This week George thought he had the easy tasking of defending Maureen O’Hara. Philip Molloy had other ideas.
George was baffled to have resident Right Hook Movie critic Philip Molloy in studio with him today when he took George to task about his fondness for legendary actress Maureen O’Hara in this week’s ‘Hook’s Heroes’.
George fondly remembers seeing Maureen O’Hara in films in Cork as a boy and was struck by her flame-haired beauty. According to George, O’Hara lit up a grey and depressing Ireland and gave Irish people hope.
O’Hara, who was born in Ranelagh in Dublin, was famously discovered while a student at the Abbey by actor Charles Laughton. This led to her fairytale introduction to Hollywood playing opposite Laughton in ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’.
This lead on to her starring in some of the biggest films in 1940’s and 1950’s,working often with director John Ford and acting opposite John Wayne in movies such as ‘Rio Grande’
For most Irish people though it’s her role opposite Wayne in ‘The Quiet Man’ that solidified her place in their memories.
But Philip wasn’t having any of it. ‘Sure she had poise and she looked gorgeous. But she had a limited range of expressions. A lot of the movies she starred in are what you would now consider ‘b-movies’.
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Listen to the discussion here at original source.
