The Quiet Man
Republic Pictures (I) | Release Date: September 14, 1952 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
85
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
BBCAlmar Haflidason
Wayne and O'Hara create a fine rapport, with good performances that build to a truly satisfying climax. Read full review
100
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
The wonderful performances by Ford's stock company in these roles help make THE QUIET MAN an utterly moving and fascinating portrait of rural life in Ireland. Read full review
100
EmpireDavid Parkinson
Ideal Sunday afternoon fare. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
The most purely enjoyable of all the great Ford films. [18 Sep 1998, p.J]
100
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy Vishnevetsky
Shot partly on location in Ireland and designed in the lushest greens ever squeezed out of Technicolor, The Quiet Man is a movie that isn’t about a whole lot, but yet seems to contain so much—from Wayne’s easygoing charisma to the notoriously protracted climactic fight to the febrile, film-noir-like flashback to Sean’s boxing days. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLawrence O'Toole
Sentimental and sexist, John Ford’s gorgeous slice of the auld sod nevertheless moves like music. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesDennis Hunt
Scenes of the Irish countryside are dazzling and Ford’s version of Ireland is all homey and warm-hearted, with a distinct Hollywood glaze. Read full review
88
Chicago ReaderDon Druker
John Ford’s 1952 Oscar winner is a tribute to an Ireland that exists only in the imaginations of songwriters and poets like Ford, a fairy green place where people really do say “faith and begorrah.” Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.H. Weiler
Let's face it. Mr. Ford is in love with Ireland, as is his cast, and they give us a fine, gay time while they're about it. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Philip French
A triumph of true sentiment over lurking sentimentality starring John Wayne as an Irish-American boxer returning to Ireland in search of peace and a wife (Maureen O'Hara) and finding himself in the middle of a brawling, drinking, singing, timeless Oirish Neverland. [03 Oct 2010, p.47]
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The Quiet Man showcases [Wayne] as the leading man in an old fashioned romantic drama. Cast against type, Wayne pulls it off with aplomb, largely because his tremendous screen presence allows him to get away with gaffes that would sink other actors. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineCarson Lund
If it’s an ungainly variety, it doesn’t suggest directorial sloppiness, but the warmth of oral tradition as it dances around a cluster of themes (belonging, redemption, reconciliation) with the vigor of a yarn spun, porter in hand, alongside an open fire. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineJordan Cronk
The Quiet Man remains one of the purest distillations of this charismatic filmmaker’s diverse artistic nature. Read full review
70
The New YorkerRichard Brody
John Ford’s bluff and sentimental comedy, from 1952, set in the Irish countryside, is as much an anthropological adventure as a romantic rhapsody. Read full review
70
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Despite the length of the footage, film holds together by virtue of a number of choice characters, the best of which is Barry Fitzgerald’s socko punching of an Irish type. Wayne works well under Ford’s direction, answering all demands of the vigorous, physical character. Read full review
70
The New YorkerPauline Kael
One of John Ford's most popular films--but fearfully Irish and green and hearty.
50
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
Ford's flamboyantly Oirish romantic comedy hides a few tough ironies deep in its mistily nostalgic recreation of an exile's dream. Read full review
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