The Quiet Man Overview:

The Quiet Man (1952) was a Comedy - Drama Film directed by John Ford and produced by John Ford and Merian C. Cooper.

The film was based on the short story of the same name written by Maurice Walsh published in Saturday Evening Post in Feb 11, 1933.

SYNOPSIS

One of Ford's greatest and most loved films is at once a rollicking, robust comedy, a passionate love story, and a misty-eyed ode to Ford's Irish homeland. Wayne, a boxer returned to his birthplace in the small village of Innisfree, stumbles on the local customs and the resentment and suspicions of the townspeople, particularly a despised bully played by McLaglen. He also loses his heart to McLaglen's beautiful sister (O'Hara, who was never lovelier). Their rivalry comes to an explosive, hilarious climax when O'Hara refuses to consider herself married until Wayne receives her dowry from MacLaglen. The secretive American finally unleashes his fists and earns his wife's love and respect. Ford's brother Francis, a silent-era actor and director, appears in a funny cameo as an old man who refuses to expire until he witnesses the battle royale. This is a rewarding look directly into Ford's heart.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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The Quiet Man was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2013.

Academy Awards 1952 --- Ceremony Number 25 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Supporting ActorVictor McLaglenNominated
Best Art DirectionArt Direction: Frank Hotaling; Set Decoration: John McCarthy, Jr., Charles ThompsonNominated
Best CinematographyWinton C. Hoch, Archie StoutWon
Best DirectorJohn FordWon
Best PictureJohn Ford and Merian C. Cooper, ProducersNominated
Best WritingFrank S. NugentNominated
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BlogHub Articles:

Review: The Quiet Man (1952)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 7, 2019 From 4 Star Films

When you think of the combination of John Ford and John Wayne, it’s only normal to conjure up the quintessential western pairing. It’s true there are so many films that we could pay a nod to like Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1961), etc. Thus,... Read full article


1001 Classic Movies: The Quiet Man

By Amanda Garrett on Aug 11, 2017 From Old Hollywood Films

The Quiet Man (1952) is one of the 1001 classic movies you should see. This romance set in Ireland stars Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne. Each week, I'm going to recommend a classic movie you should see (for the reasons behind the 1001 series and reviews of earlier films covered go here). Every Au... Read full article


Irish Film Studies: The Quiet Man

By Virginie Pronovost on Mar 30, 2017 From The Wonderful World of Cinema

This semester, I?m attending a course on Irish cinema. Each week, we are expected to write a blog-like journal about the film we watched in class and/or our class discussion about the film. I?ve decided to include those entries to my blog, so it would be more agreeable to read than a Word document. ... Read full article


THE QUIET MAN KISSES

By Christy Putnam on Feb 13, 2016 From Christy Putnam

A first kiss is always memorable. It always intimates something more, of a moment of passion that has yet to be realized. But there is always a hint and a spark the first moment that lovers meet. The tints and shades of the vibrant images in The Quiet Man also promise deep passion, and the ethere... Read full article


JOHN FORD: DREAMING THE QUIET MAN

By Dan Day Jr. on Apr 5, 2015 From The Hitless Wonder Movie Blog

A couple years ago Olive Films released a remastered version of John Ford's THE QUIET MAN on Blu-ray. Now the company has put out on home video a 92-minute documentary about that legendary film called JOHN FORD: DREAMING THE QUIET MAN. Many on the internet have wondered why Olive didn't include this... Read full article


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Quotes from

Michaleen Flynn: I have... I have come.
Mary Kate Danaher: Oh, I can see that. But from whose pub was it?
Michaleen Flynn: Pub? Pub? You've the face of an angel with the tongue of an adder. I have a good mind to go about me own business and tell Thon Shorton he's better off without ya!
Mary Kate Danaher: Wait a minute, what was that?
Michaleen Flynn: Well ye be listenin' then and not interrupting the shockelhorn - the matchmaker... I have come at the request of Thon Shorton...
Mary Kate Danaher: Sean Thornton.
Michaleen Flynn: Shut up... bachelor and party of the first part, to ask if you, uh - strictly informally, mind you - eh, Mary Kate Danaher, spinster, and party of the second part.
Mary Kate Danaher: Well. Go on. You were sayin'?
Michaleen Flynn: Actually... me mouth is like a dry crust and the sun is that hot on me pate.
Mary Kate Danaher: Will you be steppin' into the parlor? The house may belong to my brother, but what's in the parlor belongs to me.
Michaleen Flynn: I will then... and I hope there's a bottle there, whoever it belongs to...


Father Peter Lonergan, Narrator: Ah, yes... I knew your people, Sean. Your grandfather; he died in Australia, in a penal colony. And your father, he was a good man too.


Michaleen Flynn: Is this a courting or a donnybrook? Have the good manners not to hit the man until he's your husband and entitled to hit you back.


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Facts about

According to an interview in the Los Angeles Times on October 28, 2000, Maureen O'Hara recounted that she, John Ford and John Wayne made a handshake agreement in 1944 to do the film. When Ford pitched the idea to Hollywood producers, he was told that it was a "silly Irish story that won't make a penny." Wayne had a contract with Republic Pictures and approached studio chief Herbert J. Yates ("...a step down for John Ford", he said). He was told by Yates that the script was a silly Irish tale that would make no money. However, Yates would relent if Wayne, Ford and O'Hara together would make a western for Republic, a sure money-maker that would pay for the losses Republic expected to incur on this film. The picture made as a result of the agreement was Rio Grande.
While all other saddled horses are seen with English saddles (as would be expected in Ireland during that time period), Sean's (John Wayne's) horse is saddled with a US Army-issue McClellan cavalry saddle.
Whenever John Wayne lights up a cigarette, he takes exactly two puffs before pitching it away.
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Best Director Oscar 1952






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National Film Registry

The Quiet Man

Released 1952
Inducted 2013
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