History Film / TheQuietMan

Sometime in the 1920s, a polite, soft-spoken American named Sean Thornton (Wayne) -- the "quiet man" of the title -- makes his way to the small, quaint Irish village of Innisfree. Thornton has returned to his ancestral home to purchase his father's house, "White o' Mornin'", but in doing so inadvertently rouses the ire of the boorish, hot-tempered local squire "Red" Will Danaher ([=McLaglen=]), who has long coveted the property for himself. Further complicating matters is that while journeying into town, Sean catches a glimpse of beautiful, [[FieryRedhead feisty, red-headed]] Mary Kate Danaher (O'Hara) -- Will's sister -- and the pair more or less instantly [[LoveAtFirstSight fall in love]]. Unfortunately, before Sean can even say to Mary Kate, "Hi, how are you? Wanna marry me and live happily ever after?" he first has to get Will's permission (and Mary Kate's dowry, which her brother holds). And Will would much sooner join the Church of Ireland than allow THAT to ever happen.

* BoisterousBruiser: Red Will Danaher; with a jaw of granite and a wicked right punch, and loudly proclaiming himself the "Best Man in Innisfree." Subverted with Thornton, who is a Bruiser but prefers to [[TitleDrop be a quiet man]].
* ButtMonkey: Will Danaher is not a popular figure in Innisfree, and comes in for a lot of derogatory commentary throughout the film.

* CombatPragmatist: Will kicks Sean in the face right after agreeing to fight by Marquess of Queensbury rules.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: The reason Thornton has returned to his family's cottage in Innisfree is because he accidentally killed a fighter in a boxing match. His guilt over that death is what stops him from fighting Danaher throughout most of the movie, and his revulsion that he had killed for prize money is why he refuses to win Mary Kate's dowry from her mean-spirited brother. He gets over it.

* FromNewYorkToNowhere

* TheVicar: The Rev. Mr. Cyril Playfair, who pastors Innisfree's small (Protestant) Church of Ireland congregation.

* WhileRomeBurns: One [[StiffUpperLip blatantly Englishman]] older gent sits serenely inside Cohan's Bar reading a newspaper while everyone else in Innisfree is out watching the climactic fight.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: When Michaeleen places Mary Kate's cradle inside the her and Sean's bedroom, he sees the wrecked bed and comes to the conclusion that some DestructoNookie took place, and acts scandalized.

* IrishPriest: Father Lonergan, and his assistant Father Paul. The trope is downplayed because they are actually ''in'' Ireland, and ''every'' character save Sean Thornton is Irish.

* MassOhCrap: When Sean quietly replies, "That's a lie," to Will's accusation of mal intent toward Mary Kate.

* ARoundOfDrinksForTheHouse: during the big fight scene, the bartender, Thornton and Danaher verbally fight over who's buying the drinks.

* SexySoakedShirt: The less common male example happens when Sean is wearing a silk shirt in the rain.

* TeethFlying: Will Danaher does this.

Sometime in the 1920s, a polite, soft-spoken American named Sean Thornton (Wayne) -- the "quiet man" of the title -- makes his way to the small, quaint Irish village of Innisfree. Thornton has returned to his ancestral home to purchase his father's house, "White o' Mornin'", but in doing so inadvertently rouses the ire of the boorish, hot-tempered local squire "Red" Will Danaher ([=McLaglen=]), who has long coveted the property for himself. Further complicating matters is that while journeying into town, Sean catches a glimpse of beautiful, fiesty, [[HeroesWantRedheads red-headed]] Mary Kate Danaher (O'Hara) -- Will's sister -- and the pair more or less instantly [[LoveAtFirstSight fall in love]]. Unfortunately, before Sean can even say to Mary Kate, "Hi, how are you? Wanna marry me and live happily ever after?" he first has to get Will's permission (and Mary Kate's dowry, which her brother holds). And Will would much sooner join the Church of Ireland than allow THAT to ever happen.

* HeroesWantRedheads: But who didn't want Maureen O'Hara?

* AluminumChristmasTrees: There really would be no correct Irish language term for 'sleeping bag'. When Ireland was conquered by the British, the Irish language was phased out and English became the dominant language. When Ireland received its independence, there were suddenly hundreds of modern conveniences that they had no Irish words for. So they had to just make them up.

* IrishPriest: Father Lonergan, and his assistant Father Paul.

* WidowWoman: Sarah Tillane, from whom Sean buys White o' Mornin' -- and whom Will [[RomancingTheWidow seeks to marry]].

** Every Irish stereotype you could think of is in this film. The love of drinking. The love of fighting. Members of the IRA sitting in the pub plotting their next mischief (relax, they're planning their next pub visit, not any bombing). Belief in both the Church (in Catholic ''and'' Protestant varieties) and tales of druids and the Fair Folk. Matchmaking and marriage customs that Americans can't make heads or tails of. Yup, every stereotype an American could think of is in this film -- [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments and it is awesome]].
** If not the first Hollywood film to shoot on location in Ireland, it's certainly the first to take advantage of color cinematography to capture on film incredibly vivid landscapes of the Irish countryside. See SceneryPorn, below.
** The confessional scene between Mary Kate and Father Lonergan was partially done in Irish, one of the few Hollywood movies to use the Irish language.

** Every Irish stereotype you can think of is in this film. The love of drinking. The love of fighting. Members of the IRA sitting in the pub plotting their next mischief (relax, they're planning their next pub visit, not any bombing). Belief in both the Church and tales of druids and the Fair Folk. Matchmaking and marriage customs that Americans can't make heads or tails of. Yup, every stereotype an American can think of is in this film: [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments and it is awesome]].

* PoliceAreUseless: During the final brawl, somebody calls the police station...and the officers place a bet on one of the combatants.

* TheVicar: The Rev. Mr. Cyril Playfair, who pastors Innisfree's tiny (Protestant) Church of Ireland congregation.

* TheVicar: The Rev. Mr. Playfair.