When we think about John Wayne, we typically think of Westerns.  Some of his most iconic roles are of that genre.  Films like Stagecoach (1939), Fort Apache (1948), The Searchers (1956), and the original True Grit (1969), just to name a few, all made him arguably the most iconic silver screen cowboy in cinematic history.  One of his closest collaborators on many of these flicks was director and producer John Ford.  They were two different men.  Wayne was the former college football player turned action star, while Ford was the artistic man behind the lens.  The latter was also a practicing Catholic.  For all the success they enjoyed making their films, there is one that stands out from the rest as being, to put a fine point on it, different.  It is 1952’s The Quiet Man, and it is set not amongst the open range and tumbleweed of the American West, but in rural Ireland.  There is one fight in it, because, I guess, Wayne was contractually obligated, but otherwise it is a romantic comedy.  This might sound like a recipe for disaster, and there are a few regrettable moments in it, but it did win Ford an Oscar for best director.  Read on and decide whether you would agree with such accolades.

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere Ireland, which is really just anywhere on the Emerald Isle that is not Dublin, The Quiet Man disembarks from a train that is a few hours late.  His name is Sean Thornton (John Wayne), and the tall American is an immediate curiosity as soon as he sets foot on the platform.  He inquires as to the way to his destination, Inisfree, and is given a few different directions by the group of locals crowding around him.  In the confusion, Michaleen “Ogé” Flynn (Barry Fitzgerald) steps up, takes Sean’s bags, and waits outside with a small horse drawn wagon.  Michaeleen has come to bring Sean to Inisfree, though he is not sure about this newcomer.  What settles Michaeleen is when they pass an unoccupied cottage on the outskirts of the village and Sean indicates that is where he was born.  Suddenly, Michaeleen recognizes the Thornton surname and knows all Sean’s forebears.  Along the way into town, Sean also spots Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O’Hara), and is instantly taken with her.  Michaeleen tries to guide Sean more towards business for the new arrival, though Sean cannot shake the thought of Mary Kate.  Still, it is Sean’s first priority to purchase the old Thornton homestead, and he goes to the current owner of the property, Sarah Tillane (Mildred Natwick), to do so.  Though she is initially against the idea, her mind is changed when Squire “Red” Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen) interrupts the negotiations.  Squire Danaher claims that the land had been promised to him, and tries to outbid Sean.  Ruffled by Squire Danaher’s presumptuousness, Sarah agrees to sell to Sean.  Doing so makes mortal enemies of Sean on Squire Danaher’s part.  When Squire Danaher gets home, he places Sean on a list of people with which Squire Danaher will never again be friendly.  You might have noticed the surname.  Squire Danaher is Mary Kate’s older brother, and therefore responsible for the welfare of the girl with the hot temper.  She takes an interest in Sean’s settling into the ancestral surroundings, even tidying up the interior for him before his arrival.  In that moment, he kisses her, and while she is shocked by his forwardness, such is her temper that she returns the gesture.  Whatever you make of this sequence, they are in love, and he intends to marry her.  The problem, of course, is Squire Danaher.  While Sean accedes to the custom of having a matchmaker commence the courtship, in this case Michaeleen, Squire Danaher says there is no way he would allow his sister to be wedded to Sean.  Sean does not take this well, and sulks for a while.  Yet, the village is clearly behind the pair and come up with a trick to get Squire Danaher on the side of love.  They tell him that Sarah is interested in marrying him as long as Mary Kate is out of the house.  This works, but on the wedding day, Sarah is informed about the supposed engagement and angrily refuses.  Realizing he had been scammed, Squire Danaher refuses to release Mary Kate’s dowry.  Not wanting an argument or caring about the money, Sean takes a defiant Mary Kate home.  He also refuses to confront Squire Danaher for what is owed to Mary Kate.  This causes a great deal of friction for the newlyweds.  While Sean thinks she is too focused on material things, Mary Kate talks of not just the cash, but the items that are to come with it as being part of a dream she had about married life and something going back generations.  She gets a boost in this regard when, the day after the wedding, revelers still inebriated from the reception pull up outside with a wagon full of the furniture.  Things are patched up for a little bit, but the money remains an issue between Mary Kate and Sean.  Sean seeks advise from the Church of Ireland (protestant) vicar, Reverend Cyril Playfair (Arthur Shields).  Sean seeks out this person because Reverend Playfair is the only one that understands why Sean no longer raises his fists in anger.  Sean used to be a prizefighter back in the United States, and in his last bout he accidently killed his opponent.  If Sean ever fights again, he fears a similar outcome.  This may seem a bit extreme, but it is the only way it appears they can obtain what is owed from Squire Danaher.  Before this happens, though, Reverend Playfair explains the importance of the inheritance to Sean.  Sean seems to understand, but after once more making up with Mary Kate, she tries to leave on the train out of shame.  Thankfully, the conveyance is keeping its usual tardy schedule, and Sean is able to yank her out before she can leave.  They then go back to Inisfree where Sean challenges Squire Danaher.  Despite finally handing over the money when Sean tries to give back Mary Kate, she scoops up the bills and throws them into a fire.  All she wanted was for Sean to stand up for her.  Still, the whole village, and some from neighboring settlements, come to watch the brawl.  It ends with Sean and Squire Danaher drunkenly swaying back to the Thornton home, with a happy Mary Kate there to greet them.

That is not the last shot in The Quiet Man.  Rather, there is a big deal made by the locals when Sarah and Squire Danaher are driven past by Michaeleen as they are finally courting.  It does not affect the main story, so it is vaguely irrelevant.  One relevant character that I did not mention is Father Peter Lonergan (Ward Bond), the pastor of the village church.  There is a lot of cultural and historical subtext that the film does not speak to, but I am here to provide.  First, it is refreshing to see the deference that everyone pays to Father Lonergan, which is in keeping with the position enjoyed by many rural parish priests at this time.  Indeed, not only is he one of the first people Sean sees on his way to Inisfree, but the priest is also the narrator.  It is not clear whether Sean is meant to be Catholic.  I want to say yes as early on attends Mass and properly genuflects as he leaves his pew.  This is all in line with Ireland being a predominantly Catholic country, so it would make sense that the Irish born Sean would have remained faithful to the Church in crossing the Atlantic.  At the same time, he dips his whole hand in the Holy Water font before Mary Kate gets to it, basically forcing her to use his hand to obtain the blessed liquid with which to cross herself.  That is not ideal Catholic behavior, which any practicing Catholic would recognize.  You may have also noticed Reverend Playfair.  The Church of Ireland is essentially the Irish version of the Church of England.  This is the result of English conquest and settlement of Ireland over the centuries until Ireland finally gained its independence in 1921.  Though the Church of Ireland can be construed as an instrument of oppression, you still had its odd adherents, as reflected in Reverend Playfair’s congregation of two of three.  Catholic and protestant are depicted as getting along in this locale, which was by and large true.  Nonetheless, it is notable that when in need of advice, the American goes to the protestant and the Irish woman seeks out Father Lanergan.

There is one last footnote that I would share with you regarding The Quiet Man.  One of the local advisors while on location during the shooting of the film was a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).  In the early 1950s, this did not have quite the same stigma as it would a couple decades later.  I am not sure he had input on the sequence wherein Sean drags Mary Kate the five miles between the train station and Inisfree.  It is an unfortunate aspect to an otherwise enjoyable movie.