were several hurdles that Ford had to overcome to make the movie. The studio wanted to film on a back lot; Ford wanted to film in Ireland. The studio wanted black and white and Ford wanted color. The studio wanted to title it: “The Fabulous Yankee” or “The Man Untamed” and Ford insisted on “The Quiet Man.” In the end Ford got what he wanted.
“The Quiet Man” is the story of boxer Sean Thornton (Wayne) who returns to his birthplace in Ireland. He meets a local girl Mary Kate Danaher (O’Hara) and falls in love. He has to put up with her bullying brother Red Will Danaher (McLaglen) who challenges him to a bare-knuckle brawl.
This was one of John Ford’s happiest productions. He could be cruel with actors, especially newcomers, but this movie was different. It was the movie that he had always dreamed of making. He had the film in his head shot by shot. He had been working on it for years. The only problem during production was the weather because it rained every day.
The crew took over the small village of Cong in County Mayo. Ford, who was an alcoholic, forbade alcohol on his set or any drinking during production. He had a hard time stopping Wayne and McLaglen from drinking Guinness beer with the locals and finally gave up.
“The Quiet Man” was Ford’s most romantic and sentimental film. It is full of Irish songs and scenes of the pastoral Irish countryside. There are beautiful scenes between Sean and Mary Kate like when he first spots her at a local church. Or when they go out on their first date and share a passionate kiss in a rainstorm.
John Wayne was Ford’s alter ego, everything that Ford wasn’t. Wayne was strong and masculine. Ford shaped Wayne into the man that he wanted to be.
According to reports the married Ford fell in love with Maureen O’Hara during filming. Everything that Sean (Wayne) does to Mary Kate (O’Hara) is what Ford wished he could be doing.
The film is full of great performances. It is one of Wayne’s best. Ward Bond is great and McLaglen is superb. Maureen O’Hara looks beautiful and gives a strong performance. It is one of those films like “Casablanca” where everything just clicks. It’s Ford’s masterpiece and a timeless classic.
The highlight of the film and what it is best remembered for is the fight between Thornton and Danaher. It’s a comical fight with the two knocking each other all over the Irish countryside.
The studio heads wanted the film to be under two hours and it ran nine minutes over. Ford was ordered to cut it down. He couldn’t think of where to edit it so he just cut out the big fight between Wayne and McLaglen. When he previewed it for the studio the screen went black right before the fight. Ford was ordered to put it back in and the film ran 129 minutes.
The movie was a huge success. It was nominated for seven academy awards including best picture, screenplay, and supporting actor for McLaglen. Ford won for best director and Winton C. Hoch and Archie Stout won for cinematography.
Victor McLaglen passed away first, from a heart attack in 1959. Ward Bond died a year and two days later after suffering a heart attack. John Wayne gave the eulogy at his funeral.
In 1964 Wayne developed lung cancer. He had his entire left lung, half of his right lung and four ribs removed in an operation. In 1970 he won an academy award for best actor in “True Grit,” a film directed by Henry Hathaway, not Ford.
The Old Man went in 1973 at the age of 79 after a long bout with stomach cancer. He spent his last days lying in bed smoking cigars and reading books. John Wayne was one of his pallbearers.
In 1978 Wayne had open-heart surgery. In 1979 his entire stomach was removed due to cancer. In 1979 he presented the Academy Award for best picture to “The Deer Hunter.” He wore a wetsuit underneath his tuxedo to bulk up his gaunt frame. He died a few months later on June 11 from stomach cancer. He was 72.
Maureen O’Hara will be 89 in August. Her last feature film was the 1991 John Candy comedy “Only The Lonely.” In 2004 she wrote her autobiography titled “‘Tis Herself.”
This St. Patrick’s Day when you are watching “The Quiet Man” whether it’s for the first time or the 20th, raise a glass to John Ford and his stock company. Their dedication and hard work gave us a beloved and classic movie.
