. . . THE JOY OF IRELAND is anything but an ode to the general attractions of the so-called Emerald Isle. Rather, it's pretty much a lame rehashing of THE MAKING OF THE QUIET MAN, which had been churned out 10 years earlier, in 1992. JOY runs about three minutes longer than the MAKING OF, as they each clock in at around half an hour. Because an aging Maureen O'Hara (who plays "Mary Kate" in the feature film) apparently was NOT available to be interviewed for the MAKING OF, her presence on JOY seems the main reason for its existence. QUIET's second assistant director, Andrew V. McLaglen, and John Wayne's son Patrick round out JOY's roster of interviewees. Perhaps the most interesting anecdote is that a blue collar studio guard had the presence of mind to bar John Ford, a notorious enemy of working people, from the lot the first time Martin Feeney (his birth name) showed up to try to talk Ms. O'Hara into QUIET's cast. Maybe someday someone will erect a statue to this heroic gatekeeper.
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