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Patrick McGoohan
Sylvia Syms
The Quare Fellow
From the play by Brendan Behan
In 1962, legendary Irish playwright Brendan Behan's incendiary insider's
look at life on death row, The Quare Fellow, became a film "studded with
gem-like performances" (Hollywood Reporter) that packs "a harsh Irish
eloquence and a brutal dramatic punch" (New York Times).
Zealous rookie prison guard Thomas Crimmin (Patrick McGoohan - The
Prisoner, Escape From Alcatraz) arrives at a crumbling correctional facility
where inmates and turnkeys alike anxiously await a man's imminent trip to
the gallows. Though the condemned (called the "quare fellow" in Hibernian
jailhouse slang) remains unseen, the cruelty of the brutal murder that has
marked his days and the system that would take a life for a life are both
keenly felt. Under the tutelage of a retiring guard, and via a chance
liaison with Kathleen (Sylvia Syms), a woman with a deep connection to both
the man awaiting execution and the crime of passion he committed, Crimmin's
duty-bound veneer erodes and the tragedy of state-sanctioned murder
threatens to claim more than just the life of the guilty.
Working in Dublin with an Anglo-Irish cast and crew, American
writer-director Arthur Dreifuss tells in The Quare Fellow a "compelling
story with swift, succinct strokes," (LA Times) combining visual ingenuity
with Behan's "rueful, randy dialogue" (The New Yorker) and uncommon
humanity.
1962 UK 89 min. B/W
Original Aspect Ratio (1.33:1)
an ANTHONY HAVELOCK-ALLAN production
a film by ARTHUR DREIFUSS
THE QUARE FELLOW
PATRICK MCGOOHAN SYLVIA SYMS
WALTER MACKEN DERMOT KELLY JACK CUNNINGHAM
cinematography PETER HENNESSY editing GITTA ZADEK
screen adaptation ARTHUR DREIFUSS and JACQUELINE SUNDSTROM
based on the play by BRENDAN BEHAN
produced by ANTHONY HAVELOCK-ALLAN
written and directed by ARTHUR DREIFUSS
Licensed from Euro London Films Ltd.
© MCMXLII by Liger Films, Ltd.
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