When John Ford set out to make what was to turn out to be his last completed Irish film he had high hopes of using Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, and Barry Fitzgerald to star in each of the stories that make up the trilogy in The Rising Of The Moon. Unfortunately all three of them had prior commitments though I suspect in the case of O'Hara she was not getting along with Ford at the time. Read her memoirs to find out about their odd relationship.
However he did get Tyrone Power to appear and do narratives for the three stories that were filmed. The stories certainly are a rich mixture of Irish fiction from the first quarter of the last century. If you recognize the players they are from the famous Abbey Theater Company of Dublin and if you saw The Quiet Man you'll pick out many a face and voice from the cast of characters there.
The first story is the least of the three, in His Majesty The Law a police inspector played by Cyril Cusack has a distasteful duty to perform in serving a warrant on Noel Purcell, a rather proud gentleman who cold cocked a man who sold him some bad home made moonshine.
The second is entitled A Minute's Wait concerns a train bound into some country region of Ireland that is continually being held for a minute's wait while all sorts of bizarre passengers and freight are loaded on to the train. While this is going on the passengers are having one really good time in the station pub. You wouldn't think that in Ireland a train station wouldn't have a pub? Everyone just expects all these things as part of the system except for a married English couple who are the ones constantly downgraded from what passes for first class accommodations on this Irish railway. It's all quite whimsical and amusing.
The last story 1921 is set during the rebellion that year and it involves the escape of a known IRA man minutes from his date with the hangman. The escape is perpetrated by a group of Irish players not unlike the Abbey Theater. Although the audience knows well who the escapee is through his disguise that's half the fun in seeing that the occupying Black and Tan force is so clueless to what's going on around them. Donal Donnelly plays the escapee Sean Curran, a role that was intended for Tyrone Power had he been able to do it. Power was probably too old for the part in any event and the younger Donnelly was a better fit.
Yet the lack of marquee names is the reason that this film is not better known. I'm sure now that it has appeared on TCM it will be broadcast with The Quiet Man on St. Patrick's Day.
At least I hope so.
