Darby O' Gill and the Little People (1959) (Movie Review)

  It’s “Saint Patrick’s Day” and for the occasion, I’ve got a wonderful little, Irish centered, fantasy from the early days of Walt Disney called “Darby O’ Gill and the Little People”. Released in 1959, this film was a passion project of sorts from Walt Disney, as for years he wanted to make a movie set in Ireland, with a focus on the more fantastical Irish folklore, like Leprechauns, magical pots of gold, and Banshee’s. Walt’s other inspiration were the “Darby O’ Gill Tales”, written by Herminie Templeton Kavanagh, with the short tale “The Ashes of Old Wishes” being the main templet for the movies script to be based around. Over the years, this movie has developed a reputation as one of the best, lesser-known Disney pictures, and for me has become a traditional film to frequently re-watch around Saint Patrick’s Day. So, lets take a closer look to see what kind of treasure awaits at the end of this rainbow.

  An aging caretaker named Darby O’ Gill loves telling stories at the local pub about his encounters with the Leprechauns, and his long rivalry with their King Brian. While nobody really believes in his tall tales, he still makes for an entertaining storyteller, and he has a positive connection with all the locals … minus the ones scheming to take his job. 

Soon enough, Darby’s master, Lord Fitzpatrick, feels that he’s getting too old to take care of his estate, so he has a young man named Michael McBride replace him. It’s bad enough to lose his job, but even harder is breaking the news to his only doubter Katie. That night, his horse goes crazy, and Darby chases it up a mountain, where he’s captured by the underground society of Leprechauns, and their leader, King Brian. For keeping the folklore of the little people alive within the community, the King is determined to remove Darby from the pains of his life, and insists that he live amongst the leprechauns. Darby, refusing to abandon his daughter, schemes his way out, while also aiming to get some form of reward in the prosses. Thus, we being a lengthy battle of wits between Darby and the King, to see who can out fox the other, and all while further relations and tension develop between Darby’s daughter Katie, the new caretaker Michael, and a local bully named Pony, who’s hatching his own schemes.  

  The cast all around play their parts great, and they all have rich chemistry. Albert Sharpe is very theatrical in his portrayal of Darby O’ Gill, and while it’s not a very subtle performance, there’s just something about his screen presence that I find infectiously appealing. 

Albert Sharpe is also quiet jubilant in his portrayal of King Brian, and even though he was never physically acting alongside Darby, I still feel this history and chemistry between them. The young new groundskeeper Michael was played by the new comer Sean Connery, before his more famous debut as James Bond. It’s not one of his absolute best performances, but it’s still cool to look back at an actors early work before they became famous. Lastly, we have Janet Munro has Darby’s lovely daughter Katie, and for whatever it’s worth … if there was ever an award for a girls prettiest smile … she would be a contender. She did however win the Golden Globe for “Most Promising Newcomer for Female Actress”, and would return for a number of live-action Disney movies after this, including “Swiss Family Robinson”. While the story is really nothing special, there is a real strength that comes from the charm of these likable characters, as well as this magical atmosphere, along with the imagination on display, and even the environment has a lot of personality.     

  To compliment the fantastical elements of the story, the Irish depictions on display are played-up as goofy, over the top, and isn’t meant to be taken seriously. To my surprise, while I don’t think this movie would work today, I still haven’t heard too much backlash against the Irish stereotyping of the film. 

I think most viewers are aware that it’s meant to be silly, fun, up-beat, and again, it does create an environment that’s both charming and appealing to feel submersed in. Although, it’s certainly an acquired taste, as I can easily imagine some viewers finding the whole presentation a little cringe. Another acquired taste is the leisurely pacing of the film. Despite being a fantasy, the film opts to go with a calm, life in the moment presentation, with only the occasional fantastical highlight peppered throughout to keep things engaging. Again, I can imagine how some viewers may find this boring, and holding back from just how big and magical it could be, but for my money, I actually like the films more relaxed tone. Now with that said, I will admit there are some boring moments that I feel could have been either trimmed down or removed all together. One scene in particular is when Darby schemes to keep King Brian distracted until sun rise, in which he’ll be powerless. So, he keeps him up over night, they drink and they share a musical number called “The Wishing Song”. The scene starts charming enough, but then it just keeps going, and the song itself isn’t that great.

  On that note, while this isn’t exactly a Disney musical, it certainly has some wonderful music to offer. The main song of the film is “Pretty Irish Girl”, which isn’t always sung well, but it’s still a charming little tune that sticks in my head whenever I listen to it. My favorite scene in the film is when Darby first enters the layer of the Leprechauns, which is an extraordinary set-peace, and it’s here that we get the big show-stopping dance number of the film. Darby plays "The Fox Chase" on a beautiful Stradivarius violin, and the whole cave breaks into a giant dance party. The leprechauns pull-off some cool stunts, they dance, they bounce all over, they ride small leprechaun sized horses, it’s just a huge highlight, and easily the scene I always look forward to most. It’s also in this scene that the best special effects are on full display, and for a production from the late 1950’s, it’s still kind of a marvel to look at. The effects of the miniature horses running around the cave still look stunning all these decades later.

  Most of the effects in the film are still quiet inspiring, although there is still the occasional bad effect that takes me out of the picture for a moment. One particular shot of Darby falling down a well is hilariously off-putting. With that said, the film overall is gorgeous to look at, with bright green landscapes, detailed set’s, inventive practical effects, and some truly gorgeous map paintings. 

For me, there’s a special appeal that comes from looking at map-painted backgrounds, and it’s absolutely a high mark in this film. The film also boasts a decent sense of atmosphere, which ranges from warm and cheerful, to mysterious and imposing. That’s another element I love about this film … while the film is generally whimsical and lighthearted, it also has kind of a dark undercurrent, which cares through most of the film. Things get especially fun and spooky in the third act, in which tensions rise between characters, and we get a nightmarish trip with a number of ghostly apparitions. Through a series of events, Darby’s little girl Katie gets into an accident, and finds herself at deaths door, which bacons the arrival of both the Banshee and The Death Coach, which are both great visual designs. The Death Coach is especially cool, looking like a blue tinted spectral of a Headless Horsman.

  Aside from “The Wizard of Oz”, it wasn’t yet common place to have this level of spooky imagery in family films. It’s nothing too shocking by today’s standards, especially when compared to all the Harry Potter movies kids grow-up with today, but there’s still something exciting and hauntingly atmospheric about these ghostly figures all these years later. The Banshee, despite her short screen time, is still a memorable, creepy visual that sticks with me into my adult years. The way she’s built up, the way she moves, her ere long skeleton hands, and even the reveal of her face are all still great spooky highlights, which further help this movie stand apart from other Disney offerings. While animated Disney pictures had there share of creepy imagery and moments, not to many live-action Disney pictures, especially of the time, had memorable, spooky highlights or visuals like this. 

  In the end, I can’t make any compelling arguments that “Darby O’ Gill and the Little People” is a film for everyone, but for me … it’s still one of my favorite live-action Disney offerings all these years later … and absolutely my personal favorite movie to watch for Saint Patrick’s Day. While neither the Saint or the holiday are actually mentioned, there’s just so much in terms of Irish Lore, gorgeous Ireland locations, and some catchy songs, that it just feels like the proper film to have as part of the celebration. 

It’s a very simplistic experience, yet the individual highlights are just too good to pass-up on. With its underground world full of Leprechauns, goofy magical mayhem, the frightening Banshee that haunts our main heroes, and all kinds of charming little adventures that take place in the beautiful Irish country side, it just has this charming appeal that always wins me back. While the film can be extremely over the top in its presentation of Irish stereotypes, it’s still conveyed with a sense of innocent fun, and it encourages the viewers to have fun along with it. The effects for the time were landmarks that can still inspire today, the music is upbeat, the characters are likable, the atmosphere is strong, and it never fails to put me in a happy mood to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1959 fantasy picture “Darby O’ Gill and the Little People” … and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!     

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day everyone!