Recently, it was quietly announced by Disney that a DVD release of Song of the South would be coming out soon. To those who know about the film and it's history, this was quite a shock. For years, the movie has been unavailable in any format due to the controversial nature of the Uncle Remus character in the film. But it seems that, like Birth of a Nation, the quality of a film is overriding the dated material and is making its way into people's homes for their enjoyment.
This many seem like an odd segue into a mention of John Ford's classic The Quiet Man, but there is indeed a connection. First off, it should be noted that this film is one of Mrs. Mosley's absolute favorites, and it has become one of my favorites since I first watched it with her. I have since enjoyed it on many other occasions, and I have picked up on details in the film on each of my subsequent viewings.
The story concerns an American named Sean Thorton (John Wayne) who travels back to his ancestral Irish town of Innisfree in order to settle on his family's land. He has trouble adjusting to some of the cultural traditions, including the painstaking process of courting the lovely Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara). Mary Kate's powerful brother Squire 'Red' Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen) is dead opposed to the union and makes as much trouble as he can for them. Unfortunately for Sean, Mary Kate is so deeply rooted in the local traditions that she gives him as much trouble as her brother at times. But with a little help from the townsfolk, everything turns out right in the end.
This is a simple and fanciful tale, and it's filled with the colorful Irish village folk we've seen in countless films since then such as Waking Ned Devine and The Matchmaker. But it was also made over fifty years ago in 1952, and some things that occur in the film would probably never make it in a film made today. At least, not a film that took most everything in such a light hearted manner. Take, for instance, when Red Danaher discovers some of the townsfolk's complicity in the scheme to get Sean and Mary Kate together. He accuses one of them in a pub.
Red Danaher: "So the I.R.A. is in this too, is it?"
Hugh Forbes: "If it were, Red Will Danaher, not a scorched stone of your fine house would still be standing."
Michaleen Flynn: "A beautiful sentiment!"
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