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Hollywood Irish

Hollywood Irish

John Ford, Abbey Actor and the Irish Revival in Hollywood

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Author: Adrian Frazier
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€20,00 EUR
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In the course of a 1935 USA Abbey Theatre tour of the plays of Sean O’Casey and others, an extensive collaboration was launched between director John Ford (‘My real name is Sean Martin Aloysius O’Feeney’), fresh from shooting O’Flaherty’s The Informer, and star players such as Sara Allgood, Barry Fitzgerald and his brother Arthur Shields.

Tempted by movie contracts, these great stage actors resettled in Hollywood and became members of what was informally called Ford’s ‘stock company’, appearing again and again in his key films such as The Long Way Home (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and The Quiet Man (1952).

Based on a hitherto-unknown cache of Shields family papers and memorabilia, Frazier traces the remarkable life stories of these actors in their migration from Dublin to California. He shows how signifying elements of the Irish Revival mutated from world theatre to global cinema, giving fresh readings to some of the great films of the era.

Richly illustrated, and driven by a sparkling narrative style, Hollywood Irish brings depth and perspective to Ireland’s part in the fashioning of American identity.

Details

ISBN: 9781843511816

Extent: 300

Published:

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Praise and Reviews

  • ‘I have to say the book is an unalloyed pleasure to hold and to glance through – a sensual delight. It is an absolute credit to everyone involved. Paper, typeface, photos – the whole production is a glowing tribute to the art of the book itself and a wonderful reminder of why we ever fell in love with books in the first place.’ – Mike McCormack

  • ‘This well-written account of the Irish in Hollywood threads together the lives and careers of some of the most notable theatrical emigres who contributed both to the Abbey Theatre’s glory days and, subsequently, to the development of American film.’ – The Irish Times

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About the Author

Adrian Frazier, graduate of Trinity College Dublin, professor emeritus, National University of Ireland, Galway, is the author of Behind the Scenes: Yeats, Horniman, and the Abbey Theatre (1990), mGeorge Moore 1852-1933 (2000), Hollywood Irish: John Ford, Abbey Actors, and the Irish Revival in Hollywood (2011), and, most recently, John Behan: The Bull of Sheriff Street. He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy 

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