''The Playboy of the Western World'' is a 1962 film version of the 1907 play written by

John Millington Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play ''The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly r ...

. It was directed and co-written by

Brian Desmond Hurst Brian Desmond Hurst (12 February 1895 – 26 September 1986) was a Belfast-born film director. With over thirty films in his filmography, Hurst has been hailed as Northern Ireland's best film director.Screening will honour 'NI's best film ...

and stars

Gary Raymond Gary Barrymore Raymond (born 20 April 1935) is an English film, television and theatre actor. Biography Gary Raymond was born in Brixton, London, to theatrical parents, both of whom were variety artistes. The youngest of three brothers, Gary a ...

and

Siobhán McKenna Siobhán McKenna (; 24 May 1922 – 16 November 1986) was an Irish stage and screen actress. Background She was born Siobhán Giollamhuire Nic Cionnaith in Belfast in the newly-created Northern Ireland into a Catholic and nationalist family. ...

. Filmed in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, 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 Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, (30 July 1914 – 25 April 1999) was an Irish journalism, journalist, author, sports official, and the sixth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He succeeded Martin Henry FitzPatrick Morri ...

who had previously produced

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

’s '' The Rising of the Moon'' and ''

Gideon's Day ''Gideon's Day'' is the first in a series of police procedural novels by John Creasey writing as J.J. Marric. Published in 1955, it features a day in the professional life of Detective Superintendent George Gideon of the C.I.D., Scotland ...

''.

Plot

A young man from a far away village appears in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

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

as Christy Mahon *

as Pegeen Mike *

Elspeth March Elspeth March (5 March 1911 – 29 April 1999) was an English actress. Early years March was born as Jean Elspeth Mackenzie in Kensington, London, England, the daughter of Harry Malcolm and Elfreda Mackenzie. She studied speech and drama un ...

as The Widow Quinn *

Liam Redmond Liam Redmond (27 July 1913 – 28 October 1989) was an Irish character actor known for his stage, film and television roles. Early life Redmond was one of four children born to cabinet-maker Thomas and Eileen Redmond. Educated at the Christi ...

as Michael James *

Niall MacGinnis Patrick Niall MacGinnis (29 March 1913 – 6 January 1977) was an Irish actor who made around 80 screen appearances. Early life MacGinnis was born in Dublin in 1913.

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.

Home Media

After years of unavailability, the film was remastered from the original film elements and released on both

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

and

Blu-Ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

by Network Distributing in May 2021. The release includes an image gallery, a trailer, and an interview with Gary Raymond recorded in March 2021.

References

External links

Short film on Brian Desmond Hurst's Playboy of the Western World featuring part of the soundtrack
*

at the website dedicated to

''The Playboy of the Western World''
The photographer Padraig Kennelly remembers the shooting of the film {{DEFAULTSORT:Playboy of the Western World, The British comedy films 1960s English-language films Films shot in Ireland Films shot in the Republic of Ireland Films set in Ireland Films directed by Brian Desmond Hurst American films based on plays British films based on plays