The Quare Fellow

Director: Arthur Dreifuss

Overview

Gallows humor and stark realities of condemned prisoners is the premise for The Quare Fellow. Crimmin (Patrick McGoohan) takes a job as a prison guard. He believes in capital punishment and that everyone in prison certainly deserves to be there. Two men on death row await execution. Crimmin is upset when one of the men hangs himself despite the fact his death sentence was commuted. The other prisoner and Crimmin begin to talk. The guard discovers the man was sentenced to death after finding his wife in bed with his own brother and killing him in a jealous rage. Crimmin discovers the woman he is sleeping with is the prisoner's drunken, sluttish wife. The issues of capital punishment are raised in this story taken from the play by Brendan Behan.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/09/2008
UPC:	0738329062026
Original Release:	1962
Source:	KINO VIDEO
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:29:00
Sales rank:	65,681

Special Features

Brendan Behan's Dublin"; ; Photo Gallery

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Patrick McGoohan	Thomas Crimmin
Sylvia Syms	Kathleen
Walter Macken	Regan
Dermot Kelly	Donnelly,Reception Clerk
Jack Cunningham	Chief Warder
Hilton Edwards	Holy Healy
Philip O'Flynn	Prison Governor
Leo McCabe	Dr. Flyn
Norman Rodway	Lavery
Marie Kean	Mrs. O'Hara
Pauline Delany	Mickser's Wife
Geoffrey Golden	Customs Officer,Reception Warder
Tom Irwin	Customs Officer
Joe O'Donnell	Poet,Poet
Agnes Bernelle	Meg
Iris Lawler	Minna
Dominic Roche	Prison Chaplain
Brian Hewitt-Jones	Jenkinson
Arthur O'Sullivan	Himself
Aubrey Morris	Silvertop
Eamonn Brennan	Flaherty,Old Patriot
Robert Bernal	Mickser
John Welsh	Carroll
Harry Brogan	Dunlavin
Frank O'Donovan	Clancy
Pauline Delaney	Mickser's wife
Gerry Alexander	Kelly
Brendan Cauldwell	Shamrock Attendant
Marie Conmee	Publican Woman
John Cowley	Cleary
Eric Gorman	Neighbour
Aiden Grennell	Food Orderly
Michael C. Hennessy	2nd Publican
T.P. McKenna	Walsh
Derry Power	Stretcher-Bearer
Charlie Roberts	Dock Worker
Alexander Faris	Composer

Technical Credits

Arthur Dreifuss

Jacqueline Sundstrom

Anthony Havelock-Allan	Producer
Arthur Dreifuss	Screenwriter
Jacqueline Sundstrom	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Quare Fellow
1. New Officer [9:10]
2. Ready For Duty [6:31]
3. The Bottle [9:10]
4. Inconsolable [5:37]
5. Tense Moment [3:01]
6. The Lucky Man [4:50]
7. Upholding the Law [8:13]
8. Truth is Told [7:36]
9. Hangman Arrives [9:37]
10. Time Slips Away [9:48]
11. No Reprieve [9:38]
12. Condemned [6:45]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Quare Fellow
Play Film
Chapters
Special Features
"Brendan Behan's Dublin"
Photo Gallery

Editorial Reviews

Although it takes far too many liberties with the wrenching Brendan Behan play upon which it is based, The Quare Fellow nevertheless emerges as an effective and affecting social problem movie, one which successfully and potently mixes the personal and the political. The film loses the sardonic humor and narrows the original ensemble focus to the story of a young warder and his gradual understanding of the horrors of capital punishment. The message is still Behan, but the method has been changed considerably. Still, Arthur Dreifuss' screenplay does an admirable job of laying out the pieces, and there are still some flavorful Behan lines gracing the screen. And it still contains plenty of power and an urgent need to bring forth a reaction in the audience. Dreifuss' direction is solid without being showy. He is blessed to have the intense Patrick McGoohan to play his lead. The actor brings an initial sureness of self to the part which slowly transforms into a brooding quality as he cracks appear in his rock solid belief system. Despite the quick passage of time, McGoohan makes the almost complete turnabout both believabvle and compelling. Sylvia Sims is close to pure gold as the tarnished love interest, and she and McGoohan have a palpable chemistry.