John Ford's The Quiet Man

The Making of a Cult Classic

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by Jordan R. Young

Type

Stories

Subject

One Film > The Quiet Man

Keywords

John Ford, film making

Publishing date

2012

Publisher

Past Times Publishing

Collection

Past Times Film Close-Up

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Ebook • 78 pages

ISBN

-

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Book Presentation:
“John Ford’s The Quiet Man: The Making of a Cult Classic” is the product of many years research, beginning in the 1970s. The author spoke with six of the principals involved in the film, including Maureen O’Hara and cinematographer Winton C. Hoch, and also had access to the original shooting script.

The revised and expanded 3rd edition of this ebook includes new information on the film and its cast, additional behind-the-scenes photos and a selection of international film posters.

One of the popular films of all time came close to never being made. It took John Ford nearly two decades to film “The Quiet Man” after he bought the rights to the tale he read in The Saturday Evening Post in 1933. For all his success as a filmmaker over the years, the director couldn’t sell Hollywood on the idea. All the major studios, recalled actress Maureen O’Hara, “turned it down and said it was a silly little Irish story that would never ever make a penny.”

Even after Ford formed his own company with Merian C. Cooper, the producer of “King Kong,” his pet project might never have seen the light of day if John Wayne hadn’t pitched it to Herbert Yates of Republic Pictures. Yates had the same opinion of the Irish rom com as everyone else in Tinseltown but he was a shrewd businessman and agreed to finance the film if Ford first made a western with Wayne and O’Hara—to make up for the money he’d lose on “The Quiet Man.”

Despite the success of the western, Yates felt he’d been bamboozled into making a “phony art-house picture,” which he proposed to retitle “The Prizefighter and the Colleen” at one point. He told Wayne it would hurt his career, and not until the actor agreed to do the film for a flat fee of $100,000 and waive his percentage participation did Yates approve the $1,750,000 budget. O’Hara was so anxious to get the film made she accepted $65,000; along with Wayne and co-stars Barry Fitzgerald and Victor McLaglen, she’d had a handshake contract to do the picture for seven years before the cameras finally rolled.

Ford won the Academy Award for Best Director, but neither Wayne nor O’Hara received Oscar nominations—or any other award recognition—for a film that garnered seven of them. Despite a career-best performance, Wayne’s politics apparently ruined his chances that year, notably his position as president of an anti-Communist organization.

That Ford himself was affectionately making fun of the Irish, caricaturing them in a way that would define them for Americans for decades to come, apparently didn’t bother the Academy—though the film had its detractors then and now. Though derided by many Irish and Irish Americans for perpetuating stereotypes, “The Quiet Man” remains evergreen as it marks the 60th anniversary of its U.S. release.

About the Author:
Jordan R. Young is a playwright and entertainment historian whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. His books include The Beckett Actor: Jack MacGowran, Beginning to End, The Laugh Crafters: Comedy Writing in Radio and TV's Golden Age, and Spike Jones Off the Record: The Man Who Murdered Music. He has written special material for the Grammy Awards and has served as a consultant for BBC Radio. His plays have been produced in Hollywood and Off Off Broadway.

Press Reviews:
"I have just read your Kindle book on 'The Quiet Man' and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have followed this film for over 20 years now..." --Gary McEwan, Glasgow, Scotland

See The Quiet Man (1952) on IMDB ...