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About John Wayne. I suppose you could
guess my age by my favorite movies and actors. If I had to select my
single, very favorite movie (a difficult task) it would be THE QUIET MAN,
John Ford's story of an Irishman's return to his homeland, played by John
Wayne. The movie was filmed in a now vanished Irish countryside with a
mostly Irish cast with a wonderful score composed by Victor Young based on
favorite Irish tunes. I doubt that we'll see so many Celts together in one
movie ever again. Ford the director was born in Ireland, as were Wayne
(nee Marion Morrison) Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, most of the rest,
(but not Victor McLaglen).
Wayne had been a successful heavyweight fighter in America and had
accidentally killed another man in a fight. He vowed never to fight again.
But after returning home to Innisfree, he met and married the fiery
redhead O'Hara (what magic existed between Wayne and O'Hara)! and he
ultimately had to fight her nasty brother (Victor McLaglen) over her
dowry, which he didn't want. In real life, it's extremely doubtful that
the Duke could have whipped McLaglen. The latter had been once gone the
distance with Jack Johnson, considered by many to be the greatest
heavyweight champion of all time. But the movies have little to do with
reality, and of course, the Duke whipped and gentled his wife's brother
and they went home together at the end. I always liked happy endings. (Who
indulges in fantasy in order to be depressed)? McLaglen and Wayne also
made a duo that generated electricity a comical version) on the screen,
not only in The Quiet Man but also in Rio Grande and She Wore A Yellow
Ribbon. Then there was Barry Fitzgerald who played a chaperone in the
film. Fitzgerald captivated me as the feisty little priest in Bing
Crosby's great hit GOING MY WAY. But his role in The Quiet Man is just as
good, if not better. Without him, the movie wouldn't have been half as
good.
The acting, the scenery and the music all came together to make THE QUIET
MAN a bright and shining masterpiece the likes you never see today, where
the emphasis is on the dark and Freudian. As long as I have a DVD or VHS
player I will watch it again and again at decent intervals, of course).
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