The Playboy of the Western World (film)
The Playboy of the Western World is a 1962 film version of the 1907 play written by John Millington Synge. It was directed and co-written by Brian Desmond Hurst and stars Gary Raymond and Siobhán McKenna. Filmed in County Kerry, the film features many of the Abbey Players. The film was produced by the Four Provinces company created in 1952 by Hurst and Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin who had previously produced John Ford’s The Rising of the Moon[1] and Gideon's Day.
The Playboy of the Western World | |
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![]() Original film poster | |
Directed by | Brian Desmond Hurst |
Produced by | Michael Killanin Denis O’Dell Brendan Smith |
Screenplay by | Brian Desmond Hurst Roland Kibbee |
Based on | The Playboy of the Western World by John Millington Synge |
Starring | Gary Raymond Siobhán McKenna |
Music by | Seán Ó Riada |
Cinematography | Geoffrey Unsworth |
Distributed by | Janus Films |
Release date | 1962 |
Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom United States |
Language | English |
Plot
A young man from a far away village appears in County Mayo announcing to all and sundry that he has murdered his father with a blow to the head. With the tale growing in the telling, the young man becomes a local hero…until his angry father comes to fetch him home.
Cast
- Gary Raymond as Christy Mahon
- Siobhán McKenna as Pegeen Mike
- Elspeth March as The Widow Quinn
- Liam Redmond as Michael James
- Niall MacGinnis as Old Man Mahon
Production
The film was shot at Inch Strand in Dingle Peninsula, co Kerry. William Constable, the art director built a cottage close to the beach.
References
- p.527 McBride, Joseph Searching for John Ford Univ. Press of Mississippi, 15/02/2011
External links
- Short film on Brian Desmond Hurst's Playboy of the Western World featuring part of the soundtrack
- The Playboy of the Western World on IMDb
- The Playboy of the Western World at the website dedicated to Brian Desmond Hurst
- The Playboy of the Western World The photographer Padraig Kennelly remembers the shooting of the film