John Wayne Injures Maureen O’Hara on the Fiery Set of The Quiet Man
71 years ago today, The Quiet Man made its debut in UK cinemas. Renowned actor John Wayne once again teamed up with director collaborator John Ford to bring us this Oscar-winning classic.
Regarded as the director’s most captivating film, the story follows the journey of Duke’s character, retired boxer Sean Thornton, as he returns to his hometown in Ireland to claim his family estate during the 1920s.
In Ireland, Wayne’s character encounters the strong-willed Mary Kate Danaher, played by Maureen O’Hara, and her challenging brother Red, portrayed by Victor McLaglen. Shot in County Mayo and County Galway, O’Hara faced a challenging experience on set during the filming of the scene where Sean kisses her for the first time.
During that moment, her character reacts by slapping him, but Wayne’s powerful block inadvertently broke O’Hara’s hand.
The Quiet Man was filmed in chronological order, which meant that O’Hara had to endure the pain without a cast for the rest of the principal photography. As if that wasn’t enough, she also had to tolerate Ford’s notorious rudeness and provocation towards his actors. He deliberately angered McLaglen for the closing fight scene of The Quiet Man, but O’Hara refused to tolerate such behavior.
While filming the scene where Sean discovers Mary Kate in his cottage, the strong winds continuously blew her hair into her face, causing her to squint. In frustration, Ford yelled at O’Hara to keep her eyes open. She promptly fired back, “What would a bald-headed son of a bitch know about hair lashing across his eyeballs?!”
During the filming of The Quiet Man’s final scene, Wayne was completely caught off guard by an unscripted line insisted upon by Ford. In this particular scene, the couple waves goodbye, and Mary Kate whispers something to Sean that astonishes the Western legend. Initially, O’Hara refused to say the mysterious words, later writing in her memoir, “I couldn’t possibly say that to Duke!” However, Ford persisted, wanting to capture a genuine shocked reaction from his co-star, which he successfully achieved.
Only the three of them knew what the line was, and they took that secret to their graves. Given Ford’s view of The Quiet Man as his most alluring film, one can assume that the mysterious line was considered scandalous in the early 1950s.
