Suggested by H. T. Kavanagh's Darby O'Gill stories, this is a delightful light-hearted fantasy film. Taking place in the late 19th or early 20th Century, it depicts a version of Ireland where figures from Irish folklore such as leprechauns and banshees exist and interact with a select few. The film has a strong script by Leonard Edward Watkin. I don't know whether it was taken from the stories or Watkin's personal knowledge but it does a good job at capturing some of the colloquialisms of Irish English. Robert Stevenson, who directed most live action Disney films worth mentioning from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, handles the film with skill and flair. I was hugely impressed by the special effects, even when compared to the similar ones used in "The Incredible Shrinking Man" which I watched only two days ago. The banshee scared the bejesus out of me when I was little! There is no getting around the fact that the film is a very stereotypical portrayal of Ireland but it is silly, good-natured fun which this Irishman found both harmless and very enjoyable. There is nothing even remotely offensive about it. It is far better than most other Hollywood expeditions into Paddywhackery. Speaking of Irish legends, one has grown up that the actor Cyril Cusack and the High Court judge Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, who later moved up in the world when he became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the fifth President of Ireland, picketed the film when it was first shown in Dublin. However, this has about as much basis in fact as stories about leprechauns, not least because senior judges do not picket films or anything else for that matter.
The film stars Albert Sharpe in an enchanting performance as Darby O'Gill, an elderly caretaker / labourer who lives in the little village of Rathcullen and spends much of his time spinning yarns about the leprechauns who lived in the nearby fairy mountain Knocknasheega. At least everyone in Rathcullen thinks that they are yarns. It turns out that Darby is quite well acquainted with the leprechauns' king Brian Connors, played by the great Jimmy O'Dea. After he is relieved of his duties as caretaker by the local Anglo-Irish aristocrat Lord Fitzpatrick, the leprechauns capture Darby and tell him that he can live with them in the mountain. However, Darby is not too pleased about this as it means that he will never be able to return to the human world or see his daughter Katie again. Darby manages to outwit King Brian by getting him very drunk on poitín and trapping him in his house until sunrise so that he can get three wishes out of him. His first wish is that King Brian will remain with him for two weeks until he has made his other two wishes. Sharpe is extremely effective and very endearing as the wily Darby, who engages in a great battle of wits with King Brian. O'Dea, a well known stage actor who became a regular face on Irish television in the early 1960s, is brilliant as the even more wily king of the leprechauns. The two of them make a great double act and the film would have been significantly less entertaining if lesser actors had been cast.
Janet Munro is very good as the strong-willed, wholesome and compassionate pretty Irish girl Katie, who adores her father as much as he adores her but does not allow him to get away with anything. Munro, who sadly died at only 38, was English in real life but she makes a decent stab at an Irish accent. It is never entirely convincing but it is never over the top or distractingly bad either, which means that it has a major advantage over most Irish accents in Hollywood films. Sean Connery, the last surviving credited cast member, is perfectly fine as Michael McBride but he would mature into a far better actor as time passed. Reportedly, it was his performance in this film that led Cubby Broccoli to cast him as James Bond. I'm certainly glad that Broccoli saw something in him that I didn't! My fellow UCD alumnus Kieron Moore, the most prominent Irish cast member after Sharpe and O'Dea, is suitably slimy and antagonistic as Pony Sugrue, who has his eyes set on both Katie and Darby's job. Speaking of UCD, O'Dea's great-nephew was one of my lecturers there for a while but he was considerably less entertaining. Estelle Winwood, who lived to be 101 on the bright side, is excellent as Pony's conniving mother, the Widow Sugrue. It also features good performances from Walter Fitzgerald as Lord Fitzpatrick and Denis O'Dea (no relation to Jimmy) as Father Murphy.
Overall, this is a very entertaining, old fashioned fantasy film.
The film stars Albert Sharpe in an enchanting performance as Darby O'Gill, an elderly caretaker / labourer who lives in the little village of Rathcullen and spends much of his time spinning yarns about the leprechauns who lived in the nearby fairy mountain Knocknasheega. At least everyone in Rathcullen thinks that they are yarns. It turns out that Darby is quite well acquainted with the leprechauns' king Brian Connors, played by the great Jimmy O'Dea. After he is relieved of his duties as caretaker by the local Anglo-Irish aristocrat Lord Fitzpatrick, the leprechauns capture Darby and tell him that he can live with them in the mountain. However, Darby is not too pleased about this as it means that he will never be able to return to the human world or see his daughter Katie again. Darby manages to outwit King Brian by getting him very drunk on poitín and trapping him in his house until sunrise so that he can get three wishes out of him. His first wish is that King Brian will remain with him for two weeks until he has made his other two wishes. Sharpe is extremely effective and very endearing as the wily Darby, who engages in a great battle of wits with King Brian. O'Dea, a well known stage actor who became a regular face on Irish television in the early 1960s, is brilliant as the even more wily king of the leprechauns. The two of them make a great double act and the film would have been significantly less entertaining if lesser actors had been cast.
Janet Munro is very good as the strong-willed, wholesome and compassionate pretty Irish girl Katie, who adores her father as much as he adores her but does not allow him to get away with anything. Munro, who sadly died at only 38, was English in real life but she makes a decent stab at an Irish accent. It is never entirely convincing but it is never over the top or distractingly bad either, which means that it has a major advantage over most Irish accents in Hollywood films. Sean Connery, the last surviving credited cast member, is perfectly fine as Michael McBride but he would mature into a far better actor as time passed. Reportedly, it was his performance in this film that led Cubby Broccoli to cast him as James Bond. I'm certainly glad that Broccoli saw something in him that I didn't! My fellow UCD alumnus Kieron Moore, the most prominent Irish cast member after Sharpe and O'Dea, is suitably slimy and antagonistic as Pony Sugrue, who has his eyes set on both Katie and Darby's job. Speaking of UCD, O'Dea's great-nephew was one of my lecturers there for a while but he was considerably less entertaining. Estelle Winwood, who lived to be 101 on the bright side, is excellent as Pony's conniving mother, the Widow Sugrue. It also features good performances from Walter Fitzgerald as Lord Fitzpatrick and Denis O'Dea (no relation to Jimmy) as Father Murphy.
Overall, this is a very entertaining, old fashioned fantasy film.