Despite McLaglen, and despite O'Hara's village reputation as quick tempered, Wayne falls for O'Hara upon first sight. Because it is a movie, O'Hara feels the same way. Lovable eccentric Barry Fitzgerald connives with Catholic priest Ward Bond to convince McLaglen to allow O'Hara to wed Wayne. McLaglen covets the wealth of widow Mildred Natwick, and Fitzgerald implies that Natwick will marry McLaglen if O'Hara first leaves his household.
But Natwick wants no relationship with boorish McLaglen. The latter realizes he has been tricked, and refuses to pay O'Hara's dowry. Although Wayne and O'Hara are legally married and share the same address, she refuses to have sex with Wayne until he collects the dowry from McLaglen. This means that Wayne will have to fight the ogre McLaglen, a problem for the now-pacifist Wayne.
How others will see it. A surprise box office hit, The Quiet Man was also a critical favorite. It won two Oscars, Best Director and Best Color Cinematography. It was nominated in five other categories, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay.
Today at imdb.com, the picturesque romantic comedy has a sizable 34K user votes and a high user rating of 7.7 out of 10. Those over 45 grade the film higher (8.1) than those under age 45 (7.4). Also, U.S. voters grade it higher than non-Americans (8.0 versus 7.4).
Most of the user reviews come from classic movie lovers who know a movie can't miss when so much talent is brought together. There are scattered haters who are offended by Wayne dragging O'Hara about, or by the stereotypical portrayal of Ireland.
How I felt about it. The Quiet Man has one of my favorite actors in it. No, not John Wayne, and not Barry Fitzgerald either, though I like both as actors. I am referring to Victor McLaglen, a great character actor of Hollywood's golden age. He won his Best Actor in a dramatic role (The Informer) but he was most enjoyable in comic roles, as seen here.
McLaglen, of course, is too old for his role. 34 years older than Maureen O'Hara, nobody can buy that he is her brother. Even John Wayne, at 45, is too old for the role of a man who recently walked away from a career as a fighter.
But no one could play an irascible mug like McLaglen, and so he was cast here. John Ford's decision was rewarded with a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for McLaglen, the sole acting nomination from the film.
But Ford, like many directors, was known for casting his favorite actors again and again. John Wayne appeared in 23 Ford-directed movies. McLaglen was in twelve Ford movies, Ward Bond in 23 (by my count). Francis Ford, the director's older brother and a moviestar in the silent era, was in 33 John Ford-directed films, though in small roles once the talkies took over.
I have John Ford down as the third-greatest director of all time, behind Akira Kurosawa and Alfred Hitchcock. Ford was a good storyteller, and he recognized talent. These seem to be the two biggest secrets of his success.
John Ford believed in The Quiet Man. He purchased the movie rights to the story two decades before the film was finally made. Even with John Wayne in the lead, he had trouble finding a producer, before turning to third-tier Republic Studios, known for "B" westerns. But with Ford in charge and a stellar cast in the key roles, Republic had the only Best Picture Academy Award nomination in the history of the studio.
Wayne was not known for romantic roles. The Quiet Man is the exception in his long career. It helps that O'Hara, another John Ford favorite, was in her thirties, and thus more suitable for the middle-aged Wayne than a central casting young redhead might be.
It does seem odd that O'Hara would still be single at that age, especially if that meant living with the ornery McLaglen and a house full of unromantic toadies. But it is a Hollywood movie, and boy meets girl is an eternal theme despite the unlikelihood of both being available.
I am dubious of the circa-1930 depiction of rural Ireland. Apparently, all of the buildings have stood for centuries, and in the taverns serving black beer, there is always a fellow with an accordion singing Irish ballads. Horse and carts are common. Nobody has a car, a phone, or electricity.
Rural Ireland is a nice place to film a movie. The backdrops, though, are often unconvincing. I blame Ford instead of Republic Pictures.
The film's ultimate message, that it is necessary to confront bullies in order to prove your manhood, bothers me a little. Bullies are generally best ignored. Then there is a scene where Wayne is pushing, dragging and even kicking O'Hara, to an approving Irish audience. One woman even gives Wayne a stick "to beat yer lovely wife with". Well, it is a distant land with ancient customs.