May Craig Movies
- 1965
Young Cassidy is based upon the autobiographical writings of firebrand Irish author Sean O'Casey. Rod Taylor is Cassidy, a boisterous boy who digs ditches to support his mother (Flora Robson) and sister (Sian Phillips). In his spare time, Cassidy is active with the Irish revolutionary movement against the occupying British. He still finds time enough for romance, notably with trashy chorine Julie Christie (in her first major role) and timid librarian Maggie Smith. Cassidy's latent writing talents are encouraged by such Irish literary giants as W.B. Yeats (Michael Redgrave) and Lady Gregory (Edith Evans), and in typically expeditious Hollywood fashion Our Hero almost instantly becomes a Man of Letters. John Ford began the direction of Young Cassidy, but fell ill and had to relinquish his responsibilities to Jack Cardiff; even the most diehard auteurist will have trouble discerning the personal "signature" of either director. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Julie Christie, (more)
Rita Tushingham was propelled into stardom with The Girl with Green Eyes. She plays a gawky young rural Irish girl who takes a room with a wise-cracking Dublin lass (Lynn Redgrave). Enter a middle-aged writer (Peter Finch), who makes a beeline for the shy, lonely Tushingham--completely ignoring her more worldly roommate. Girl with Green Eyes was liberally based upon Edna O'Brien's novella The Lonely Girl. With this one film, Rita Tushingham not only became bankable, but also what is known as a "critic's darling", meaning that she could do no wrong in the eyes of certain male reviewers. The bloom was off the rose fairly quickly, and soon Ms. Tushingham found herself contractually committed to one second-string project after another, including an ill-advised reteaming with actress Lynn Redgrave and director Desmond Davis in the resistible Smashing Time (67). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, Rita Tushingham, (more)
- 1961
Father Carey (Nigel Patrick) is a priest who must decide whether or not an amnesia victim (Aldo Ray) is responsible for the murder of the alcoholic Irish writer Mulcahy (William Bendix) in this routine thriller. The question posed to Carey is whether or not the murderer acted on the word of God when the writer asked the Almighty to strike him dead. Father Carey comes to believe the killing was masterminded by Johnny's sweetheart Miss Floyd (Yvonne Mitchell). The small Irish village is put under public microscope with the murder and the sensational trial. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nigel Patrick, Yvonne Mitchell, (more)
- 1960
This romance is set in scenic Ireland. Conflict ensues when a new grocer comes to town and falls in love with the daughter of his competitor. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1957
To make the Rising of the Moon, American filmmaker John Ford returned to his Irish roots. An obscure and highly personal film for Ford, it is comprised of three episodes--each offering insight into Irish culture and values. All are introduced by Tyrone Power. In "The Majesty of the Law," a police officer is assigned to arrest an Irish curmudgeon who hit the neighbor who sold him a lousy batch of homemade whiskey. But this is no ordinary arrest as the old man is a traditionalist who loathes the new directions his beloved Eire is going. Out of respect, the cop eschews his car and walks to his cottage. The two have a conversation and the old man mourns the loss of the old ways and expresses his frustration over the encroachment of modern amenities that are destroying the Irish heritage. The sympathetic cop offers to free him if the old man will pay a small fine, but though the codger has more than enough to pay it, he refuses on principal. Even when the man who filed the charges offers to pay the fine, the coot refuses to give in and stoically heads off to serve his time. As he walks with the officer to the jail, the whole town comes out to honor the old man. Set at a train station "A Minute's Wait" offers a humorous look at Irish conceptions of time as train's brief scheduled stop to pick up some lobsters for an important dinner stretches out into a long, leisurely pause. The final vignette, "1921" features members of Dublin's Abbey Theatre and tells the story of how they engineer an elaborate rescue of an Irish patriot from prison. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Noel Purcell, Cyril Cusack, (more)
Returning to the Ireland of his birth, director John Ford fashions a irresistable valentine to the "Auld Sod" in The Quiet Man. Irish-American boxer John Wayne, recovering from the trauma of having accidentally killed a man in the ring, arrives in the Irish village where he was born. Hoping to bury his past and settle down to a life of tranquility, Wayne has purchased the home of his birth from wealthy local widow Mildred Natwick, a transaction that has incurred the wrath of pugnacious squire Victor McLaglen, who coveted the property for himself. By and by, Wayne falls in love with McLaglen's beautiful, high-spirited sister Maureen O'Hara. Her insistence that Wayne conduct his courtship in a proper Irish manner-with puckish matchmaker Barry Fitzgerald along for the ride as "chaperone"--is but one obstacle to their future happiness: the other is McLaglen, who spitefully refuses to give his consent to his sister's marriage, or to honor the tradition of paying a dowry to Wayne. Wayne could care less about dowries, but the tradition-bound Maureen refuses to consummate her marriage until McLaglen pays up. Under any other circumstances, Wayne would have punched out the bullying McLaglen long ago, but ever since his tragedy in the ring he has been reluctant to fight. Local priest Ward Bond conspires with several locals to trick McLaglen into paying his due. They intimate that widow Natwick, for whom McLaglen carries a torch, will marry the old brute if he'll give his consent to the marriage and fork over the dowry. But McLaglen finds he's been tricked and the situation remains at a standoff, with the frustrated Wayne locked out of his wife's bedroom. When Maureen accuses him of being a coward and walks out on him, our hero can stand no more. He marches Maureen to McLaglen's home, indicating that he plans to whale the tar out of both brother and sister. As a huge and appreciative crowd gathers the cornered McLaglen truculently tosses the money in Wayne's direction. Big John hands the bills to Maureen, just as she knew he would, and she ceremoniously destroys the money, just as he knew je would. Having proven their love for each other, there is nothing left for Wayne and Maureen to do but head home and perform their nuptual duties. But first there's the matter of giving McLaglen the thrashing he deserves....and it is this spectacular donnybrook, which covers several acres of land and at least two "pit stops" so that the combatants can quench their thirst, which convinces Natwick that the defeated McLaglen is truly worthy of her love (her logic is on a par with everyone else's in the film!) Though it tends to perpetuate the myth that all true Irishmen live only to fight, drink and make love, The Quiet Man is grand and glorious fun, enacted with gusto by a largely Hibernian cast and directed with loving care by a master of his craft. Written by Frank Nugent and graced with a lilting musical score by Victor Young, the film won Oscars for Archie Stout's Technicolor photography and for John Ford's direction-a real coup for "poverty row" Republic Pictures. If you haven't already luxuriated in this wonderful film, be sure to catch in on the tube next St. Patrick's Day. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, (more)
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