SVS: “The Quiet Man”

I’ll begin at the beginnin’. A fine soft day in the spring, it was, when the train pulled into Castletown, three hours late as usual, and himself got off. He didn’t have the look of an American tourist at all about him. Not a camera on him; what was worse, not even a fishin’ rod.

In my charmingly contrarian way — a phrase I say mostly in the hopes that if I repeat it enough, it’ll become true and I’ll be charming instead of just contrary — I’ve long and frequently gone on the record as preferring “The Quiet Man” of Maurice Walsh to The Quiet Man of John Ford.

There are a couple of reasons for this: I’ve never been a huge Maureen O’Hara fan (a strike against Ford’s version) and the ending of the short story is both more plausible and more satisfying (a point in favor of Walsh’s version). Plus, I love the “Irish-y” way the characters speak in the book — “Give him time, colleen.” “Mother o’ my son, will you come home with me?” “Very well so, agrah.” — and  those sorts of dialects are not among the list of Wayne’s strengths. (And there’s just something a bit…uncomfortable about the relationships between the two of ’em that always keeps me at arm’s length from the leads. A product of its time? Surely. A deal-breaker? Not really. But still, a bit uncomfortable.)

There’s no need for us to quibble over such details, though. Just enjoy it. It’s about as much fun as one could want from a film of a Friday night — in large part because it utilizes so well the strength of its supporting characters (Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond, and Victor McLaglen are the stand-outs in a crowd of stand-outs); the beauty of its setting (Ireland’s pretty photogenic, apparently); and the charm of its music (obvious Irish folks songs are no less charming because of their obviousness).

It’s on NETFLIX INSTANT. And can be rented from YOUTUBE($), GOOGLE PLAY($), and AMAZON INSTANT($).  Or you can just buy it.

John Wayne hangs up his spurs to star as bachelor ex-boxer Sean Thornton in this endearing classic. Back in his native Ireland, the Duke’s thoughts turn to domestic tranquility after courting the lovely Mary Kate (Maureen O’Hara). But her brother (Victor McLaglen) may need to have some common sense knocked into him — literally — before the deal is done. The film won two Academy Awards, including Best Director (John Ford).

All I ask is that once you’re finished watching (and, no doubt, enjoying) Ford’s film, you find yourself a copy of Walsh’s story. You can love both. That’s what I do. (And then, go find a copy of Walsh’s “Son of Apple.” It’s not easy to find, but it’s wonderful.)

I knew your people, Sean. Your grandfather; he died in Australia, in a penal colony. And your father, he was a good man too.

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