John Ford was a poet of scene and dialogue and music. And in The Quiet Man he featured silences that are more filled with meaning than any words could be.
A wonderful movie filled with humor and pathos. And such great acting and filming! The last half hour on "The Making of the Quiet Man" was fun too. Thanks for sharing the film and your thoughts about it.
The Quiet Man was my father’s favorite movie, too! One of my favorite scenes is the Catholic priest, not when he’s being pious or saying the Mass, but when he is enjoying himself in the fresh air, almost up to his waist in the river, wearing his waders and trying to catch himself some fish!🎣
In this lovely film and in On the Waterfront and a few others, Catholic priests were portrayed with dignity, their roles in life important ones. The Catholic priest is largely absent in today’s films and religion of little importance.
I probably should watch this again now that I am grown up and long married. I saw it a long time ago when I was a teenager and had a mostly negative view of it. I’m Irish-American and thought it had too many Irish stereotypes: hot-headed, quick with their fists, often drunk…but also pious, humorous and as harmless and lovable as children. I do remember the beautiful Technicolor scenery and some funny lines (the priest’s comment about patty-fingers in the holy water; the fellow telling his side-kick to take out his notebook, add so-and-so’s name to the list and then cross it OFF the list). I know that the Thornton/Mary Kate dowry misunderstanding is needed to advance the story but it irritated me in a way that, say, a silly mistaken identity problem in an Astaire/Rogers movie never did. I also didn’t like her temper tantrums and his moodiness, to say nothing of their physical attacks on each other. I might have been too young when I watched the film. I know that most people love it and suspect that I have missed the mark.
A delightful movie with splendid undertones. Many relatives of the main actors participated in it as well (Maureen O'Hara's brothers, John Wayne's children, Barry Fitzgerald's brother [Rev. Playfair], and John Ford's brother).
"...silences that are more filled with meaning than any words could be."
Indeed, including the marvelous ending when her whisper is not audible to the viewer. One can only imagine - shudder at, actually - what would be heard and shown by another director once the productuon code restrictions were lifted.
Also my favorite movie of all time. I read an excellent article this week about The Quiet Man. The author wrote that the movie is about honor. In short, Mary Kate's honor was at stake in the conflict between Thornton and her brother. Her honor was rooted in the traditional community values regarding marriage and the dowry. It was not the money she really cared about but her sense of honor that she brought something of value into the marriage. Thornton's refusal to take the dowry or to fight her brother in defense of her honor, signaled a disrespect for her honor and their marriage.
For Thornton, there was also honor was at stake. His view was that to violate his vow not to fight would be to dishonor what he considered right and wrong. Honor for him was not rooted in community tradition in his own personal values and he unable to understand the importance of how the dowry and fighting for his wife--in violation of his personal convictions--would be so offensive.
In my view, Will Danaher's honor is tied up in social status and money--a kind of false sense of honor which is transitory.
The brilliance of the movie is found in the resolution of the conflict when Thornton returns Mary Kate to Danaher. He restores Mary Kate's honor by throwing the dowry at the feet of Thornton who then throws it into the fire assisted by his wife. Both Mary Kate's and Thornton's sense of honor is upheld and we learn that their respective honor codes can exist simultaneously.
The great fight scene between Danaher and Thornton betrays the falsehood of Will's code of honor as his challenge to Thornton is met and ends with his admission of defeat. The happy ending is a begrudgingly admission of respect between the two antagonists and a growing friendship. A great movie which probably could never have been made in 2025.
A must watch every St Patrick’s day! Our own eldest, named MaryKate, was a redheaded baby (now more strawberry blonde) and her youngest sister a true redhead—of which both can be said: “That red hair is no lie!” So many great lines in this film, and beautiful scenes! This is one of those films that, when you meet someone who hasn’t seen it, you are delighted to say “Come watch it with us—you must see it!” because there is no such thing as seeing it too many times!
Certainly, one of the most beautiful films ever made. The courtship sequence is of unmatched romance and artistry, made even more so by the fact that there isn't a word spoken during the entire sequence.
This is my absolute favorite movie of all time. Not that I've seen nearly as many movies as our wonderful host, I am sure, but I cannot imagine another film unseating it. My German self has loved the romance of the Irish and the Scots since my days watching this film and reading Sir Walter Scott as a lad, and by the grace of God I've been given an Irish wife, all auburn hair and fair-freckle-faced, so that I may the better love those lands for her sake.
For several years now I've been saying that one could do worse for a marriage prep assignment than to make the young love-birds watch this film, and each write an essay explaining the heart of the other sex's representative. As a youth, I understood Sean Thornton. As a married man, I've learned to understand Mary Kate. My wife, of course, understood her immediately, and it took several viewings before she could truly understand Sean.
As you say, there are moments of silence in this film that are as profound and poetic as the spaces between the notes of a great slow blues. The pacing is perfect. The tone moves freely between romance, drama, and comedy without ever feeling unnatural. There may be better movies that have been made (Ford's own The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence could certainly contend for the title) but if so, they are few, and none has captured my heart like this.
A wonderful movie filled with humor and pathos. And such great acting and filming! The last half hour on "The Making of the Quiet Man" was fun too. Thanks for sharing the film and your thoughts about it.
The Quiet Man was my father’s favorite movie, too! One of my favorite scenes is the Catholic priest, not when he’s being pious or saying the Mass, but when he is enjoying himself in the fresh air, almost up to his waist in the river, wearing his waders and trying to catch himself some fish!🎣
In this lovely film and in On the Waterfront and a few others, Catholic priests were portrayed with dignity, their roles in life important ones. The Catholic priest is largely absent in today’s films and religion of little importance.
I probably should watch this again now that I am grown up and long married. I saw it a long time ago when I was a teenager and had a mostly negative view of it. I’m Irish-American and thought it had too many Irish stereotypes: hot-headed, quick with their fists, often drunk…but also pious, humorous and as harmless and lovable as children. I do remember the beautiful Technicolor scenery and some funny lines (the priest’s comment about patty-fingers in the holy water; the fellow telling his side-kick to take out his notebook, add so-and-so’s name to the list and then cross it OFF the list). I know that the Thornton/Mary Kate dowry misunderstanding is needed to advance the story but it irritated me in a way that, say, a silly mistaken identity problem in an Astaire/Rogers movie never did. I also didn’t like her temper tantrums and his moodiness, to say nothing of their physical attacks on each other. I might have been too young when I watched the film. I know that most people love it and suspect that I have missed the mark.
A delightful movie with splendid undertones. Many relatives of the main actors participated in it as well (Maureen O'Hara's brothers, John Wayne's children, Barry Fitzgerald's brother [Rev. Playfair], and John Ford's brother).
"...silences that are more filled with meaning than any words could be."
Indeed, including the marvelous ending when her whisper is not audible to the viewer. One can only imagine - shudder at, actually - what would be heard and shown by another director once the productuon code restrictions were lifted.
Also my favorite movie of all time. I read an excellent article this week about The Quiet Man. The author wrote that the movie is about honor. In short, Mary Kate's honor was at stake in the conflict between Thornton and her brother. Her honor was rooted in the traditional community values regarding marriage and the dowry. It was not the money she really cared about but her sense of honor that she brought something of value into the marriage. Thornton's refusal to take the dowry or to fight her brother in defense of her honor, signaled a disrespect for her honor and their marriage.
For Thornton, there was also honor was at stake. His view was that to violate his vow not to fight would be to dishonor what he considered right and wrong. Honor for him was not rooted in community tradition in his own personal values and he unable to understand the importance of how the dowry and fighting for his wife--in violation of his personal convictions--would be so offensive.
In my view, Will Danaher's honor is tied up in social status and money--a kind of false sense of honor which is transitory.
The brilliance of the movie is found in the resolution of the conflict when Thornton returns Mary Kate to Danaher. He restores Mary Kate's honor by throwing the dowry at the feet of Thornton who then throws it into the fire assisted by his wife. Both Mary Kate's and Thornton's sense of honor is upheld and we learn that their respective honor codes can exist simultaneously.
The great fight scene between Danaher and Thornton betrays the falsehood of Will's code of honor as his challenge to Thornton is met and ends with his admission of defeat. The happy ending is a begrudgingly admission of respect between the two antagonists and a growing friendship. A great movie which probably could never have been made in 2025.
Funny you mention that excellent article because I read it too and came here to post it
https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/honor-in-the-quiet-man/
It is a fascinating article and opened my eyes to the film in a new way!
“When I drink whiskey, I drink whiskey. And when I drink water, I drink water “
A must watch every St Patrick’s day! Our own eldest, named MaryKate, was a redheaded baby (now more strawberry blonde) and her youngest sister a true redhead—of which both can be said: “That red hair is no lie!” So many great lines in this film, and beautiful scenes! This is one of those films that, when you meet someone who hasn’t seen it, you are delighted to say “Come watch it with us—you must see it!” because there is no such thing as seeing it too many times!
Certainly, one of the most beautiful films ever made. The courtship sequence is of unmatched romance and artistry, made even more so by the fact that there isn't a word spoken during the entire sequence.
This is my absolute favorite movie of all time. Not that I've seen nearly as many movies as our wonderful host, I am sure, but I cannot imagine another film unseating it. My German self has loved the romance of the Irish and the Scots since my days watching this film and reading Sir Walter Scott as a lad, and by the grace of God I've been given an Irish wife, all auburn hair and fair-freckle-faced, so that I may the better love those lands for her sake.
For several years now I've been saying that one could do worse for a marriage prep assignment than to make the young love-birds watch this film, and each write an essay explaining the heart of the other sex's representative. As a youth, I understood Sean Thornton. As a married man, I've learned to understand Mary Kate. My wife, of course, understood her immediately, and it took several viewings before she could truly understand Sean.
As you say, there are moments of silence in this film that are as profound and poetic as the spaces between the notes of a great slow blues. The pacing is perfect. The tone moves freely between romance, drama, and comedy without ever feeling unnatural. There may be better movies that have been made (Ford's own The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence could certainly contend for the title) but if so, they are few, and none has captured my heart like this.
ADDENDUM: My favorite Maureen O’Hara film is: “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1939).
Don Young
Columbus OH
“The Quiet Man” is indeed one of the GOATs in cinema history.
And (TRIGGER WARNING: Possible Silver Screen Sacrilege!) as far as talent and screen presence goes:
I will take Maureen O’Hara over the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe or Ingrid Bergman any day that ends in a “y”.
Don Young
Columbus OH