Quiet Man

[Mr. Kilt]

GREAT movie! Thanks for letting us know it was on. I'd never seen it before and my wife and I both enjoyed it.

[McNulty]

And "don't forget to cheer like Protestants!!!!"
Nulty

[BoldHighlander]

I'm a big fan of the movie. I've been watching The Quiet Man since I was a kid, and had a chance to visit the town of Inishfree (Cong, Ireland) back in 1992. However, it is only recently that I discovered something I hadn't seen before:

Sean Thornton's Saddle

In the horse racing scene, John Wayne is clearly riding a US Army McClellan Cavalry saddle. All the other riders are in English saddles. Which got me thinking:

Was it Sean Thornton, the character, who brought this saddle with his other stuff from America, or was it John Wayne, the actor, who just preferred to ride a McClellan over an English saddle?

Anyone got the inside scoop, or care to venture a guess? My bet goes to Duke riding in the saddle he was used to.....

Being a cav guy, and owning an original like his, I notice horse tack whenever its on the screen, so yeah, noticed it right off.

I own the special edition of the 'Quiet Man', have watched the features, and own various Wayne bios (books) but have never heard or read a reference to the saddle used.

Originally I thought it was the perhaps the Americanized character, but then I don't recall seeing him bring any horse tack with him. And a McClellan isn't easily hid in a sleeping bag with buttons on it

So I think you might've hit upon something there with the Duke utilizing a saddle he was most familiar with, and one that wouldn't have stood out too much in shots with English style saddles featured prominently in it ---
one must remember that Hollywood wouldn't have anticipated AMC, Turner or dvd's & repeated viewings where we would pick up on such things when this was originally filmed

[James MacMillan]

Boy, talk about a nice trivia question:

What type of saddle did John Wayne use in the quiet man?

That should be worth at least one round of drinks.

Sharp eyes there!



.

[macwilkin]

I'm a big fan of the movie. I've been watching The Quiet Man since I was a kid, and had a chance to visit the town of Inishfree (Cong, Ireland) back in 1992. However, it is only recently that I discovered something I hadn't seen before:

Sean Thornton's Saddle

In the horse racing scene, John Wayne is clearly riding a US Army McClellan Cavalry saddle. All the other riders are in English saddles. Which got me thinking:

Was it Sean Thornton, the character, who brought this saddle with his other stuff from America, or was it John Wayne, the actor, who just preferred to ride a McClellan over an English saddle?

Anyone got the inside scoop, or care to venture a guess? My bet goes to Duke riding in the saddle he was used to.....

It was Wayne that had it brought over during the filming.

How do I know? I read Des McHale's The Complete Guide to the Quiet Man, a veritable treasure-trove of trivia about the movie. McHale is a uversity professor in Ireland and a founding member of the Quiet Man Movie club. The book is out of print, but your local library should be able to interlibrary loan it for you.

T.

[BoldHighlander]

It was Wayne that had it brought over during the filming.

How do I know? I read Des McHale's The Complete Guide to the Quiet Man, a veritable treasure-trove of trivia about the movie. McHale is a uversity professor in Ireland and a founding member of the Quiet Man Movie club. The book is out of print, but your local library should be able to interlibrary loan it for you.

T.

Thanks

[SFCRick]

great movie, allways a favorite

[Jack Daw]

I have The Quiet Man on dvd at home. I am saving the next viewing for St. Paddy's.

[Jimmy]

A few years ago I met Joe Mellett who was John Wayne's stand in. He was a big man obviously similar in stature to the Duke, unfortunately Joe passed away 2 or 3 years ago. For years he run a pub either in County Galway or Clare.
All Quiet Man fans should visit Ashford Castle where the cast stayed during the making of the film, and call in at the farm house behind the Caslte, this is in the little village of Cong where a lot of the scenes where filmed.
If I remember correctly Cohan's Bar was John Murphy's grocer shop converted for the film. I met John Murphy who had a part as an extra in the film like many of the Cong residents.
Another interesting fact is the scene where we first saw the lovely Maureen O'Hara ( was there a more beautiful woman in movie history) is now the golf course at the Castle

[Kevlar70]

Great, great film and one you won't be embarrassed to show a mixed audience of adults and wee bairns.