Review of Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) by James M — 29 Jun 2010

Walt Disney, you were a scary man indeed. This quote from your movie proves it.

"My thanks to king Brian of Knocknasheega and his leprechauns." -- Walt Disney.

First of all, what is the movie about exactly? I have no idea. I just finished gaping at it for 93 minutes and I'm more confused now than when I started. All I know for sure is that a twenty something Sean Connery is forced into a relationship he's not looking for by a trickster leprechaun with an ulterior motive. Then five seconds later everyone is kissing and gawking like it was meant to be. And, just when it looks like the good guys have lost, they haven't. Their savoir? Sheer stupidity. So what does that teach us exactly? Let me recant the tale to help you better understand my quandary.

Darby O'Gill, resident leprechaun expert, is the caretaker of property for some important dude. The important dude decides Darby is too damn old and bony to keep up with all the work so he hires the young, grinning Sean Connery to replace him. The important dude gives Darby two weeks notice before he and his daughter have to move out of their rent free housing and into ... rent free housing that Darby doesn't like as much. IT'S A CATASTROPHIC TRAGEDY! Darby decides that he won't tell his daughter a word of it until after he's figured out the perfect way to tell her. One night he's walking along the countryside for no reason when his horse Cleopatra wanders up Mt. Knocknasheega. That just so happens to be where the leprechauns live. You see, Darby had an unfortunate encounter with the leprechaun king before. He wished for health, a good crop of potatoes, and gobs of gold. Then, being an idiot he wished for a 4th wish and lost all of his previous wishes. This time though it would seem that he is at the mercy of the leprechaun king. The king tells him that he can never leave the subterranean dwelling of the leprechauns. Upon hearing this news he gets all indignant, like the district 5 hockey team, stating the numerous times he's stood up for the rights of the little people. Somehow this conversation turns into Darby playing a Stradivarius violin like a fiddle for 3 solid minutes. Only he doesn't just play, he plays faster and faster until the little dancing leprechauns can't keep up anymore. They hop on their tiny mounts and leave the cave. Darby manages to barely get out before the front door hits him in the backside.

Once home he gathers his effects and begins his rudimentary yet nefarious leprechaun subversion scheme. Success! With king Brian at his beck and call he can now contemplate his remaining two wishes. In the very next scene Sean Connery is singing away about his dear darl'n one and Katie brings him lunch. It MUST be love.

Then Darby goes and fetches a hand me down church bell which was extremely difficult for some reason? This makes him the talk of the town, that and his leprechaun bag. Later that evening Darby is tackled by a wily Connery in a UFC heavyweight bout, uh I mean ... Connery thought Darby was a poacher. It is then and there that Darby blows his second wish by wishing that Connery could see king Brian. FACEPALM! King Brian tricks Darby and only reveals himself to be a rabbit. DAG!

That same evening Darby says he won't wish his final wish until he can figure out how to make his girl happy. King Brian hatches a plan and pays a not so clandestine visit to a slumbering Sean Connery. He tries to talk Sean into marrying Darby's daughter Katie, seemingly without success.

Then Sean takes king Brian's advice and takes Katie to the top of Mt. Knocknasheega. They deny their feelings for a bit and then, EUREKA, she kisses him in true Disney fashion. Just as everything seems to be going so well disaster strikes. Katie finds out about Sean taking her pappy's jerb and she aint so pleased about it. She slaps him right in his soup cooler and storms off into the night. This of course leads to her falling and knocking herself unconscious. Darby goes after her but he has to face the wrath of the Banshee as well as the stormy night. He and Sean find her but she's out cold so they take her home.

Later on the DEATH COACH comes for Katie. Darby, being of sound mind and judgement, decrees that his final wish is to die in place of his daughter. How noble. Too bad he forgot about the 4th wish thing again! So he's riding along in the death coach when king Brian cajoles him into wishing his fourth wish causing all of them go away. Darby is flung from the flying coach with notable velocity and falls to earth like a meat magnet.

The next day Darby is at the pub bragging about his DEATH COACH ride when Pony makes fun of him again. This time ol' Seanny boy is there to punch him right in the eye. This makes everyone laugh at Pony and Sean wins the affection of Katie. They ride off together singing the My Dear My Darl'n One song.

The end. Aww.

So what was the moral of that story I spoke of earlier? If you're dumb enough, long enough, eventually you win.

What are my favorite quotes from this movie?

Darby - "Watch out for poachers!" His advice to Sean Connery.

King Brian - "It was presented to me by the emperor of the Italian faries in 1700. It's a Stradivarius." This was spoken as he describes the "fiddle" he gave to Darby.

What are some interesting facts related to this movie?

1. Sean Connery can sing?

2. Albert Sharpe who plays Darby was born in EIGHTEEN EIGHTY FIVE!!! 1885! Imagine this, you're watching Back to the Future 3. You see the baby, William McFly. That is how old Albert Sharpe was. Is your mind blown yet?

3. It makes popular the fourth wish limitation. I never knew about that.

4. Banshees are harmless.

5. When you die a stage coach from hell comes to pick you up like Enterprise rent-a-car.

6. Leprechauns looks like rabbits to people who can't see them.

7. It's ok to charge the church money to pick up hand me down church bells.

8. Playing the fiddle can force leprechauns out of their home.

9. It's possible to have a tough reputation and be named "Pony.".

10. Darby is an idiot.

This is not Disney's worst movie by far. Should you watch this movie? Sure, why not. You probably have seen it before at some point, it is 51 years old after all. If not give it a shot, what have you go to lose besides 93 minutes?