Critic’s rating: ★★★★
(129 minutes; G)

It’s all the green, green hills of Ireland, and green practically everything else, in “The Quiet Man.” That is, until Sean Thornton (John Wayne), a tall, rugged American, stumbles onto the red hair, red freckles and red skirt of local lass Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O’Hara). She’s the one with the sweet face, attractive curves, quick temper, and tough, disagreeable and easily provoked older brother (Victor McLaglen). The Yank newcomer, friendly enough but unwilling to take guff from anyone, has just returned to Innisfree, the village where he was born, after decades living in Pittsburgh and elsewhere around the United States.

In short order, celebrated Western director John Ford (“Stagecoach,” “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”) gives us picturesque thatched-roof cottages, a quaint village, quirky locals, hillsides packed with sheep, bicycles built for two, spit handshakes, arguments over land, a horse race, two local holy men (one Catholic, one Protestant), “courtship” customs, and impromptu accordion-backed singalongs down at the pub. Not to mention an occasional burst of dialogue spoken in Gaelic. Did I mention drinking?

Yes, there will be obstacles, including Mary Kate’s set-in-his-ways sibling, and a troubling secret from someone’s past. 

Much of the male-female relationship behavior seems hopelessly retrograde, although not necessarily out of step with the values and standards of the times, the early ’50s. 

“The Quiet Man” benefits from genuine chemistry between the leads and among the supporting players, gentle old-fashioned humor, evocative cinematography, a literate script and Ford’s sure-handed, smooth direction. The slow-but-not-sluggish pacing, smart editing and sensible scene transitions all contribute to making the whole thing feel easy like a Sunday morning, or a lazy Sunday afternoon on a chilly weekend, which is when we caught Ford’s dated but still entertaining gem.

All in all, “The Quiet Man,” shot in Technicolor on location in Ireland (a rarity on both counts) is a pleasant and frequent funny romcom/drama that’s surprisingly low on blarney.

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