Having previously been married to a criminal, Jane Foster (Jane Hylton) takes over a coastal pub named 'The Quiet Woman' to start a new life with the help of her loyal and protective employee Elsie (Dora Bryan). She is indignant to discover that the previous owner had allowed an amiable local artist and part-time smuggler Duncan McLeod (Derek Bond) to use the pub for storing contraband goods but despite this, a romantic attachment develops between them. Helen (Dianne Foster), an old flame of McLeods, tricks her way into staying at the pub to pose for him but becomes jealous of Jane and taunts her about knowing her past and threatens to expose her. Pressure then mounts on McLeod when an old Naval colleague Inspector Bromley (John Horsley) arrives at the pub to stay for several weeks. He now is working as a customs officer. And then Jane's escaped convict husband turns up and demands her help.
This is a pretty typical British B picture of the period with flimsy plot and the minimum of props, much being made of outdoor filming and studio-bound back projection of seascapes in the latter stages that fail to convince the viewer the action is taking place in mid-English Channel. The best aspects of this film are the solid acting from a cast of well-known character actors/actresses of the period. In particular Dora Bryan gives a nice performance as Jane's trusted friend who is fiercely protective of her employer while keeping the romantic aspirations of McLeod's sidekick Lefty (Michael Balfour) at bay. The pleasant coastal photography gives the film a genuine seaside atmosphere.
If like me, you grew up with second feature films like this in the early 1950s, then you accept them as entertainment and enjoy the way things were done in those far more innocent times. If you criticise them, it should only be done against the criteria that prevailed then and not by today's standards. Given that, the only disappointment for me was the weak, improbable ending. I have the distinct impression that the scriptwriter suddenly decided he had better things to do than invent a plausible finale. A pity.
This is a pretty typical British B picture of the period with flimsy plot and the minimum of props, much being made of outdoor filming and studio-bound back projection of seascapes in the latter stages that fail to convince the viewer the action is taking place in mid-English Channel. The best aspects of this film are the solid acting from a cast of well-known character actors/actresses of the period. In particular Dora Bryan gives a nice performance as Jane's trusted friend who is fiercely protective of her employer while keeping the romantic aspirations of McLeod's sidekick Lefty (Michael Balfour) at bay. The pleasant coastal photography gives the film a genuine seaside atmosphere.
If like me, you grew up with second feature films like this in the early 1950s, then you accept them as entertainment and enjoy the way things were done in those far more innocent times. If you criticise them, it should only be done against the criteria that prevailed then and not by today's standards. Given that, the only disappointment for me was the weak, improbable ending. I have the distinct impression that the scriptwriter suddenly decided he had better things to do than invent a plausible finale. A pity.