The Quiet Man

THE QUIET MAN, released in 1952, starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Victor McLaglen, Barry Fitzgerald and Ward Bond and directed by John Ford is a movie I get a kick out of, even though I am not a real John Ford fan.What I like most in THE QUIET MAN, which is set and was filmed mostly in Ireland, are Barry Fitzgerald as Michaleen (Fitzgerald looks like a leprechaun in this movie), Victor MacLaglen, the scene at the beginning when Sean Thornton (John Wayne)--or "Thon Shornton", as Michaleen would call him when drunk--arrives in Castletown and just wants directions to Innisfree but finds that several well-meaning Irishmen who've evidently kissed the Blarney Stone sometime in their lives only take up his time with gab and never get around to answering his questions, and especially the scene later in the film in which we see an old man on his “death bed”, surrounded by loved ones, one of whom is reading to the old man what is probably one of his favorite Bible stories.That scene is my favorite "sense-of-life" moment in a movie. The old man may only think he's dying, and has possibly been on his “death bed” many times before. When he hears a great commotion outside, he knows instantly what it's all about: there's going to be a fight! All the town is placing bets on it, and the old man is suddenly much more interested in this big fight than in lying in bed dying. So, evidently thinking: “Forget this!”, he—miraculously!—jumps out of bed and escapes the house, his family trying unsuccessfully to restrain him. Such a moment in a story sends me the message: "Life is not about suffering and sorrow; life is to be enjoyed, and we are on this earth to be happy."In regard to director John Ford in general, I consider him an expert talent, but I'm not a great lover of his less comedic, more serious films. He tells stories, and tells them well, but they are more saga-like than having plots. I don't see many purposeful characters who are faced with crucial moral conflicts; the agonizing moral questions are already answered. Everything is about concretes versus abstract ideas and there seems to be more concern about groups of people—tribes, races, classes, families, societies or political parties—rather than individuals. THE SEARCHERS is about the search for a white girl kidnapped by Comanches. STAGECOACH involves people riding a stagecoach across perilous territory, and its story seems to present a microcosm of society. THE GRAPES OF WRATH, based on the John Steinbeck novel, is about a tenant farming family in search of a better place to live and work during the Great Depression. HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY chronicles life in a Welsh coal-mining town, focusing on a mining family and their struggles with economic and political change. THE INFORMER is a morality tale about a cowardly Irish Republican Army member-turned-informer evading his comrades before they can kill him. These and other of Ford’s films are excellent, but I do not enjoy them like I do THE QUIET MAN.Often times Ford tries to present a view of what a “real man” should be. His positive male characters normally convey courage and heroism, but, with certain exceptions—such as Ethan Edwards (Wayne again) in THE SEARCHERS—they don’t seem to do a great deal on their own, with or without approval from whatever group of men they are a part of. Sometimes I think Ford's philosophy of being a man is: "Be one of the boys." Ford is most known for his Westerns, especially the ones starring John Wayne, and even though I would like to see his other ones someday the two that I’ve mentioned here are not among my favorite Westerns; his apparent insistence on reconciling one’s individuality with the group is the main reason. (As to Ford’s view of women, generally it seems to be that women have their specific “place” in society; so I assume his philosophy would say that a “real woman” should be “one of the girls”.)For those who may not be interested in Ford’s work, at least give THE QUIET MAN a chance sometime. The presence of John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara together make it a great date movie.But remember: "NO PATTY-FINGERS!!”—Jim Ashley