Happy St. Patrick’s Day – Darby O’Gill and the Little People

When it comes to St. Patrick’s Day, I always have a lot of fun with it. From listening to Irish music to watching Irish-themed movies, the holiday is a lot of fun for me. Watching Darby O’Gill and the Little People is a long-standing tradition. Ever since I was little, I have watched this movie yearly. My parents had taped off of TV and I bought it for myself later on. St. Patrick’s Day just isn’t St. Patrick’s Day if I don’t watch this gem from 1959.

Synopsis:

Darby O’Gill is about to be pushed out of his position by a younger man. He seeks out the king of the leprechauns for wishes and to help him make sure his daughter is provided for. Shenanigans ensue!

The Players

Sean Connery

I absolutely adore Sean Connery as Michael in this movie. He is handsome and endearing. Plus, he sings! I love it even though he didn’t! His character is honest, funny and so likeable.

I’m not the only one who appreciates him! This movie is actually how he got cast as James Bond. Albert R. Broccoli saw him and was so impressed that he cast him in Dr. No.

Albert Sharpe

As the title character, Albert Sharpe really shines. He is funny and so much fun to watch. I also enjoy him in Royal Wedding and Brigadoon.

Janet Munro

Janet Munro was spunky and fiesty as Darby’s daughter, Katie. Unfortunately, she died just 12 years after this was filmed at age 38 due to an underlying heart condition.

Jimmy O’Dea

King Brian and Darby have great chemistry and banter well together. Jimmy O’Dea did a great job in this movie, but didn’t really do much else.

The Special Effects

The special effects in this movie are great, especially given the time this movie was made. The size difference and how seamlessly the leprechauns and other people fit together is impressive. It looks so good, but the concept is relatively simple. It was done through forced perspective. The regular sized characters are placed closer to the camera and the leprechauns are placed further away, but within the same horizontal plane so you can’t tell there’s so much distance between them.

The banshee

This part of the movie is one of the most terrifying things that I’ve ever seen. The idea of the banshee foretelling death and then a death coach coming to take you away is so unsettling, but adds such an interesting Irish legend into the movie.

While this movie was not a box office success, it has become a classic. At the time, they blamed the failure on not being able to cast their original choice as Darby. Disney wanted to have Barry Fitzgerald play dual roles as both Darby and King Brian. He declined because he thought he was too old. Although Albert Sharpe was 3 years older.

Something to note: if you watch this on Disney+, it takes away from the experience. Some voices are dubbed because of the thick Irish accents, which takes away from the authenticity of the movie. Buy the DVD instead.

This post was written specifically for Pure Entertainment Preservation Society‘s The Luck O’ The Irish Blogathon. Check out the other entries here!