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Darby O'Gill and the Little People
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name =Darby O'Gill and the Little People
| image =Darby_o_gill_and_the_little_people.jpg
| caption = Film poster by Reynold Brown
| director = Robert Stevenson
| producer = Bill Anderson
Walt Disney
| writer =H. T. Kavanagh (stories)
Lawrence Edward Watkin
| starring =Albert Sharpe
Janet Munro
Sean Connery
Jimmy O'Dea
Kieron Moore
Estelle Winwood
Walter Fitzgerald
| cinematography = Winton Hoch
| music = Oliver Wallace
| editing = Stanley Johnson
| studio = Walt Disney Productions
| distributor = Buena Vista Distribution
| released =
| runtime = 93 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = 'Original release':
$2.6 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)"1959: Probable Domestic Take", 'Variety', 6 January 1960 p 34
'1969 re-release':
$2.3 million (US/ Canada rentals)"Big Rental Films of 1969", 'Variety', 7 January 1970 p 15
}}
'Darby O'Gill and the Little People' is a 1959 American fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions, adapted from the 'Darby O'Gill' stories of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. Directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Lawrence Edward Watkin, the film stars Albert Sharpe as O'Gill alongside Janet Munro, Sean Connery, and Jimmy O'Dea.
Plot
Darby O'Gill and his daughter, Katie, live in Rathcullen, a small Irish town, where Darby is the caretaker for Lord Fitzpatrick's estate. Darby continually tries to catch a tribe of leprechauns, particularly their king, Brian Connors.
Lord Fitzpatrick retires Darby, replacing him with a young Dubliner named Michael McBride. Darby begs Michael not to tell Katie he has been replaced, and he reluctantly agrees. While chasing Fitzpatrick's horse, Cleopatra, which is actually a 'pooka', Darby is captured by Brian and the leprechauns and taken to their mountain lair, Knocknasheega. Brian has brought Darby there to prevent Katie from learning he lost his job. Darby cannot leave Knocknasheega as a consequence.
Darby tricks the leprechauns into opening the mountain and leaving by playing "The Fox Chase" on Brian's Stradivarius violin. Darby escapes, and expecting Brian to pursue him, later engages him in a drinking game with a jug of 'poitn', allowing him to capture the leprechaun at sunrise, when his magic has no effect. Since Darby has caught him, Brian grants him three wishes, but warns that wishing for a fourth forfeits them all. Darby's first wish is for Brian to stay by his side for two weeks or until Darby runs out of wishes. Brian tricks Darby into using his second wish to draw Katie and Michael closer together.
Pony Sugrue, the town bully, decides to take Michael's new job and Katie for himself. Pony's mother, Sheelah, tells Katie about Darby's retirement, causing Katie to angrily confront Darby and Michael. When Cleopatra has gotten loose again, Katie chases her to Knocknasheega. Darby later finds her stricken with a deadly fever. A banshee appears and summons the Dullahan on a death coach to transport Katie's soul. Brian sadly grants Darby's third wish to take Katie's place. Inside the death coach, Brian consoles Darby, then tricks him into wishing he would have Brian's company in the afterlife. This counts as a fourth wish and Brian voids all his others. Darby is freed from the death coach and returns to Katie, who makes a full recovery. Michael later confronts and humiliates Pony at the pub. Michael and Katie fall in love with Darby's approval.
Cast
Production
Walt Disney conceived the film during a trip to Ireland with the Irish Folklore Commission in 1947.Tony Tracy, 'When Disney Met Delargy: Darby O'Gill and the Irish Folklore Commission', Baloideas: Journal of the Irish Folklore Society, Vol. 78, 2010 pp 50-59. The following year, Disney announced he would make a film titled 'Three Wishes', based on a script from Watkin about an Irishman battling a leprechaun, which was to involve both live action and animation. However, the script was never produced. Disney took a second trip to Ireland in 1956 and announced a new film that October, 'The Three Wishes of Darby O'Gill', based on Kavanagh's 1903 book 'Darby O'Gill and the Good People', retaining Watkin as writer. Disney studied Gaelic folklore for three months at the Dublin Library and received input from 'seancha' while developing the film. During casting in London in February 1958, the film's title became 'Darby O'Gill and the Little People'.
Barry Fitzgerald was Disney's first choice to play both Darby and Brian. Sharpe and O'Dea were instead cast in the lead roles after Disney spotted O'Dea in a pantomime. Munro was cast in March after Disney signed her for a five-year contract, while Connery was borrowed from 20th Century Fox, where he was then under contract. Filming started on the Disney backlot in May 1958, though some location work was done at Albertson Ranch in the San Fernando Valley.
Munro and Connery sing a duet in the film titled "Pretty Irish Girl",. apparently dubbing over vocals by Brendan O'Dowda and Ruby Murray,"Gifted Irish tenor linked with Percy French", 'The Irish Times', 2 March 2002. which was released in the UK as a single in 1959. A demo of Connery singing the song solo was included in the 1992 compilation 'The Music of Disney: A Legacy of Song'.[http://www.45cat.com/record/jar163&c=43659#43659 45 cat] 45 cat collectors catalog listing of record.
Dell Comics produced a comic book adaptation of the film in August 1959.
Reception
Writing for 'The New York Times', A. H. Weiler praised the cast, but described Connery as "merely tall, dark, and handsome", and called the film an "overpoweringly charming concoction of standard Gaelic tall stories, fantasy and romance."[https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B04E5DF1F3CE63BBC4953DFB1668382649EDE 'New York Times' Review]. Retrieved September 23, 2008 'Variety' called the film a "rollicking Gaelic fantasy" with "meticulously painstaking production" and "a gem" of a performance from Sharpe, though Connery was called "artificial" and "the weakest link in Robert Stevenson's otherwise distinguished direction." Charles Stinson of the 'Los Angeles Times' wrote, "Being a Disney product, it is as technically perfect a job as can be had; the Technicolor, the camera work, the special effects, the Irish music and all are a rich feast for anyone's eye and ear."Stinson, Charles (June 27, 1959). "'Darby O'Gill' Rich in Irish Atmosphere". 'Los Angeles Times'. p. 11. 'The Monthly Film Bulletin' called the special effects "brilliantly executed" but found that "all attempts at Irish charm seem pretty synthetic, a notable exception being the playing of Jimmy O'Dea, who makes King Brian the most likeable and beguiling leprechaun yet to appear on the screen."
Leonard Maltin praises the film in his book 'The Disney Films', calling it "not only one of Disney's best films, but [also it] is certainly one of the best fantasies ever put on film." In a later article, he included it among a list of outstanding lesser-known Disney films.
The film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 15 reviews, with an average grade of 7 out of 10.
Munro won the 1960 Golden Globe for New Star of the Year for her performance in the film.
See also
* Disney films
* Irish mythology in popular culture
* Lists of films released by Disney
* List of films featuring miniature people
References
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