Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959)

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

Lawrence Edward Watkin (written by)
H.T. Kavanagh (suggested by "Darby O'Gill" stories)

Release Date:

23 March 1960 (Japan)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

More than a wee bit of magical shenanigans!

Plot:

A wily old codger matches wits with the king of the leprechauns and helps play matchmaker for his daughter and the strapping lad who has replaced him as caretaker.

Plot Keywords:

Leprechaun | Daughter | Gold | Banshee | Pub

Cast

Albert Sharpe	...	Darby O'Gill
Janet Munro	...	Katie O'Gill
Sean Connery	...	Michael McBride
Jimmy O'Dea	...	King Brian
Kieron Moore	...	Pony Sugrue
Estelle Winwood	...	Sheelah Sugrue
Walter Fitzgerald	...	Lord Fitzpatrick
Denis O'Dea	...	Father Murphy
J.G. Devlin	...	Tom Kerrigan
Jack MacGowran	...	Phadrig Oge
Farrell Pelly	...	Paddy Scanlon
Nora O'Mahoney	...	Molly Malloy (as Nora O'Mahony)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patrick Sullivan Burke	...	Leprechaun (uncredited)
Maureen Halligan	...	Gossiping woman (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Stevenson

Writing credits
Lawrence Edward Watkin		(written by)
H.T. Kavanagh		(suggested by "Darby O'Gill" stories)

Original Music by
Oliver Wallace

Cinematography by
Winton C. Hoch		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Stanley E. Johnson		(as Stanley Johnson)

Art Direction by
Carroll Clark

Set Decoration by
Emile Kuri
Fred M. MacLean		(as Fred MacLean)

Makeup Department
Pat McNalley	....	makeup artist
Ruth Sandifer	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert G. Shannon	....	assistant director
Charles Norton	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Don DaGradi	....	special art styling (as Don Da Gradi)
Peter Ellenshaw	....	special art styling

Sound Department
Robert O. Cook	....	sound supervisor
Dean Thomas	....	sound mixer

Visual Effects by
Peter Ellenshaw	....	special photographic effects
Eustace Lycett	....	special photographic effects
Joshua Meador	....	animation effects
Jim Fetherolf	....	assistant matte artist (uncredited)
Albert Whitlock	....	assistant matte artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Whitey Hughes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Loren Janes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Danny Sands	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gertrude Casey	....	costumer
Chuck Keehne	....	costumer

Music Department
Evelyn Kennedy	....	music editor
Clifford Vaughan	....	orchestration
Oliver Wallace	....	songs: music and lyrics by
Lawrence Edward Watkin	....	songs: music and lyrics by
Ruby Murray	....	singing voice: Janet Munro (uncredited)
Brendan O'Dowda	....	singing voice: Sean Connery (uncredited)

Other crew
Walt Disney	....	presenter
Michael O'Herlihy	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Productions (as A Walt Disney Production)

Distributors

• Buena Vista Film Distribution Company (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Walt Disney Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Gativideo (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Walt Disney Home Video (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• RKO (1960) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"The Little People" - USA (alternative title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Irish Gaelic

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | UK:U | West Germany:6 | Australia:G | Iceland:L | USA:Approved (certificate #19015) (original rating) | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1969)

Filming Locations:

Albertson Ranch, Triunfo, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

Walt Disney was initially hoping to cast Barry Fitzgerald in the dual roles of Darby O'Gill and King Brian. Fitzgerald reportedly declined due to his advanced age (although his eventual replacement as Darby, Albert Sharpe, was three years his senior). Disney regretted the loss of Fitzgerald in the lead role, and blamed the film's disappointing box-office performance partly on this loss.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Darby pours the poteen for King Brian, there is a steady stream coming from the jug when the camera is on Brian. When the camera switches to Darby a moment later, the stream from the jug is larger and less steady.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Katie O'Gill:Come in, Mrs. Sugrue!
Sheelah Sugrue:Katie, darlin'! Can you lend me the loan of a small pinch o' tea; I'll pay ye back Thursday.
Katie O'Gill:Ye can have it an' welcome.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Dukes: Boss O'Hogg and the Little People (#2.1)" (1983)

Soundtrack:

The Wishing Song

A Pleasant, Feel-Good Film With A Touch Of The Old Blarney

Boy, this is about as Irish as it gets: accents, terminology that is foreign to most other people but fun to hear, leprechauns, pots of gold, three wishes (no more), other magic, Irish jigs and a few songs, lush countryside with plenty of green.....and a lot of good-natured blarney. It's old-fashioned, innocent fun, with a love story thrown in the mix.

The latter involves a very young-looking Sean Connery. It's a shock to see him when he was in his late '20s, and even more of a shock to hear him sing, too! Three years later, Connery hit the jackpot (acting, not singing) playing James Bond in "Dr. No," and the rest is history.

In this Walt Disney film, he plays "Michael McBride" who winds up falling for "Katie O'Gill." The latter is played by Janet Munro, a pretty woman who had the opposite screen success of Connery. After staring in a few of these Disney movies in which she played wholesome girls, she did an about-face and played unhappy and edgy characters and that, it turned out, was a poor choice. Alocholism then led to the tragic misfortune of contracting a fatal illness which killed her at the age of 38.

The lead character, "Darby O'Gill," is played very convincingly by Albert Sharpe. He was definitely the "character" of the story.

This movie is a nice, feel-good film filled with a laughing horse, the good guys winning over the bad, a few dramatic moments, singing and dancing "little people," and an assortment of Irish delights. I think kids would still like this film, even though it's dated with the special-effects, but that's to be expected. After all, the film is almost 50 years old. It has a pleasant feel to it and should still entertain folks today.