Director John Ford considered his 1952 Oscar-winning classic his sexiest. The Quiet Man tells the story of John Wayne’s character, Sean Thornton, a retired boxer who returns to his hometown in 1920s Ireland to claim his family estate. There, he met his match in Maureen O’Hara’s character, Mary Kate Danaher.
During filming in County Mayo and County Galway, O’Hara struggled with a broken hand. In one scene, where Wayne kisses her for the first time, she slaps him, and Wayne’s block causes her hand to break.
Since the film was shot in sequence, O’Hara endured the pain without a cast. To make matters more challenging, O’Hara had to whisper an unscripted line in Wayne’s ear, which he was unprepared for.
The scene showed the two waving goodbye before O’Hara says something that results in a double-take from Wayne, a reaction that made it into the final cut. Although the exact words are inaudible, they had the desired effect. O’Hara initially refused to say the line, writing in her memoir: “I couldn’t possibly say that to Duke!” However, Ford insisted on receiving a genuine reaction from Wayne, which he got. Only three individuals knew the line and took it to their graves, the Express reported.
The acclaimed director considered The Quiet Man his most provocative film; it was likely deemed risqué in the early 1950s. Interestingly, this scene and the final fight almost didn’t make it into the movie until Ford insisted in his uncompromising style.
Republic Pictures had demanded that the film not exceed two hours, believing audiences wouldn’t want to sit in a cinema for longer. Ford resisted, arguing he had trimmed all excess and needed an additional nine minutes, but the executives stood firm.
A few days later, he claimed to have the movie, his 129-minute version, ready for screening. After exactly two hours, the director signaled to the projectionist to stop the film in the middle of the big final fight. Eventually, the studio executives relented and allowed him his extra nine minutes.