The Quiet Man - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of The Quiet Man or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The Quiet Man

[beth]

Filmed in the town of Cong in County Mayo that is now a major Irish tourist attraction because of the movie. The local pub hosts daily re-runs of the film.

[sophie]

Film debut of James O'Hara.

[melinda]

One of the top 10 grossing films of 1952.

[veronica]

There are several subtle references to the Irish efforts to win independence from the United Kingdom interspersed throughout the movie. Michaeleen Flynn at one point says he is going to the pub "to talk a little treason." Red Danaher, when confronted with the demand for the dowery in front of the townspeople, says "So the IRA's in this too." Father Lonergan also refers to going to a political meeting.

[michele]

After adjusting for inflation, Mary Kate Danaher's dowry of £350 in 1925 would be worth approximately £17420 in March 2019 or just over $23000 US.

[charlie]

John Wayne was 44 when this film was made, although his character Sean Thornton was supposed to be 35.

[kenzi]

The horse racing sequence was shot at Lettergesh beach, Connemara, on the west coast of Ireland.

[elmer]

The budget for the movie was $1,750,000, which was huge for a Republic Pictures production. John Ford agreed to cut costs and got John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara to work for well below their standard rates. Wayne was used to his standard Republic salary plus ten percent of the profits but he agreed to do the movie for 100,000 dollars, despite studio boss Herbert J. Yates constantly telling him the movie would hurt his career.

[willard]

While all other saddled horses are seen with English saddles (as would be expected in Ireland during that time period), Sean's (John Wayne's) horse is saddled with a U.S. Army-issue McClellan cavalry saddle.

[kristen]

Second of five movies that paired John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.

[dustin]

In the scene where Sean Thornton, a.k.a. Trooper Thorn is talking to Reverend Playfair, the Reverend is showing Thornton his press clippings of sporting events, in particular the headline TROOPER THORN QUITS RING. Even though the headline indicates the reason for his quitting boxing was due to a fatal knockout, the story below reads as follows: "Trooper Thorn declares he has quit the ring for good and has hung up his gloves for the last time. Thorn's last fight was a knockout over Tony Gardello and so decisive was Thorn's victory that it will be some time before Tony can resume the fight game. Thorn has come up the in the fight game the hard way and it is a surprise to his many fans that he is retiring from the ring at this time." The first sentence indicates that Gardello was defeated badly and will be slow to return to boxing, but not dead, which conflicts with the headline.

[michele]

After forming a new production company called Renowned Artists with Ronald Colman and Tay Garnett in 1937, John Ford announced "The Quiet Man" as the company's first production. As no adequate financing could be raised, Renowned was dissolved without making any films.

[francisco]

The station used in the opening sequence and during the scene where John Wayne slams the train doors looking for Maureen O'Hara later in the film is Ballyglunin Station, south of the town of Tuam, County Galway. It looks the same today as it did in 1951, when the film was shot, with the only major difference being the bridge that crosses the railway tracks is now gone--it was moved to Ballinasloe station, East Galway where it stands today, after Ballyglunin closed down as a main line.

[javier]

Bing Crosby regretted not being cast as Sean Thornton.

[lonnie]

The Quiet Man (1952) was the last time that Arthur Shields appeared in the same film as his older brother, Barry Fitzgerald. In total, they were in seven films together. Shields made three with John Wayne, and six with director John Ford. The three films that Shields and Wayne had in common were all directed by Ford.

[charlie]

Several actors were brought in from Dublin's Abbey Players, where Maureen O'Hara and Barry Fitzgerald had started their careers. Some of them had appeared in John Ford's The Plough and the Stars (1936).

[bernice]

Whenever John Wayne lights up a cigarette, he takes exactly two puffs before pitching it away. The only times he doesn't is before he kicks the bedroom door in and when sitting on the rock wall as he angrily walks home after being abandoned by Mary Kate in town.

[kim]

As Maureen O'Hara was 31 and Victor McLaglen was nearly 65, many critics felt he should have played her father instead of her brother. Although some men have been known to father children (from different wives) decades apart, the film gives no indication that they are half-siblings.

[marc]

A replica of the famous thatched cottage in the movie is located at Maam Cross, County Galway, in the west of Ireland. There is also a replica in the village of Cong in County Mayo.