Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959)
Movie rating: 9/10
A delightful fantasy rooted in Gaelic folklore, Darby O’Gill and the Little People—directed by Robert Stevenson—is probably best known today for featuring an early lead performance from Sean Connery as young Dubliner Michael McBride. But that’s only scratching the surface of what this whimsical Disney production has to offer. Watching this film on St. Patrick’s Day, I found it a highly entertaining effort with lots of laughs, romance, and immersion into Irish culture and mythology.
The film follows the titular Darby O’Gill (Albert Sharpe), a widower who lives in the small Irish town of Rathcullen with his daughter Katie (Janet Munro) and works as caretaker on the estate of Lord Fitzpatrick (Walter Fitzgerald). Darby is also a raconteur known for fantastic tales of his encounters with a local tribe of leprechauns, led by King Brian (Jimmy O’Dea). When Lord Fitzpatrick retires Darby and replaces him with Michael, who is instantly smitten with Katie, Darby asks Michael not to tell Katie that he has been replaced. While a love triangle unfolds between Michael, Katie, and local bully Pony Sugrue (Kieron Moore), Darby has further encounters with the leprechauns that compel Brian to grant him three wishes.
One of the things that stood out to me personally about this movie is the similarity between the culture of Ireland and that of Newfoundland, where both sides of my family are from. That’s not surprising considering Irish immigrants made up a major part of Newfoundland’s population and left an indelible cultural imprint there. Darby himself is quite the character. When he tells his wild stories at the pub of encounters with leprechauns, it reminded me of the folk tales my grandfather Ronald Puddister grew up with in Newfoundland. It was always funny hearing Pop talk about how as a boy he heard stories about fairies, with children warned that the fairies would get them unless they carried pieces of bread in their pockets to protect them.
I think that’s why I was so amused by Darby O’Gill and the Little People, which revolves around an old man known for telling crazy stories about leprechauns and other creatures from Gaelic folklore—except in this case, his stories are (apparently) true! I say “apparently” because there are ways you could interpret this film where the leprechauns, banshees, and Dullahan are all in Darby’s mind. For example, after Darby captures King Brian and hauls him around in a sack, others who peer in see only a rabbit. Oh, we’re told, but the king leprechaun can make others see him as something else, including a rabbit! So on the one hand, people gathered around Darby in the pub see a glass of whiskey disappear into the bag and then come back out empty. On the other hand, what they actually see emerge from the bag is a rabbit that Darby chases after shouting, “Your majesty!”, to much ridicule from the local townsfolk.
The film had me laughing much of the time at its whimsical scenes, such as when Darby plays a drinking game with Brian over a jug of poitín to trick the king into staying up until sunrise, when the latter’s magic has no effect. Darby’s fiddle-playing in the mountain lair of the leprechaun tribe and their sped-up dancing is fun—though I couldn’t help but note there appear to be no women at all among the “little people”, which raises questions about leprechaun biology, society, and reproduction that the film has zero interest in exploring.
The scenes involving other characters in Rathcullen, particularly Katie and Michael, are pleasant and charming. This is an old-school Disney film where a beautiful woman and a handsome man, both likable and with good hearts, fall in love despite obstacles along the way, bolstered by a charming supporting cast and enjoyable songs. It’s a tried-and-true formula, and it works again here.
Darby’s love for his daughter anchors the film’s third act, which takes a detour into more serious and existential territory as the Dullahan appears on a death coach to take Katie’s soul. The climax gives what had been a fairly light film much more emotional weight, with a moving sacrifice by a father for his daughter.
All the actors do a fine job. For anyone watching today, the chief interest will be seeing a fresh-faced Connery as Michael. The New York Times in a contemporary review praised the cast, but referred to Connery as “merely tall, dark, and handsome.” That’s a bit unfair, as Connery gives a solid performance, with more emotional range here than anything he did as James Bond. That’s more due to the characters he’s playing than anything else. Bond has never been an interesting character, but rather an ideal of masculinity that Connery had the looks and rugged charm to pull off perfectly. If Michael isn’t the most complex character in the world, he allows Connery to show off the acting talent he later displayed in his post-Bond roles.
The special effects are fantastic for their time. In portraying a world of mythical beings, the film is perfectly convincing and I was able to go along and enjoy the ride. The size of the “little people” compared to Darby looks completely natural, and whatever pre-CGI effects Disney used to create the banshees and Dullahan work well in depicting these supernatural beings. Music, production design, and cinematography are as appealing as one would expect from a Disney production.
At a lean 93 minutes, this movie doesn’t outstay its welcome. It offers all you’d want from a G-rated live-action Disney film and more; I was pleasantly surprised we were even treated to a good old-fashioned barroom brawl featuring the future James Bond. Worth a watch on St. Patrick’s Day, or any other day you’re looking for a light-hearted diversion based in Irish folklore.