IMDb RATING
4.6/10
2.5K
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During the Irish Civil War in 1922, a family earns a big inheritance. They start leading a rich life, forgetting what the most important values are.During the Irish Civil War in 1922, a family earns a big inheritance. They start leading a rich life, forgetting what the most important values are.During the Irish Civil War in 1922, a family earns a big inheritance. They start leading a rich life, forgetting what the most important values are.
Maire O'Neill
- Mrs. Maisie Madigan
- (as Maire O'Neil)
Dennis Wyndham
- The Mobiliser
- (as Denis Wyndham)
Fred Schwartz
- Mr. Kelly
- (as Fred Schwarz)
Donald Calthrop
- Needle Nugent
- (uncredited)
George Spence
- Man in Crowd
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough Edward Chapman played the father of John Laurie and Kathleen O'Regan, he was four years younger than Laurie and two years older than O'Regan in real life.
- GoofsWhen Maisie Madigan is drunk at the Boyle's house, she strolls across the kitchen and Mrs. Boyel's arms are by her side, but in the next shot, Mrs. Boyle's arms are crossed.
- Quotes
Captain Boyle: Well, isn't all religions curious? If they weren't, how would you get anyone to believe in them?
- ConnectionsFeatured in Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock (2009)
Featured review
Hitchcock made a bunch of bad decisions here
After filming a few bits on the revue musical Elstree Calling, Alfred Hitchcock's next full feature directing job was on this terrible adaptation of Sean O'Casey's popular play. A long-suffering Irish family struggles to get by during the Irish Civil War. Matriarch "Juno" (Sara Allgood, who had played the role on the stage as well) tries to get layabout drunk husband Captain Boyle (Edward Chapman), whom she refers to as the "Paycock" (peacock) due to his strutting vanity, to find work to help support the family, which includes daughter Mary (Kathleen O'Regan), a worker on strike, and son Johnny (John Laurie), a former IRA fighter left bitter and resentful after an injury resulted in the loss of an arm. When the Captain learns that he's come into a generous inheritance, the family thinks that their fortunes may have finally brightened, only for tragedy to occur. Also featuring Marie O'Neill, Sidney Morgan, Dave Morris, and John Longden (the policeman boyfriend from Blackmail).
I'm not familiar with O'Casey's play, but if this film is an indication, it's awful. Hitchcock made the conscious decision to abstain from any cinematic style, and attempted to present this as a largely static filmed play, rendering the already-tedious proceedings even more unbearable. Allgood isn't bad, but the rest of the cast is forgettable at best. The original play had starred Barry Fitzgerald as the Captain, and he makes his film debut here as a speech-making rabble-rouser at the movie's start. Perhaps Hitchcock thought that Barry's Nosferatu-with-a-bad-wig look wasn't camera-friendly enough to reprise his lead role. This is definitely my least favorite Hitchcock film.
I'm not familiar with O'Casey's play, but if this film is an indication, it's awful. Hitchcock made the conscious decision to abstain from any cinematic style, and attempted to present this as a largely static filmed play, rendering the already-tedious proceedings even more unbearable. Allgood isn't bad, but the rest of the cast is forgettable at best. The original play had starred Barry Fitzgerald as the Captain, and he makes his film debut here as a speech-making rabble-rouser at the movie's start. Perhaps Hitchcock thought that Barry's Nosferatu-with-a-bad-wig look wasn't camera-friendly enough to reprise his lead role. This is definitely my least favorite Hitchcock film.
helpful•81
- AlsExGal
- Jan 29, 2023
Details
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1
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