''A Terrible Beauty'' (also known as ''The Night Fighters'') is a 1960

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

, directed by Tay Garnett and starring

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

Anne Heywood Anne Heywood (born 11 December 1931) is a British retired film actress, who is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in ''The Fox''. Early life and career Born as Violet Joan Pretty in 1931 to Harold and Edna E. ( Lowndes) Pre ...

, Dan O'Herlihy and

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in '' This Sporting ...

. It was adapted from a 1958 novel of the same name, written by Arthur Roth.Arthur Roth, 67, Dies; Novelist and Columnist
/ref> It was an

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

between the United Kingdom and Robert Mitchum's production company DRM.

Plot

Dermot O'Neill (

) is recruited into the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

(IRA) when a unit is formed in his

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

town during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Reaction to the news is mixed. His mother is strongly against it, while his father (

Harry Brogan Harry Brogan (5 May 1904 – 20 May 1977) was an Irish actor often in comic roles. He was part of the Abbey Theatre from 1939 - 1976. 1939–1976: Abbey Theatre Harry Brogan was active in Irish theatre and a permanent member of the Abbey The ...

) is proud. His brother Ned (

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.

) and sister Bella (Marianne Benet) are ambivalent. Dermot's girlfriend, Neeve Donnelly (

), breaks up with him, telling him the IRA will turn him into a murderer. Dermot and his friend Sean Reilly (

) are chosen from their unit to participate in a raid on a British armoury to steal weapons and ammunition. Don McGinnis ( Dan O'Herlihy) is frustrated because, as commandant of the unit, he is too important to risk. The theft goes off without a hitch. However, their next attack, to destroy a guarded power plant in concert with a planned German invasion, results in bloodshed. To get away, Dermot shoots a soldier blocking the way out. Sean is wounded in the foot and Johnny Corrigan is killed. Dermot and Sean evade their pursuers and manage to cross the border to safety in the Irish Free State. Dermot returns home, leaving his friend to recuperate. Despite Dermot's advice to stay away, Sean tries to sneak back across the border and is captured by the police. Dermot wants to stage a rescue, but McGinnis turns him down. Sean is sentenced to ten years imprisonment. McGinnis decides to get revenge by attacking a police barracks. Dermot opposes this plan, as a policeman's wife and children are living there, and warns that he will tell the authorities if McGinnis does not change his mind. When the commandant refuses to back down, Dermot tells McGinnis he is quitting the IRA. He is beaten up, but a police patrol comes upon the scene before the IRA members can do anything more drastic. Dermot carries through on his threat, telling Sergeant Crawley (Geoffrey Golden), though without naming names. He is abducted to stand trial as an informant. Bella becomes concerned when her brother does not come home. She goes to Neeve. The two then consult Dermot's good friend, cobbler Jimmy Hannafin (

Cyril Cusack Cyril James Cusack (26 November 1910 – 7 October 1993) was an Irish stage and screen actor with a career that spanned more than 70 years. During his lifetime, he was considered one of Ireland’s finest thespians, and was renowned for his in ...

). Jimmy has a pretty good idea what has happened. He gets Ned to help in the rescue. Neeve refuses to be left behind, but Bella is sent home to reassure her parents. Once they find and free Dermot, guarded only by youngster Quinn (Wilfred Downing), Jimmy arranges for a friend to give Dermot a ride to Belfast, where he can leave the country. Neeve goes with him. Meanwhile, the IRA men start searching for him. McGinnis stations himself at the O'Neill home. In the darkness and driving rain, he mistakes the returning Bella (wearing Dermot's coat) for the fugitive and shoots her dead. He is horrified to discover that he has killed the woman he loves.

Cast

as Dermot O'Neill *

as Sean Reilly *

as Neeve Donnelly * Dan O'Herlihy as Don McGinnis *

as Jimmy Hannafin *

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 Ned O'Neill * Marianne Benet as Bella O'Neill * Christopher Rhodes as Tim Malone *

as Patrick O'Neill * Eileen Crowe as Mrs. Kathleen O'Neill * Joe Lynch as Seamus * Marie Kean as Mrs. Matia Devlin * Geoffrey Golden as Sergeant Crawley * Edward Golden as Johnny Corrigan * Wilfred Downing as Quinn

References

External links

Film review
at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Terrible Beauty, The 1960 films 1960 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films 1960s English-language films Films about the Irish Republican Army Films based on American novels Films directed by Tay Garnett Films set in 1941 Films set in Northern Ireland Films shot in the Republic of Ireland Films with screenplays by Robert Wright Campbell United Artists films American World War II films 1960s American films