Darby O'Gill and the Little People

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Darby O'Gill and the Little People
original movie poster
Directed by	Robert Stevenson
Produced by	Walt Disney
Written by	H. T. Kavanagh (stories) Lawrence Edward Watkin
Starring	Albert Sharpe Janet Munro Sean Connery Jimmy O'Dea
Music by	Oliver Wallace
Cinematography	Winton Hoch
Editing by	Stanley Johnson
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s)	June 26, 1959 U.S. release
Running time	93 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Darby O'Gill and the Little People is a Disney film released in 1959, set in rural Ireland at the beginning of the 19th century. Based on the books of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh, the film describes the adventures of Darby O'Gill, a wily groundskeeper who engages in a battle of wits with leprechauns. The film's title is a slight modification of one of Kavanagh's books, Darby O'Gill and the Good People.

Darby O'Gill (Albert Sharpe) is an aging groundskeeper living with his daughter Katie (Janet Munro) in Rathcullen, a small town in rural Ireland. Darby spends more time in the pub telling tall tales of his encounters with leprechauns than looking after the country estate he has been charged with. Nearing retirement, the lord of the manor decides to bring in a younger man, Michael McBride (Sean Connery), to take over.

Sympathetic to Darby's plight, King Brian Connors (Jimmy O'Dea) of the leprechauns urges him to leave the human world behind and live in his kingdom. Darby, however, has no wish to leave his daughter so suddenly. A battle of wits ensues between the two, with Darby tricking the diminutive monarch into releasing him back into the mortal world.

Later, King Brian comes to fetch Darby, angry for being made a fool of. Another battle of wits ensues and Darby entraps the leprechaun king by getting him so drunk that he doesn't notice the sunrise which strips him of his powers. So trapped, he is forced to grant Darby three wishes before he can return home. Darby, however, refuses to make his third wish, trapping King Brian until he makes his decision.

After a rocky beginning, Katie and Michael begin to show signs of growing affection for each other. Katie believes Michael is merely seasonal help, as her father could not bring himself to break the news of his retirement (and their imminent move). However, Michael has a rival in Pony Sugrue, a local bully with his eyes on both Katie and Michael's job.

Katie, angered at finding the truth about her father's retirement, injures herself while chasing a stubborn runaway horse. The banshee appears, heralding Katie's death and sending the cóiste-bodhar, a spectral coach driven by a dullahan, to claim her body. Desperate, Darby elects to use his final wish to go in his daughter's place. On his way to the next world, King Brian tricks Darby into making a final fourth wish ("wishing" that his friend could join him in the afterlife), negating them all and sparing Darby's life.

Katie's fever has broken and she and Michael reveal their love for each other. Michael also fights Pony Sugrue, knocking him cold before joining Katie for a final duet of "Pretty Irish Girl" (see below).

[edit] Trivia

This film brought Connery to the attention of producer Albert R. Broccoli, who was casting the first James Bond film, Dr. No.

Despite its setting, the bulk of the film was shot at Disney's ranch in Burbank. Second unit footage from Ireland, combined with matte paintings by Peter Ellenshaw, helped present a seamless picture of 19th century Ireland.

Sean Connery can be heard singing for one of the only times in his career. Although Connery has claimed that he was no singer, a single of the duet (with Janet Munro) was released in the UK. [1].

Walt Disney devoted an episode of his show Disneyland to promoting the film, recruiting actors Sharpe and O'Dea to film special segments on the set with Disney, as well as Irish-American actor Pat O'Brien. Despite the film's good-natured salute to Irish culture, actor Cyril Cusack and Chief Justice (later president) Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh picketed this film's launch in Dublin due to what they felt was ridiculous stereotyping of the Irish people.