F is for Fonda
For better or worse, in the public’s mind he got stuck in the mould of well-meaning liberal, the guy who’ll always fight for the underdog, the guy who’ll buck the system and cause trouble no matter the cost
Read more "F is for Fonda"John Ford
Diasporational Part Fifteen: Sara Allgood
By Niall McArdle Like her contemporary, Una O’Connor, Sara Allgood came to films by way of the Abbey. Indeed, their careers ran on similar paths and intersected several times. They both worked for Alfred Hitchcock in Britain and they were both favourites of John Ford. They both parlayed their Irishness into success. O’Connor, bone-thin and […]
Read more "Diasporational Part Fifteen: Sara Allgood"Diasporational Part Fourteen: Una O’Connor, Lovable Screamer!
She had a nice line in busybodies: spinsters, gossips and maids (often Irish). She was described as having “the stare of a detective, the voice of an air raid siren, and the body of a scarecrow.” In an age when there was an awful lot of stage-Irishness in Hollywood films (Abby’s Irish Rose, Mother Machree), it must have grated on her ears to hear so many Oirish brogues.
Read more "Diasporational Part Fourteen: Una O’Connor, Lovable Screamer!"