Did You Know?

A replica of the famous thatched cottage in the movie is located at Maam Cross, County Galway, in the west of Ireland.

The famous fight scene was shot in the grounds of Ashford Castle, Cong, County Mayo. The stunt in which John Wayne punches Victor McLaglen into the river was performed by director John Ford's son, Patrick Ford (doubling for McLaglen).

At the film's conclusion, after the credits, we see Kate and Sean standing in their garden waving good-bye. Maureen O'Hara turns to John Wayne and whispers something in his ear, evoking a priceless reaction from Wayne. What was said was known only to O'Hara, Wayne and director John Ford. In exchange for saying this unscripted bit of text, O'Hara insisted that the exact line never be disclosed by any involved parties. In her memoirs she says that she refused to say the line at first as she "couldn't possibly say that to Duke", but Ford insisted, claiming he needed a genuine shock reaction from Wayne. The line remains a mystery to this day.

This was a significant departure for Republic Pictures, which specialized in low-budget westerns, comedies and war pictures. It was the company's first and only film to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

This is one of the few Hollywood films in which you can hear Gaelic, the national language of Ireland.

Green, the national color of Ireland, can be seen somewhere in every shot in this film, but not on any of the actors' costumes except for Maureen O'Hara green floral dress in the cemetery scene. .

On the DVD commentary Maureen O'Hara dispels many myths about the film including one about a lack of accommodations for the crew in Ireland. According to O'Hara, the production spent six weeks shooting the exteriors in Ireland and filmed the interiors on sound stages in L.A.

During the scene where John Wayne first kisses Maureen O'Hara, she slaps his face. When he blocked the blow, she broke a bone in her hand. Since the movie was being filmed in sequential order, she couldn't wear a cast to fix the broken bone.

John Wayne and John Ford decided to play a trick on Maureen O'Hara during filming. They chose the sequence where Wayne drags O'Hara across the town and through the fields. Before shooting the scene, Wayne and Ford kicked all of the sheep dung they could find onto the hill where O'Hara was to be dragged, face-down, on her stomach. O'Hara saw them doing it; with the help of several friends, she kicked it off, only to have Wayne and Ford kick it back on. O'Hara and her friends kicked it off again, and Wayne and Ford kicked it back. This went on and on until right before the scene was shot, when Wayne and Ford got in the last kick. According to O'Hara, "Duke had the time of his life dragging me through it. It was bloody awful. After the scene was over, Mr. Ford had given instructions that I was not to be brought a bucket of water or a towel. He made me keep it on for the rest of the day. I was mad as hell, but I had to laugh too. Isn't showbiz glamorous?"

Charles B. Fitzsimons (Hugh Forbes) and James O'Hara (Father Paul) were the real life younger brothers of Maureen O'Hara (Mary Kate Danaher).

The white haired frail Dan Tobin, who gets up from his death bed and runs to see the fight is John Ford's older brother, Francis Ford. Francis was a silent film actor and director in his own right, who died one year after the film was made.

While all other saddled horses are seen with English saddles (as would be expected in Ireland during that time period), Sean's (John Wayne's) horse is saddled with a US Army-issue McClellan cavalry saddle.

James O'Hara's first film.

The original White o' Morn cottage from the film is in a sheep field along a road that cuts from Maam Cross to the southern pass of N59. There you can see the bridge where Michaleen parts ways with Sean Thornton before Sean heads into the cottage for the first time and the the remainder of the cottage itself. Unfortunately, only about 20% is left of the original cottage, having been carried away stone by stone by "Quiet Man" fans. There is a replica of the cottage at the Peacokes Hotel at the intersection of N59 and Maam (Maum) Crossing. The Quiet Man Bridge (where Sean reveals himself in the beginning of the movie) is about a mile or so east of the hotel, and has a sign telling you where to turn. The actual cottage is approximately 1 mile south of Maam (Maum) Village on N59. It is on the West side of the road with a gate. You can see the bridge John Wayne crosses the river on (you will need too as well)It is approximately 100 yards up the road. (GPS N53.50760 W009.56423) There are no markings to tell you where it is. The Quiet Man Museum is around the block from Pat Cohan's in Cong.

Film debut of Sean McClory.