Inspite of being directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, "The Quiet Man," fails to live up to its potential. First of all, I cannot tell whether it is supposed to be a comedy or a drama.
"The Quiet Man" is a reference to Wayne's character, Sean Thorton, an ex-boxer who swears off violence against men (but not against women) following the tragic death of his opponent in the ring. Thorton decides to return to his birthplace in Ireland, where he hopes to live in anonymity in the house where he was born.
Within minutes of arriving, he meets Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara) and her brother, William Dahaher (Victor McLaglen). Mary Kate is the local spitfire, the kind of woman who drives both men and women away from her with her sharp tongue. Will Danaher is also interested in Thorton's birth home, as well as in the widow who currently owns it. However, Thorton wins out in the bid for the home, and Danaher takes his revenge on Thorton by forbidding him from courting Mary Kate (he later changes his mind when the local matchmaker assures him that the widow will accept Will's marriage proposal as soon as Will moves Mary Kate out of his house).
After establishing the tragic circumstances under which Thorton returns to Ireland, and allowing the audience to share in Mary Kate's frustration at being denied a husband by her brother, the movie seems to be trying to evolve into a comedy. After a very brief courting period, during which Thorton and Mary Kate show their shared rebellious streaks by escaping their chaperon, our hero and heroine are married. However, Will, having now realized the trick played by the matchmaker, refuses to give the couple Mary Kate's dowry. Thorton, who is determined not to confront anyone and provoke a fight, takes the position that the dowry is not important, but Mary Kate wants what rightfully belongs to her. When Thorton refuses to fight for her, she decides to leave him. Rather than see his wife's point of view, Thorton decides to "assert himself" by throwing Mary Kate around like a sack of potatoes, first around their bedroom, then around the Irish countryside. Mary Kate's response to his rough treatment is to develop a new found respect for him; evidence that Neanderthal behavior sometimes gets the girl. After all, if it worked for Rhett Butler, why not for Sean Thorton.
Of course, in defense of John Ford's treatment of this "love story", the idea that violence against certain women is acceptable still prevails in film. The female protagonist who can take anything that a man can dish out still finds her way on to the screen. Back then, like now, tough girls like Mary Kate Danaher Thorton take the blows with little sympathy. The message that Wayne's character and Ford's direction convey is the message evidently present in many of Wayne's pictures, nonviolence gets you nowhere, and what women respect is a strong, domineering man. While I am not one of those women who is offended by every film that shows a woman doing "traditional" work or having a soft-spoken personality, I think that the message that this film gives overrides any charming qualities that Ford thought the film might possess. This may have been a love letter to Ireland, which some have suggested, but it was written with a poison pen.
"The Quiet Man" is a reference to Wayne's character, Sean Thorton, an ex-boxer who swears off violence against men (but not against women) following the tragic death of his opponent in the ring. Thorton decides to return to his birthplace in Ireland, where he hopes to live in anonymity in the house where he was born.
Within minutes of arriving, he meets Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara) and her brother, William Dahaher (Victor McLaglen). Mary Kate is the local spitfire, the kind of woman who drives both men and women away from her with her sharp tongue. Will Danaher is also interested in Thorton's birth home, as well as in the widow who currently owns it. However, Thorton wins out in the bid for the home, and Danaher takes his revenge on Thorton by forbidding him from courting Mary Kate (he later changes his mind when the local matchmaker assures him that the widow will accept Will's marriage proposal as soon as Will moves Mary Kate out of his house).
After establishing the tragic circumstances under which Thorton returns to Ireland, and allowing the audience to share in Mary Kate's frustration at being denied a husband by her brother, the movie seems to be trying to evolve into a comedy. After a very brief courting period, during which Thorton and Mary Kate show their shared rebellious streaks by escaping their chaperon, our hero and heroine are married. However, Will, having now realized the trick played by the matchmaker, refuses to give the couple Mary Kate's dowry. Thorton, who is determined not to confront anyone and provoke a fight, takes the position that the dowry is not important, but Mary Kate wants what rightfully belongs to her. When Thorton refuses to fight for her, she decides to leave him. Rather than see his wife's point of view, Thorton decides to "assert himself" by throwing Mary Kate around like a sack of potatoes, first around their bedroom, then around the Irish countryside. Mary Kate's response to his rough treatment is to develop a new found respect for him; evidence that Neanderthal behavior sometimes gets the girl. After all, if it worked for Rhett Butler, why not for Sean Thorton.
Of course, in defense of John Ford's treatment of this "love story", the idea that violence against certain women is acceptable still prevails in film. The female protagonist who can take anything that a man can dish out still finds her way on to the screen. Back then, like now, tough girls like Mary Kate Danaher Thorton take the blows with little sympathy. The message that Wayne's character and Ford's direction convey is the message evidently present in many of Wayne's pictures, nonviolence gets you nowhere, and what women respect is a strong, domineering man. While I am not one of those women who is offended by every film that shows a woman doing "traditional" work or having a soft-spoken personality, I think that the message that this film gives overrides any charming qualities that Ford thought the film might possess. This may have been a love letter to Ireland, which some have suggested, but it was written with a poison pen.