Maureen O'Hara Movies

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, All Movie Guide

After James Stewart's financial windfall attending his "percentage of profits" deal on Winchester 73, Errol Flynn decided to cash in by making his own deal with Universal Pictures, accepting a moderate fee up front and a huge chunk of the gross for Against All Flags. Set in the 16th century, the film casts Flynn as a British naval officer unjustly condemned for desertion. He escapes punishment and joins Anthony Quinn's pirate band, wherein he and Quinn vie for the attentions of glamorous female buccaneer Maureen O'Hara. Flynn incurs O'Hara's wrath when he rescues a lovely middle-eastern princess (Alice Kelley) from slave traders, but O'Hara still comes to Flynn's aid when he is left to die by Quinn. Flynn and O'Hara team up to thwart Quinn's evil schemes, whereupon it is revealed that Flynn's "disgrace" was a ruse, concocted by the British government to stem pirate activities in Madagascar. Though suffering several injuries during shooting, Errol Flynn was back in his old fighting form in Against All Flags, requiring a double only in a few scattered longshots. The film was poorly remade in 1967 as The King's Pirate, with Doug McClure inadequately filling Errol Flynn's seven-league boots. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At Sword's Point is about the sons of Dumas' Three Musketeers--one of those "sons" being of the female persuasion, played by Maureen O'Hara. As the swash-buckling daughter of Athos, O'Hara joins the offspring of Aramis and Porthos, portrayed respectively by Dan O'Herlihy and Alan Hale Jr., as well as the bouncing boy of D'Artagnan, played by Cornel Wilde. These second-generation Musketeers are reunited by the ageing Queen Anne (Gladys Cooper), who wants to stem the villainy of her treacherous nephew, the Duc de Lavalle (Robert Douglas). Lunging and parrying throughout the French countryside, the new Musketeers save the day by preventing a marriage of state between the princess (Nancy Gates) and Lavalle, restoring the girl to her true love, prince Peter Miles. Technicolor is the only decided plus in the favor of the lazy and derivative At Sword's Point, which was completed in 1949 but remained unseen in RKO's vaults for three years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Wayne stars as Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke, whose devotion to duty has cost him his marriage to his beloved Kathleen (Maureen O'Hara). Yorke gets word that his son, Jeff (Claude Jarman Jr.) -- whom he hasn't seen in 15 years -- has been dropped as a cadet from West Point, and that he lied about his age to enlist in the cavalry, in an effort to redeem himself. By chance, the boy is then assigned to his father's post. Once more, as a function of his duty as a cavalry officer, Yorke must sacrifice his love of family -- he cannot show any preferential treatment to the boy, or exhibit any sign of love and affection. But Jeff is too strong to be injured by his father's actions, and already enough of a man that he is befriended by two older recruits, troopers Tyree (Ben Johnson) and Boone (Harry Carey Jr.), who watch out for him while taking him in as a virtual equal. Yorke's resolve is further tested when his estranged wife, Kathleen, arrives at the post, the better to look after her son -- and possibly to buy back the boy's enlistment, which Yorke, as commanding officer in a remote post with a critical shortage of men, can't and won't permit. After an attack by the Apaches, Yorke orders the post's women and children to be moved to safety, and Jeff is assigned as part of the troop conducting the caravan, despite his wish to participate in the planned action against the Apaches. The caravan is attacked, and the wagon with the children is taken by the Apaches to their encampment in a deserted village across the Rio Grande in Mexico. Yorke has been given permission by General Sheridan (J. Carrol Naish) to take his men into Mexico in pursuit of the Apaches, but the punitive expedition is now a rescue mission, as the Indians' night-time vengeance dance is the prelude to certain slaughter of the children at daybreak. As part of the mission, it's up to Tyree, the slyest man in the troop, to infiltrate the enemy camp, and he chooses Jeff and Boone as the two men he wants with him on this dangerous mission. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Maureen O'Hara plays the daughter of a Sheikh who returns from being educated in London, only to find her father is dead and his palace looted. Handsome Paul Christian is suspected of the murder, as is lecherous pasha Vincent Price, but the real villain may be one of the Sheikh's most trusted aides. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Anglo-American co-production Britannia Mews was released in the U.S. as The Affairs of Adelaide, then reissued as Forbidden Street, the title it carries today. Set in the Victoria era, the film focuses upon Adelaide (Maureen O'Hara), a young lady of good family who renounces both name and fame when she marries an impoverished artist (Dana Andrews). When her husband is killed in an accident, Adelaide is blackmailed by a spiteful old hag (Dame Sybil Thorndike) who claims that the girl killed her spouse. Enter a handsome young barrister who is the living image of Adelaide's late husband (and who, accordingly, is
also played by Dana Andrews). He extricates Adelaide from her plight, reunites her with her family, and along the way falls in love with her himself. Ring Lardner Jr. adapted Britannia Mews from a novel by Margery Sharp. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Clifton Webb has the role of a lifetime as Lynn Belvedere, self-styled genius and expert on everything. Belvedere accepts the job of baby-sitting the troublesome children of Robert Young and Maureen O'Hara; he wins the job by calmly dumping a bowl of cold oatmeal on the head of the couple's most contentious offspring! At first the family chafes at Belvedere's imperiousness and unlimited resourcefulness, but gradually everyone--especially the children--grow quite fond of the man. The couple's snoopy neighbor (Richard Haydn), noting that Belvedere spends quite a lot of time in the house when the husband is away, begins spreading rumors of a clandestine affair. Belvedere only fuels the flames of innuendo by working on a "secret project" in his room. That project turns out to be a book about the community where he is staying, a revealing volume that exposes the pettiness and hypocrisy of several respectable citizens. Robert Young nearly loses his job over the ensuing scandal, but when the community becomes world famous and the object of increased business activity, Belvedere is the hero of the day. Clifton Webb made so vivid an impression as Mr. Belvedere that he repeated the role in two sequels, and played variations of Belvedere (with emphasis on his "child psychology" tactics) in such films as Cheaper by the Dozen and Mr. Scoutmaster. After numerous failed attempts at launching a TV series based on the Gwen Davenport-created character, Mr. Belvedere settled into a long video run in 1985, with Christopher Hewett in the title role and sportscaster Bob Uecker as Belvedere's nonplused employer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Edmund Gwenn plays Kris Kringle, a bearded old gent who is the living image of Santa Claus. Serving as a last-minute replacement for the drunken Santa who was to have led Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, Kringle is offered a job as a Macy's toy-department Santa. Supervisor Maureen O'Hara soon begins having second thoughts about hiring Kris: it's bad enough that he is laboring under the delusion that he's the genuine Saint Nick; but when he begins advising customers to shop elsewhere for toys that they can't find at Macy's, he's gone too far! Amazingly, Mr. Macy (Harry Antrim) considers Kris' shopping tips to be an excellent customer-service "gimmick," and insists that the old fellow keep his job. A resident of a Long Island retirement home, Kris agrees to take a room with lawyer John Payne during the Christmas season. It happens that Payne is sweet on O'Hara, and Kris subliminally hopes he can bring the two together. Kris is also desirous of winning over the divorced O'Hara's little daughter Natalie Wood, who in her few years on earth has lost a lot of the Christmas spirit. Complications ensue when Porter Hall, Macy's nasty in-house psychologist, arranges to have Kris locked up in Bellevue as a lunatic. Payne represents Kris at his sanity hearing, rocking the New York judicial system to its foundations by endeavoring to prove in court that Kris is, indeed, the real Santa Claus! We won't tell you how he does it: suffice to say that there's a joyous ending for Payne and O'Hara, as well as a wonderful faith-affirming denouement for little Natalie Wood. 72-year-old Edmund Gwenn won an Oscar for his portrayal of the "jolly old elf" Kringle; the rest of the cast is populated by such never-fail pros as Gene Lockhart (as the beleaguered sanity-hearing judge), William Frawley (as a crafty political boss), and an unbilled Thelma Ritter and Jack Albertson. Based on the novel by Valentine Davies, Miracle on 34th Street was remade twice: once for TV in 1973, and a second time for a 1994 theatrical release, with Richard Attenborough as Kris Kringle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a Bostonian socialite marries the owner of a racehorse and begins a life of globe-trotting from international track to track until her hubby runs out of money. In desperation, he borrows money from an ex-girlfriend who decides that she will not let him leave her again. Meanwhile, the wife is beginning to wonder why she married him and begins contemplating divorce. Things change when her philandering spouse dumps the other, decides to rebuild his stables, and bets every last nickel on his one remaining horse's Kentucky Derby run. His horse barely loses to his wife's horse. Fortunately, the couple makes up and they live a long, happy life together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A real three-handkerchief affair, Sentimental Journey stars John Payne and Maureen O'Hara as a Broadway producer Bill and his actress-wife Julie. Unable to have children, Julie adopts orphaned girl Hitty (Connie Marshall). Shortly afterward, Julie dies of a heart attack, leaving Hitty in the care of the sullen Bill, who can't seem to "connect" with the girl. Eventually Hitty wins Bill's heart, but not without the implicit celestial intervention of the departed Julie. Much-needed comedy relief is provided by Mischa Auer and, to a lesser extent, William Bendix. Sentimental Journey was remade in 1958 as The Gift of Love, with Lauren Bacall in the Maureen O'Hara role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No slouch himself at rearranging the facts to make a good story, Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody would probably have enjoyed this Technicolor version of his life and times. Well played by Joel McCrea, Cody is first seen as an army Indian scout, pursuing peaceful coexistence despite the animosity of Chief Yellow Hand (Anthony Quinn) and the obstruction of anti-Indian politicians. He also takes time out to court the lovely Louisa (Maureen O'Hara), the well-bred Eastern girl who will become his wife despite her initial (and quite justified) distaste for the West. Under the tutelage of impresario Ned Buntline (Thomas Mitchell), Cody follows up his military career with a more spectacular one as a larger-than-life super-showman, touring throughout the world with his spectacular Wild West show. In later years, Buffalo Bill director William Wellman would wince at the liberties taken with Cody's life -- especially the film's now notorious closing line, "God bless you, Buffalo Bill!" But Wellman allowed that, in terms of sheer entertainment, it was smarter to emulate Cody by perpetuating the legend rather than debunking the Buffalo Bill image with cold, hard facts. Or, as John Ford put it in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Garfield was borrowed from Warner Bros. by RKO Radio for the tense espionage melodrama The Fallen Sparrow. Garfield is cast as Kit, an idealistic Spanish Civil War veteran who survives two torturous years in a fascist prison. Upon returning to New York, Kit is pounced upon by Nazi agents, who hope to learn the valuable secrets that Kit would not reveal to his captors during his ordeal. Among the methods of persuasion utilized by the Nazis is the beautiful Toni (Maureen O'Hara in a masterpiece of against-type casting). But Kit is made of stronger stuff than the spies are used to, and eventually he is able to beat them at their own game. Walter Slezak costars as the mellifluous-but-deadly Dr. Skaas. The Fallen Sparrow was based on the best-selling novel by Dorothy B. Hughes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide