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Fans of actor Patrick McGoohan will be excited to discover The Quare Fellow,
a superior drama filmed in Ireland with an exciting and mostly unfamiliar cast.
Adapted from a play by Brendan Behan, the film examines capital punishment through
the experience of the prison guards charged with carrying out an execution. The
taut direction of Arthur Dreyfuss avoids most of the clichés associated with
the subgenre and enhances colorful characterizations completely at odds with the
John Ford image of Irishmen -- we don't meet any jolly drinkers with elfin senses
of humor. The jailbirds are a fatalistic bunch that wavers between cynicism and
contrition. The visiting hangman gets stinking drunk on a pub crawl, almost
starting a riot when he foolishly reveals his profession.
The handsome B&W show was produced by Anthony Havelock-Allan, a famous name
familiar from many prestigious David Lean classics. That the film isn't as well
known is perhaps due to its odd title. "Quare" is an Irish pronunciation of
"queer"; "The Quare Fellow" refers to a prisoner isolated on Death Row, who is
treated differently than the other inmates.
Eager new prison guard Thomas Crimmin (Patrick McGoohan) is assigned to help senior
warder Regan (Walter Macken) prepare for a double execution. The rank and file
convicts initially take advantage of Thomas' inexperience, stealing free drinks of
rubbing alcohol. Concerned about possible disturbances, the warden and his guards
are relieved when one of the condemned men is granted a pardon. Crimmin takes a
room in the same house where lives Kathleen (Sylvia Syms) the wife of the remaining
Quare Fellow. Drinking heavily, Kathleen vents her frustration on the new boarder.
She receives abuse of her own from some of the locals, who consider her responsible
for her husband's conviction. Thomas discovers that Regan is opposed to the hanging
on religious grounds and begins to take Kathleen's side. She confesses to Crimmin
that she indeed was the reason for the murder, a fact that did not come out at her
husband's trial.
The Quare Fellow's strong suit is Brendan Behan's rich and convincing
dialogue. None of the characters uses a stock Irish accent and nobody quotes folk
poetry or acts like Barry Fitzgerald. The various warders and convicts are
individualized people with a sense of humor; everyone's trying to get along. Thomas
Crimmin is initially proud of his new job but is soon questioning all he believes.
He's an easy touch for a cigarette or an unscheduled work stretch, and some of his
charges appreciate the favors. But all of the prisoners respect Regan, who is due
to retire as soon as the execution is done. Regan puts all of his effort into a
last minute pardon appeal, much to the displeasure of the warden.
The prison is a rough but reasonably civilized place. Arriving to serve a long
stretch, a new convict is reminded by his peers that as long as he's there he'll
not see a full sky or a woman. The prison governor visits and tells the inmates
that they can give him their complaints, but the offer is an empty
formality.
This is one of the popular Patrick McGoohan's best film performances; fans familiar
only with the actor's secret agent characters will marvel at the flexibility he
brings to the role. His young Thomas Crimmin is simultaneously tough and
vulnerable, a good man who wants to do the right thing. But when Crimmin is drawn
to the unstable Katherine, the suspicious locals are given another reason to hate
them both. A pub lies so close to the prison that the customers can hear the
convicts' chanting. The gossip grapevine insures that no secret remains private for
long, in or outside the walls.
Director Arthur Dreyfuss contributed to the script under his real name, Dreifuss.
His work is fluid and unfussy; we soon become unaware where the camera is or if the
cuts demonstrate good continuity. Only twice are the editors forced to stretch the
available film. On the main prison floor, a jarring freeze frame of a cellar
walkway is employed every time an unseen prisoner begins to sing from below stairs.
In the pub, a grossly mismatched insert isolates the box of nooses and hanging
paraphernalia inadvertently left by the drunken hangman.
The film never directly shows the face of the condemned man, the "Quare Fellow" at
the center of the story. The tension ratchets up on the night of the hanging, with
a last-minute appeal looking more hopeless as the minutes tick by. Katherine and
Thomas are both overcome by guilt, and show it in different ways.
Beautiful Sylvia Syms (Bachelor of Hearts, Victim) is a fine match for
McGoohan; we understand their sudden and somewhat shameful romance. With its
unfamiliar setting and its attention to detail, The Quare Fellow soon has us
absorbed in their emotional dilemma.
Kino's DVD of The Quare Fellow is a good transfer of this B&W film from
1962. Although the film is presented flat full screen, the text in the main titles
mattes off perfectly on a 1:78 widescreen monitor. The proper aspect ratio is
probably 1.66:1. Audio is very clear, although some accents and unfamiliar phrases
make us regret that English subtitles are not included.
A photo gallery is included along with a half-hour short subject, Brendan
Behan's Dublin. Using voiceover and folksongs, the colorful film functions as a
cultural travelogue of the author's city circa 1966.
For more information about The Quare Fellow, visit Kino International. To order The Quare Fellow,
go to
TCM Shopping.
by Glenn Erickson
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