The Movie

The Quiet Man (1952), starring John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara

The Quiet Man Movie

The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, is considered director, John Ford’s, greatest triumph. Although the script was initially dismissed by Hollywood studios as a silly Irish tale that would make no money, eventually Ford persuaded a ‘B’ rate studio, Republic Pictures, to fund The Quiet Man. Republic Pictures agreed on one condition: that the same cast and crew would make another movie – Rio Grande – in advance of making The Quiet Man to fund the anticipated losses that The Quiet Man would generate.

He's a nice, quiet, peace-loving man, come home to Ireland to forget his troubles. Sure, yes, yes, he's a millionare, you know, like all the Yanks. But he's eccentric - ooh, he is eccentric! Wait 'til I show ya... his bag to sleep in - a sleeping bag, he calls it! Here, let me show you how it operates. - Michaeleen Flynn

The Quiet Man tells the story of an Irish-American Prizefighter, who after killing an opponent in the ring, returns to Ireland in search of the quiet life. After buying back his ancestral home, he falls out with the local Squire and falls in love with the Squire’s sister, which leads to the longest fist fight in cinematic history – far from the quiet life he envisioned!

I have a fearful temper. You might as well know about it now instead of findin' out about it later. We Danahers are a fightin' people. - Mary Kate Danaher

In 1951 Ford’s dream of filming The Quiet Man – a movie about the Ireland he had heard so much about from his grandparents – came through, as his cast and crew touched down in Shannon Airport and made their way to Cong, in Co Mayo. Local newspaper headlines at the time reported that Hollywood had invaded the village of Cong. Little did the actors, film makers, studio bosses and locals realise that they were in the midst of shooting one of the best loved films of all time. A film that won two Oscars – one for Best Director and the other for Best Cinematography and a film that today still has a cult following, with visitors coming from all over the world to walk in the footsteps of John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry FitzGerald and Victor McLaughlin.

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