British films shot in Ireland in the 50s & 60s

[doojeen]

A TERRIBLE BEAUTY (Tay Garnett GB/US 1960)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054120/

THE VIOLENT ENEMY (Don Sharp GB 1967)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063781/

THE FACE OF FU MANCHU

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059162/

SINFUL DAVEY

THE MARCH HARE

GIRL WITH GREEN EYES

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058142/

QUACKSER FORTUNE HAS A COUSIN IN THE BRONX

THE VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU

WHERE'S JACK?

MOBY DICK

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049513/

ROCKET TO THE MOON

RYAN'S DAUGHTER

THE MARCH HARE

THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD

LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS

YOUNG CASSIDY

THE BLUE MAX

THE DEVIL'S AGENT

THE LION IN WINTER

CASINO ROYALE

JACQUELINE

THE MARK

THE RISING OF THE MOON

THE QUARE FELLOW

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056387/

ROONEY

[christoph404]

Could "Return To Glennascaul" be included on the list?, written and directed by Brit, Hilton Edwards. Its a short film of 25 minutes but was and is highly regarded, and of course the presence of Orson Welles playing himself adds a lot to its status.

[Gerald Lovell]

Hammer's Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) too.

[doojeen]

That's a good addition - also Hammer's The Viking Queen (1966) - I think that unlike most of the films on the list above it was entirely shot in Ireland - exteriors in Wicklow and interiors at Ardmore Studios. I've probably let a few American/American financed films slip in, but I'm sure that Return To Glennascaul is a worthy inclusion - is that the one that's been shown on Channel 4 a few times in the afternoon over the past 20 years?

[doojeen]

The making of Alfred The Great
(Galway Advertiser, November 27, 2008)

In 1968 MGM came to Galway to make a ‘swords and sandals’ epic film called Alfred the Great. A lot of preparatory work had gone into selecting three main locations in Kilchreest, Ross Lake, and Knockma, each of which encompassed 90 acres. A vast amount of money was spent on the exact replication of every aspect of the ninth century it depicted, turning some corners of County Galway into Wessex, including etching a 200-feet long white horse into the hill at Knockma.

It took over a year to make and employed some 1,500 extras including some 450 soldiers from the Western and Southern Commands, hundreds of students (who did not have to go to England to work that summer), and a number of locals. Thirty tents served as canteens which gave out 3,000 meals and 200 gallons of tea every day. Three tons of potatoes were peeled each week. It took 50 hired cars, 22 school buses, and 27 three-ton trucks (for the Army personnel) to bring the actors and extras on to the set .

Local craftsmen made 4,000 arrows, 1,600 swords, 1,800 spears, 1,500 shields, 800 daggers, 300 clubs and axes, 200 saddles, 12 rubber dummies (to play dead) and three skeletons. Sixty horses were used. Al O’Dea from Corrib Crafts in Tuam and his team lead by Tom Dowd made all the furniture. Albert O’Toole from Galway did the carving on the thrones. Christy Dooley and his company made braziers, goblets, candlesticks, swords, shields, and metal implements to a high level of craftsmanship, all based on authentic drawings and designs from the British Museum.

The film makers needed wet and drizzly conditions but got the hottest summer for years. Half of Galway seemed to grow beards for the movie. The day began for extras when they got on the buses at the Spanish Arch at 5am. They arrived on set and got their itchy, scratchy clobber, including a wig. Everything was checked back against their names that evening. The craic was great but the days were long, hours of tedium broken up by sporadic bouts of action... the soldiers and students did not like each other, which probably gave some of the action shots authenticity. The food was great and the pay was even better.

There were inevitable cock-ups, like ninth century Vikings charging past the cameras wearing horn rimmed glasses or having their wristwatches on, but this added to the fun, and the expense. Much of the extras’ time was spent playing cards, sunbathing, or snoozing, and they invariably reeked of turf smoke from all the fires on set.

The film was directed by Clive Donner, one of the best around at the time; the lead was played by David Hemmings, a charismatic actor who was a very big name in the sixties, and Lord Killanin was associate producer. It pumped vast amounts of cash into the local economy and yet it was a huge flop. A new book by Mary J Murphy entitled Viking Summer, the filming of Alfred the Great in Galway in 1968 explores the various reasons for this failure. The book, which will be launched by David Burke in The Arches, Claregalway, at 7.30pm on December 5, goes into the entire production in great detail. It is a wonderful cameo of Irish film history and a look back at Galway of 40 years ago. It is eminently readable, informative, profusely illustrated, and highly recommended. It will bring back memories and is available in good bookshops.

Our photograph today shows some of the soldiers from Renmore Barracks training for one of the battle scenes. Obviously the film was eagerly awaited in Galway cinemas, but the general response was one of disappointment as people could not see their product or recognise themselves in disguise. It was punctuated by an odd shout of “Jeez, there’s Martineen,” or “That’s your man from Shant’la,” or “Will ya look at the cut of Murphs”.

[christoph404]

That's a good addition - also Hammer's The Viking Queen (1966) - I think that unlike most of the films on the list above it was entirely shot in Ireland - exteriors in Wicklow and interiors at Ardmore Studios. I've probably let a few American/American financed films slip in, but I'm sure that Return To Glennascaul is a worthy inclusion - is that the one that's been shown on Channel 4 a few times in the afternoon over the past 20 years?

I've only ever seen Return To Glennascaul on TV once more than 10 years ago and being a ghost story it was late at night so Im not so sure that it has been on Channel 4 in the afternoon, its included as an extra on the DVD of Welles' "Othello" which he was filming at the time so thats one way to see it and "Othello" is not bad either!

[doojeen]

I know - I've seen it several times and I think it's brilliant - features Hilton Edwar's partner Michael MacLiammoir (born Alfred Willmore) as Iago.

Prunella Ransome (right) as Aelhswith and Sinead Cusack (left) as Edith, her handmaiden

The Galway invasion of 1968
The Ireland of 1968 was a black-and-white place. It had remained relatively untouched by the mesmerising events that were unfolding in the wider world. Bobby Kennedy was shot that year, as was Martin Luther King. America was tearing itself apart over the Vietnam debacle, the moon landing was still a year away and the Prague Spring had taken place earlier in the year when Russian tanks invaded Czechoslovakia. And another invasion, this time of Galway happened that year as well. At the beginning of the year the city and county was gripped with excitement as it became known that a major film, Alfred The Great, starring the heartthrobs of the time including David Hemmings, Michael York, Jim Norton (of Fr Ted fame), Prunella Ransome, Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf in Lord of the Rings), and Sinead Cusack. Filming was to start in the early summer. Before filming could start a massive all purpose studio was built on Paddy Stewart’s farm at Kilchreest; and preparatory work was undertaken at all the main locations chosen for the film . A spectacular White Horse was etched into Knockma, which was the scene of the main battle, and other work was carried out at Roscahill and at Killinure on the Shannon. There was talk that Alfred would do for Galway as The Quiet Man had done for Cong, and the Irish Tourist Board.

Happily I was one of the many hundreds of extras who were employed to march back and forward, to die a grisly death, and hack at others with swords and shields. We were paid an incredible £7 a day (an unheard of fortune in those days), and fed like kings. It was immense fun. Journalist and broadcaster Mary J Murphy in her book Viking Summer has captured brilliantly (sadly much much better that the film managed to do), the extravagant expenditure of it all, which was totally wasted. The film was a dismal failure. It was slated by the critics, and died a lingering death in the same way many of us did on the fields near Ross Lake. Alas it certainly was no Quiet Man.

http://www.monasette.com/blog/gallery/fishpond/