Maureen O'Hara appeared as Mary Kate Danaher in the 1952 romantic comedy "The Quiet Man," which was set in her native Ireland. The film was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story written by Irish novelist Maurice Walsh, and it would provide Maureen O'Hara the most iconic role of her long career.
The plot of the movie followed Sean Thornton (John Wayne) as he tried to become reacclimated to life after he accidentally killed a man in a boxing match. Thornton, an American in retreat to his ancestral home in Ireland, fell in love with Mary Kate (O'Hara) but needed permission to marry from her brother, the squire "Red Will" Danaher (Victor McLaglen). Complicating matters for the couple was a dispute over Red Will's obligation of paying her dowry before she could consummate their nuptials.
Here's what Maureen O'Hara and others had to say about her iconic role:
1. "One of John Ford's best pictures is also his most overtly romantic saga, set against picaresque Ireland, with top-notch turns from John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara,"
wrote Emmanuel Levy in 2007.
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2. "Wayne and O'Hara create a fine rapport, with good performances that build to a truly satisfying climax,"
wrote Almar Halflidason of BBC (2001).
3. "Irish-born Maureen O'Hara is the perfect match for Wayne: she never allows him to steal a scene without a fight, and occasionally snatches one away from him on her own. O'Hara plays Mary Kate with the fire expected from a redhead, and her character's relationship with Sean is a clear case of opposites attracting,"
wrote James Berardinelli, of Reel Reviews.
4. "My father was a major movie star, and I think you have to explode off the screen to be larger than life. And I think Maureen was the woman who could match him on the screen. Something happened on the screen. There was an electricity there. She could match John Wayne kiss for kiss, punch for punch, stride for stride," said Micheal Wayne about "The Quiet Man,"
according to biographer Herb Fagen in "Duke: We're Glad We Knew You: John Wayne's Friends and Colleagues Remember His Remarkable Life"
5. In her autobiography, "'Tis Herself", O'Hara was particularly careful with the legacy of "The Quiet Man."
"I have often said that 'The Quiet Man' is my personal favorite of all the pictures I have made during my career. It is the one I am most proud of, and tend to be very protective of it," O'Hara said.
That sentiment would hold true till the end of her life.
"She passed peacefully surrounded by her loving family as they celebrated her life listening to music from her favorite movie, 'The Quiet Man,'"
her family said in a statement after O'Hara's Oct. 24, 2015, passing.
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