My Review of Darby O'Gill And The Little People (1959)

 

Written by Lawrence Edward Watkin

Directed by Robert Stevenson

King Brian (to Darby): "Three wishes I'll grant ye, great wishes an' small. But you wish a fourth and you'll lose them all."

I wanted the perfect movie for St. Patrick's Day, review wise and there were a few contenders but none quite as perfect as this one. It might not be set during the day itself but it's definitely a quintessentially Irish movie nonetheless.

Set in a small Irish town (aren't they always?) named Rathcullen, you have the titular character of the piece. Darby O'Gill (Albert Sharpe), who happened to be the caretaker of Lord Fitzpatrick's (Walter Fitzgerald) estate, living in the house with his unmarried daughter, Katie (Janet Munro). So far nothing out of the ordinary there.

However it's quickly established that Lord Fitzpatrick intended to replace Darby and Katie with Dubliner Michael McBride (Sean Connery) but far more interesting than that would be Darby's fixation on leprechauns. Not just them, but specifically, King Brian (Jimmy O'Dea) himself.

The battle of wits between Darby and King Brian made up a lot of the screentime of this movie. King Brian had fun in tricking Darby into making a fourth wish so the latter could lose the lot, only for Darby to trick the Leprechaun into being his prisoner while he considered a new set of wishes.  

Of course with Darby spending too much regaling the locals of Leprechauns and a slow burning romance between Michael and Katie brewing, the closest to real antagonists in this film were the nosy widow Sheelah Sugrue (Estelle Winwood) and her loutish son, Pony (Kieron Moore). Both of them were foils to Darby and Michael with Katie caught in the middle of their schemes.

Speaking of Katie, the movie had her the victim of death and the banshee and the Dullahan came to collect her. However more treachery from King Brian following a noble attempt of self sacrifice from Darby meant that this movie ended on a rather happy note.

- Director Robert Stevenson would go on to make such film as Mary Poppins and Bedknobs And Broomsticks.

- The movie is based on a book titled Darby O'Gill And The Good People. Walt Disney had the idea of an Irish movie since 1947 and the idea went through various stages before we got this.

- Standout music: Both Michael and Katie singing Pretty Irish Girl at various points.

- Chronology: Presumably 1950s Ireland.

Darby O'Gill And The Little People is always a joy to watch. It's fun, mischievous and has a great battle of wits between both Darby and King Brian. Not to mention I found that Banshee and Dullahan pretty spooky at the time I first watched.

Rating: 8 out of 10