This is the first film I've ever seen of John Wayne that wasn't a western. Reading more, it was indeed a departure for both Wayne and director John Ford.In fact, after Ford paid an exorbitant amount ($10) for the rights, the production company agreed to pay for it as long as Wayne, Ford and Maureen O'Hara did a western. They did Rio Grande and then set off for Ireland to do The Quiet Man.
O'Hara and Wayne's famous kiss is played in the film E.T. and it is the inspiration for Elliot's kiss after he sets all of the frogs free in science class.
I had family recently visit Ireland. I wish it were me. It's an extremely cool little island and I'd love to go one day. The Quiet Man is a very idealized notion of Ireland. It's set in the 1930s but they've had squabbles throughout its history. From langugae, religion and nationalization, they've always had a reason to fit. It's a part of their culture largely ignored in this film. Aside from some zinger one liners, the battles raging in that nation are swept under the rug.
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I am Maureen O'Hara's archivist and have published her official website "Maureen O'Hara Magazine" on line for the past 16 years.
"The Quiet Man" was not meant to be a historical profile of Ireland. It is a love story set in panoramic Ireland and was made to be marketed in the United States for an American audience. True, many of the Irish at that time did not like the movie; felt it was displaying a "stage Irish" and depicted the Irish mistreating their women (the latter wasn't far from the truth).
The Irish who have benefited from the tourism created by the making of this film, however, do not complain about it at all; they exploit it.
So in the long run, Maureen's statement to Johnny Carson in 1991 when she was featured on the show promoting "Only the Lonely." She quipped, "A hundred years from now....long after I'm nailed into the box, - you'll still be seeing Maureen O'Hara every St. Patty's Day in "The Quiet Man" and every Christmas in "Miracle on 34th Street." Let's face it - Maureen's O'Hara's journey from Ireland to the US has been a road well traveled.
If you want to see some recent pictures and stories about Ms. O'Hara - just Google "Maureen O'Hara Magazine."
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