The QUIET MAN is like a good marriage and a fine wine. It has aged well and with each passing year the true movie buff appreciates the beauty of this once-in-a-lifetime-film. John Ford created this film as a tribute to his Irish heritage and surrounded himself with the familiar "Ford Players" (Wayne,Maureen O'Hara,Ward Bond,Victor McLaglen,Arthur Shields, Mildred Natwick) plus a galaxy of Irish players to liven up the action.
Ford has Wayne cast as the brash(and somehow wealthy) Sean Thorton who is a bit confused with the Irish custom of courting. Sean has returned to the place of his birth because of a promise made to his mother years before and to hide a terrible secret which we learn of half-way through the movie. Sean spies the beautiful Kate and decides that she will be his bride. He also decides to purchase the humble cottage of his childhood from the widow who now owns it. He does win a bidding war with Will(McLaglen) who not only covets the land but the widow(Natwick). But Will exacts his revenge by refusing to allow Sean to court Will's sister, the beautiful Kate. Through a bit of Irish chicanery involving a horse race, a bonnet, a pact between the marraige broker(Barry Fitzgerald) and the parish priest(Bond), Sean is indeed able to court Kate and they eventually marry and all seems at peace until Will learns that the widow is not willing to marry him as he was led to believe through innuendo. Will brings the wedding reception to a halt by throwing Kate's dowry to the floor and knocking out Sean with one mighty blow. It's at this point we learn of Sean's reluctance to fight anyone because as a professional fighter he had killed a man in the ring; a secret only he and the local Protestant minister(Shields) share. The failure of Sean to fight for Kate's dowry makes her believe that she is married to a coward. On their wedding night she locks the door to their bedroom which Sean kicks open a roughly tosses Kate onto their conjugal bed. But Sean storms from the bedroom and sleeps the night in his sleeping bag. Moving ahead, Sean and Kate finally behave as man and wife one night but the next morning she leaves him because of her "shame". Retrieving Kate from a train waiting at the station he literally drags her "the whole way" back to Will's farm. There he confronts Will and demands the payment of Kate's dowry in full. When the tight-fisted Will refuses Sean throws Kate at Will's feet and announces, "The whole deal's off. It's your custom,not mine". Will grudgingly throws the money on the ground. Kate realizes Sean has stood up to Will and she opens the firebox of a steam engine and Sean deposits the money in the fire. All of this action is observed by most of the village's population who have been spoiling for a fight between the quiet American and the local bully. And what a fight ensues. From the farm into the village to the local pub with the villagers watching every blow. Bets are handled by the marraige broker with the odds about even. Even the parish priest and his young assistant are distant observers knowing full well they should be making an attempt to stop the fight. At the pub, Sean and Will decide to take a break from the fisticuffs and share a drink or two. Here the fight ends abruptly. The fact of who won the fight is not important but Ford makes it clear that these two mountains of men have fought and gained respect for the other. Will and Sean return to Sean's cottage with plenty of Irish cheer in their bellies and are greeted by the "woman of the house" who is relieved that her husband and brother have resolved their differences. The cast is introduced at the closing of the movie as Will and the widow ride off in a courting cart driven by the marraige broker with the entire village cheering them on. THE QUIET MAN is a movie that mere words fail to do justice. The music(Victor Young), the Technicolor photography and second unit direction(Archie Stout and Winton Hoch),the perfect supporting cast, the dialogue and the feel of this movie are of perfection with the director and stars reaching heights rare in a Republic Studio production. Its been nearly 47 years since I viewed this movie for the first time and it remains(as with many movie buffs) my favorite film experience.
Ford has Wayne cast as the brash(and somehow wealthy) Sean Thorton who is a bit confused with the Irish custom of courting. Sean has returned to the place of his birth because of a promise made to his mother years before and to hide a terrible secret which we learn of half-way through the movie. Sean spies the beautiful Kate and decides that she will be his bride. He also decides to purchase the humble cottage of his childhood from the widow who now owns it. He does win a bidding war with Will(McLaglen) who not only covets the land but the widow(Natwick). But Will exacts his revenge by refusing to allow Sean to court Will's sister, the beautiful Kate. Through a bit of Irish chicanery involving a horse race, a bonnet, a pact between the marraige broker(Barry Fitzgerald) and the parish priest(Bond), Sean is indeed able to court Kate and they eventually marry and all seems at peace until Will learns that the widow is not willing to marry him as he was led to believe through innuendo. Will brings the wedding reception to a halt by throwing Kate's dowry to the floor and knocking out Sean with one mighty blow. It's at this point we learn of Sean's reluctance to fight anyone because as a professional fighter he had killed a man in the ring; a secret only he and the local Protestant minister(Shields) share. The failure of Sean to fight for Kate's dowry makes her believe that she is married to a coward. On their wedding night she locks the door to their bedroom which Sean kicks open a roughly tosses Kate onto their conjugal bed. But Sean storms from the bedroom and sleeps the night in his sleeping bag. Moving ahead, Sean and Kate finally behave as man and wife one night but the next morning she leaves him because of her "shame". Retrieving Kate from a train waiting at the station he literally drags her "the whole way" back to Will's farm. There he confronts Will and demands the payment of Kate's dowry in full. When the tight-fisted Will refuses Sean throws Kate at Will's feet and announces, "The whole deal's off. It's your custom,not mine". Will grudgingly throws the money on the ground. Kate realizes Sean has stood up to Will and she opens the firebox of a steam engine and Sean deposits the money in the fire. All of this action is observed by most of the village's population who have been spoiling for a fight between the quiet American and the local bully. And what a fight ensues. From the farm into the village to the local pub with the villagers watching every blow. Bets are handled by the marraige broker with the odds about even. Even the parish priest and his young assistant are distant observers knowing full well they should be making an attempt to stop the fight. At the pub, Sean and Will decide to take a break from the fisticuffs and share a drink or two. Here the fight ends abruptly. The fact of who won the fight is not important but Ford makes it clear that these two mountains of men have fought and gained respect for the other. Will and Sean return to Sean's cottage with plenty of Irish cheer in their bellies and are greeted by the "woman of the house" who is relieved that her husband and brother have resolved their differences. The cast is introduced at the closing of the movie as Will and the widow ride off in a courting cart driven by the marraige broker with the entire village cheering them on. THE QUIET MAN is a movie that mere words fail to do justice. The music(Victor Young), the Technicolor photography and second unit direction(Archie Stout and Winton Hoch),the perfect supporting cast, the dialogue and the feel of this movie are of perfection with the director and stars reaching heights rare in a Republic Studio production. Its been nearly 47 years since I viewed this movie for the first time and it remains(as with many movie buffs) my favorite film experience.