John Ford and John Wayne show their sweeter, more sentimental side in The Quiet Man and the result is one of their great masterpieces together. This sweeping romance was Ford’s tribute to the pastoral idyll of his family’s native Ireland. Yet even the lushly photographed Arcadian setting can barely contain the palpable passion shared by then real-life lovers Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. This star-crossed love story of an American ex-boxer and a fiery Irish maiden won Ford his fourth Best Director Oscar and also stands to prove: there will always be those who fight as hard as they love.
“As darlin’ a picture as we’ve seen this year.” – A.H. Weiler, The New York Times
“This is a robust romantic drama of a native-born’s return to Ireland. Director John Ford took cast and cameras to Ireland to tell the story against actual backgrounds.” – Variety
