BBBBB
(out of 5)
If The Searchers is John Wayne’s best western, The Quiet Man is his best film outside the Oater genre. He plays a champion boxer who runs away from his high-profile life after a tragic accident in the ring, seeking shelter in his mother’s native Ireland and looking to buy the home she grew up in. Once there he immediately becomes a member of the community, falling in love with a local beauty (Maureen O’Hara) and eventually deciding to marry her. This is the first feature film ever to be shot in Ireland, and it is a breathtaking drama, full of marvelously charming little moments that manage to always feel so important. The Technicolour photography is stunning, the acting is fantastic (even the Duke manages a few lucid moments) and the characters indelible. Don’t go another second without seeing this.
USA, 1952
Directed by John Ford
Screenplay by Frank S. Nugent, based on the story by Maurice Walsh
Cinematography by Winton C. Hoch
Produced by Merian C. Cooper, John Ford
Music by Victor Young
Production Design by Frank Hotaling
Costume Design by Adele Palmer
Film Editing by Jack Murray
Film Festivals: Venice 1952
Cast Tags: Arthur Shields, Barry Fitzgerald, Charles B. Fitzsimons, Eileen Crowe, Eric Gorman, Francis Ford, Jack MacGowran, James O’Hara, John Wayne,Joseph O’Dea, Kevin Lawless, Maureen O’Hara, May Craig, Mildred Natwick,Paddy O’Donnell, Sean McClory, Victor McLaglen, Victor Young, Ward Bond
Academy Awards
Best Cinematography (Colour) (Winton C. Hoch, Archie Stout)
Best Directing (John Ford)
Nominations
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Victor McLaglen as “Red Will Danaher”)
Best Art Direction (Colour) (art direction: Frank Hotaling; set decoration: John McCarthy Jr., Charles Thompson)
Best Motion Picture (John Ford, Merian C. Cooper, producers)
Best Sound Recording (Republic Studio Sound Department, Daniel J. Bloomberg, sound director)
Best Writing (Screenplay) (Frank S. Nugent)
Golden Globe Award Nominations
Best Director (John Ford)
Best Original Score-Motion Picture (Victor Young)
National Board Of Review Award
Best Film
Writers Guild Award
Best Written American Comedy
Directors Guild Award
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (John Ford)
