Day 9 - Maureen O'Hara (Found the draft!)

I've been a fan of Westerns since high-school, when I started watching movies featuring Dean Martin (yes, the Italian crooner made an excellent cowboy).  While I could write a book about the Westerns of the 30's, 40's and 50's, I won't bore you to death talking about them here.  Westerns have come and gone out of fashion, but it interests me when they are popular and what they reflect about the time in which they were made.  One of the common complaints I hear about older Westerns is the portrayal of women - that they aren't strong and have no depth.  That is true, unfortunately, in many Westerns, but really it's also true in films of certain periods regardless of genre.  One of the reasons Westerns get so much of a bad reputation is because in many ways, the characters are just stand-ins for mythic types.  It goes deeper than male-female, it extends to individual-society and wilderness-civilization.  The other point I'd argue is that there are some strong female characters out there if you know where to look.  I've already written about Westward the Women, and some of the women in the old Gene Autry films.  But if I had to pick one actress who really nailed it, that would be Maureen O'Hara.

Ms. O'Hara's flaming red hair not only added to her individual beauty, but matched her fiery personality too.  She met Charles Laughton in London while just a fledgling actress, and he was quite taken with her talent.  He brought her to Hollywood with him, where they made The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) and no one has been a better Esmeralda since.  She soon made a huge success of her role in How Green was My Valley (1941), her first picture with notoriously demanding director John Ford.  The two would team up for several films, and O'Hara would become known for her on-screen chemistry with Ford favorite, John Wayne.  I really admire the grit with which O'Hara acted - no one could have pulled off her tough act and hold her own against such a macho leading man.  What comes to mind especially is her role in Rio Grande (1950) - the estranged wife of Kirby Yorke, Kathleen (O'Hara) is the only force which can tame her husband - not to mention put him in his place.

Maureen O'Hara giving someone the look (The Quiet Man, Republic Pictures 1952)

O'Hara stayed true to her Irish roots (she was born in Ranelagh, in County Dublin, Ireland) when she and fellow Irish-Americans Ford and Wayne finally got the funding together to film The Quiet Man (1952).  It's probably her most well-remembered role, that of spinster turned wife Mary Kate, who refuses to obey her husband until he forces her brother to pay her dowry.  If you haven't seen this film yet, you definitely should for the following reasons:

1. John Wayne makes a convincing romantic lead (surprise!)
2. Maureen O'Hara is AMAZING.  Both demure and proud all at once, she can curse a blue streak but remains a perfect lady.  AND she speaks in Gaelic! 
3. Many Ford stock company actors and actresses appear here - the difference is that most of them actually are Irish, so they seem very much at home.  When he made Westerns, it's a bit odd to see them all just conveniently all at the same fort.  But in a small town in Ireland, not a big surprise.
4. Did I mention it was almost entirely shot ON LOCATION?  
5. Ward Bond plays a priest.  Yes, I'm giggling at the thought.
6. At the time of release, the film boasted the longest continuous fist-fight on screen at something like 16 or 17 minutes.  
7. Um, did I mention Maureen O'Hara is amazing?

Maureen O'Hara is so great in so many films that you really should try to see at least one.  In fact, you may have already seen her and not even realized it, though with that unmistakable red hair and iron will, she'd be pretty hard to forget.  A true leading lady who could stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the toughest men in the business, Maureen O'Hara always brought a sense of self-reliance and strength to her roles, along with a timeless beauty and old-world charm.