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179-560: Maureen O'Hara , one of Ford's favorite leading ladies, plays Maher's wife and fellow immigrant , Mary O'Donnell. The film co-stars Ward Bond as Herman Koehler , the Master of the Sword (athletic director) and Army's head football coach (1897–1900), who first befriends Maher. Milburn Stone appears as John J. Pershing , who in 1898 swears Maher into the Army. Harry Carey Jr. , makes a brief appearance as

358-553: A New York Times bestseller . In 2009, The Guardian named her one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination. In November 2014, she was presented with an Honorary Academy Award with the inscription "To Maureen O'Hara, one of Hollywood's brightest stars, whose inspiring performances glowed with passion, warmth and strength". In 2020, she was ranked number one on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Born on 17 August 1920, O'Hara began life as Maureen FitzSimons on Beechwood Avenue in

537-637: A Neutrality Pact in April 1941, and Japan adopted the doctrine of Nanshin-ron , promoted by the Navy, which took its focus southward and eventually led to war with the United States and the Western Allies. In Europe, Germany and Italy were becoming more aggressive. In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria , again provoking little response from other European powers. Encouraged, Hitler began pressing German claims on

716-564: A cautious French probe into the Saarland . The Western Allies also began a naval blockade of Germany , which aimed to damage the country's economy and war effort. Germany responded by ordering U-boat warfare against Allied merchant and warships, which would later escalate into the Battle of the Atlantic . On 8 September, German troops reached the suburbs of Warsaw . The Polish counter-offensive to

895-437: A "compound of hackneyed situations, maudlin dialogue and preposterously bad acting". In Gregory Ratoff 's musical Do You Love Me , O'Hara portrayed a prim, bespectacled music school dean who transforms herself into a desirable, sophisticated lady in the big city. She commented that it was "one of the worst pictures I ever made". It frustrated her that she could not put her talents to good use, to not even sing in it. O'Hara

1074-463: A "frustrated talent manager who shoots her star client in a jealous rage" opposite Melvyn Douglas in A Woman's Secret . She only agreed to appear in the production to meet the one-picture-a-year contractual obligation to RKO. It was a box office flop and at the time not well received critically—director Nicholas Ray himself was dissatisfied with it. She next had a role as a wealthy widow who falls in love with an alcoholic artist ( Dana Andrews ) in

1253-406: A "rip-your-heart-out tearjerker that reduced my agents and the toughest brass at Fox to mush when they saw it". It was poorly received by critics, and was later declared by Harvard as the worst film of all time. One critic attacked O'Hara as "just another one of those precious Hollywood juvenile products who in workday life would benefit from a good hiding", while Bosley Crowther dismissed the film as

1432-552: A "terrible mistake". In 1947, O'Hara starred opposite Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Shireen in the adventure film Sinbad the Sailor . O'Hara plays a glamorous adventuress who assists Sinbad (Fairbanks) locate the hidden treasure of Alexander the Great . She found the scenario to be "ridiculous", but stated that it made a "pot of money for RKO — action-adventures almost always did". Malone wrote: "O'Hara looks splendid and gets to wear some of

1611-508: A Creole woman opposite Rex Harrison in John M. Stahl 's The Foxes of Harrow ; the film was set in pre-Civil War New Orleans . TCM state that O'Hara had been "angling" to star in Forever Amber (1947), Fox's big historical romance at the time, but believe that due to a contractual clause, neither of her joint contract owners, Fox and RKO, would accept her appearing in a "major star vehicle" at

1790-525: A cart scene in which the wind in her eyes made it difficult to see, Ford yelled "Open your damn eyes" and O'Hara flipped, responding with "What would a bald-headed son of a bitch like you know about hair lashing across his eyeballs?" The Quiet Man was both a critical and commercial success, grossing $ 3.8 million domestically in its first year of release against a budget of $ 1.75 million. Film critic James Berardinelli called O'Hara "the perfect match for Wayne" and that "she never allows him to steal

1969-418: A former operatic contralto and successful women's clothier, who in her younger years was widely considered to have been one of Ireland's most beautiful women. She noted that whenever her mother left the house, men would leave their houses just so they could catch a glimpse of her in the street. O'Hara's siblings were Peggy, the eldest, and younger Charles, Florrie, Margot, and Jimmy. Peggy dedicated her life to

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2148-460: A fuss over me because of something I hadn't yet done, something they just thought I might do". O'Hara portrayed Esmeralda , a gypsy dancer who is imprisoned and later sentenced to death by the Parisian authorities. Director William Dieterle initially showed concern that O'Hara was too tall and disliked her wavy hair, asking for her to step under a shower to straighten it out. Filming commenced in

2327-438: A good shit this morning?". He would ask the crew if she was in a good mood, and if that was the case, he would say "then we're going to have a horrible day" and vice versa. He would provoke her by telling her to "move her fat Irish ass". Their relationship deteriorated further when O'Hara reportedly saw him kissing an actor on set; Ford knew that she thought he was a closeted homosexual. In The Magnificent Matador , O'Hara played

2506-611: A house on campus. Marty becomes a corporal , and Mary saves enough money to bring his father and brother to America. Captain Koehler makes Marty a swimming instructor—after teaching him how to swim. Mary gives birth to a boy. The cadets serenade Marty and give him a cadet saber for Martin Maher III, class of 1936. The doctor arrives with heartbreaking news. The newborn boy has died. While Mary sleeps, Marty gets drunk. The cadets go off limits to bring him home, and report themselves for doing so. In

2685-419: A parent. She worked well under Hitchcock, professing to have "never experienced the strange feeling of detachment with Hitchcock that many other actors claimed to have felt while working with him." On the contrary, Laughton was engaged in a bitter battle with Hitchcock throughout the production and resented many of Hitchcock's ideas, including changing the nature of the villain from the novel. Though Jamaica Inn

2864-590: A pass at her during the production, prolonging his kiss with her after the director had yelled "cut". Later that year, O'Hara starred opposite Tyrone Power , George Sanders , Laird Cregar and Anthony Quinn in Henry King 's swashbuckler The Black Swan . O'Hara recalled that it was "everything you could want in a lavish pirate picture: a magnificent ship with thundering cannons; a dashing hero battling menacing villains ... sword fights; fabulous costumes ...". She found it exhilarating working with Power, who

3043-510: A physically demanding film, and felt intimidated by Lucille Ball during the production as she had been a former Ziegfeld and Goldwyn girl and was a superior dancer. The two remained friends for many years after the film was completed. O'Hara began 1941 by appearing in They Met in Argentina , RKO's answer to Down Argentine Way (1940). O'Hara later declared that she "knew it was going to be

3222-514: A pretext to initiate the invasion. The first German attack of the war came against the Polish defences at Westerplatte . The United Kingdom responded with an ultimatum for Germany to cease military operations, and on 3 September, after the ultimatum was ignored, Britain and France declared war on Germany. During the Phoney War period, the alliance provided no direct military support to Poland, outside of

3401-765: A pretext to worsen relations. On 29 August, Hitler demanded that a Polish plenipotentiary immediately travel to Berlin to negotiate the handover of Danzig , and to allow a plebiscite in the Polish Corridor in which the German minority would vote on secession. The Poles refused to comply with the German demands, and on the night of 30–31 August in a confrontational meeting with the British ambassador Nevile Henderson , Ribbentrop declared that Germany considered its claims rejected. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland after having staged several false flag border incidents as

3580-468: A religious order, becoming a Sister of Charity . "I was a blunt child—blunt almost to the point of rudeness. I told the truth and shamed all the devils. I didn't take discipline very well. I would never be slapped in school. If a teacher had slapped me I would have bitten her. I guess I was a bold, bad child, but it was exciting. When I went to the Dominican College later on I did not have beaux as

3759-470: A remake of George Cukor 's 1932 film . O'Hara portrayed Sydney Fairchild, who was played by Katharine Hepburn in the original, in a film which she considered to have had a "screenplay [which] was mediocre at best". The production became difficult for O'Hara after Farrow reportedly made "suggestive comments" to her and began stalking her at home; once he realized that O'Hara was not interested in him sexually, he began bullying her on set. O'Hara punched him in

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3938-516: A role as the Bostonian love interest of Cornel Wilde in Humberstone's The Homestretch (1947), O'Hara had grown frustrated with Hollywood and took a considerable break to return to her native Ireland, where people thought she did not look well, having lost a lot of weight. While there she received a call from 20th Century Fox to portray the role of Doris Walker, the mother of Susan Walker (played by

4117-605: A role, however small, in John Ford 's upcoming film How Green Was My Valley (1941), at 20th Century Fox , a film about a close, hard-working Welsh mining family living in the heart of the South Wales Valleys in the 19th century. The film, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture , began an artistic collaboration with Ford that would span 20 years and five feature films. Her substantial role as Angharad, which she

4296-412: A scene without a fight, and occasionally snatches one away from him on her own", while film critic and sports writer Danny Peary praised their chemistry, "exhibiting strength" through "love, vulnerability and tenderness". According to Harry Carey Jr. , who noted that O'Hara held a strong gaze with Wayne in all of the films they made together, director Ford was uncomfortable with the romantic scenes in

4475-469: A secret protocol that defined German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (western Poland and Lithuania for Germany; eastern Poland , Finland, Estonia , Latvia and Bessarabia for the Soviet Union), and raised the question of continuing Polish independence. The pact neutralised the possibility of Soviet opposition to a campaign against Poland and assured that Germany would not have to face the prospect of

4654-743: A similar pact and rejected ceding part of its territory to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939, and was subsequently expelled from the League of Nations for this crime of aggression. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority, Soviet military success during the Winter War was modest, and the Finno-Soviet war ended in March 1940 with some Finnish concessions of territory . In June 1940,

4833-619: A split perfect second light was on her face and you could see as the girl turned her head around your extraordinarily beautiful profile, which was absolutely invisible among all your makeup. Well Mr. Pommer and I sent for you and you came and blew into the office like a hurricane. You had a tweed suit on with hair sticking out and coming from Ireland. You blew into the office and said [in Irish accent] 'Watchya want with me'. I took you out for lunch and I never forgot when I asked you why you wanted to be an actress. I'll never forget your reply. You said 'When I

5012-556: A spoiled, wealthy American who falls in love with a brooding, tormented, about-to-retire matador (Anthony Quinn) in Mexico. Ava Gardner , who was dating a bullfighter in real life, Luis Miguel Dominguín , and Lana Turner were considered for O'Hara's part of Karen Harrison. The film was panned by the critics. One of her best-known roles came later year, playing Lady Godiva in Lady Godiva of Coventry . Contrary to what Universal claimed to

5191-408: A stinker; terrible script, bad director, preposterous plot, forgettable music". She grew increasingly frustrated with the direction of her career at this time. Ida Zeitlin wrote that O'Hara had "reached a pitch of despair where she was about ready to throw in the towel, to break her contract, to collapse against the stone wall of indifference and howl like a baby wolf". She pleaded with her agent for

5370-765: A talent agency run by Connie Chapman and Vere Barker. Laughton was impressed with O'Hara, particularly by her lack of nerves and refusal to read an extract upon his request unprepared, during which she said: "I am very sorry but absolutely no". She was offered an initial seven-year contract with their new company, Mayflower Pictures. Though her family were shocked at her being given a contract so young, they accepted, and O'Hara traveled across Ireland in celebration before arriving back in London to commence her film career. O'Hara later stated that "I owe my whole career to Mr. Pommer". O'Hara made her screen debut in Walter Forde 's Kicking

5549-528: A timid socialite who joins the army as a cook in Henry Hathaway 's Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942), which tells the fictional story of the first class of the United States Military Academy in the early 19th century. The film was disagreeable to O'Hara because Payne dropped out and was replaced by George Montgomery , whom she found "positively loathsome". Montgomery attempted to make

The Long Gray Line - Misplaced Pages Continue

5728-519: A two-front war, as it had in World War   I. Immediately afterwards, Hitler ordered the attack to proceed on 26 August, but upon hearing that the United Kingdom had concluded a formal mutual assistance pact with Poland and that Italy would maintain neutrality, he decided to delay it. In response to British requests for direct negotiations to avoid war, Germany made demands on Poland, which served as

5907-543: A typist and bookkeeper. She later put her skills to use when she typed the script of The Quiet Man for John Ford. In 1936, she became the youngest pupil to graduate from the Guildhall School of Music at the time, and the following year, she won the Dawn Beauty Competition, winning £50. As she matured into a young woman, O'Hara, like many actresses, became increasingly self-conscious, which affected her for

6086-525: A villain, and remarked that " Bette Davis was right – bitches are fun to play". In the film, the first Hollywood production to be shot in Portugal, she is caught in a love triangle with Ray Milland and Claude Rains , who according to Malone both attempted to "outsuave each other" during the whole production. Later that year she made Everything But the Truth for Universal, at a time in her career when she

6265-442: A while. In one performance, which was watched by her father from the back of the theatre, O'Hara "sensed there was someone out front watching me, perhaps critically. My arms felt like lead. I gave a rotten show that night. I grew up with the terrible feeling that I was being laughed at". "On the screen was a girl. She looked at least 35, she was over done up ... very made up face, and her hair in an over-grand style, but just for

6444-500: A young Natalie Wood ) in the Christmas film , Miracle on 34th Street (1947). It became a perennial Christmas classic, with a traditional network television airing every Thanksgiving Day on NBC . On Natalie Wood, O'Hara said: "I have been mother to almost forty children in movies, but I always had a special place in my heart for little Natalie. She always called me Mamma Maureen and I called her Natasha ... when Natalie and I shot

6623-460: Is Hollywood teaming at its most inspired". After the completion of The Hunchback of Notre Dame , World War II began, and Laughton, realizing his company could no longer film in London, sold O'Hara's contract to RKO. O'Hara later professed that this "broke my heart, I felt completely abandoned in a strange and faraway place". She next featured in John Farrow 's A Bill of Divorcement (1940),

6802-558: Is Mine and The Fallen Sparrow to have been two important pictures in O'Hara's career, "adding to her growing prestige in the film industry", helping her "crawl out from the gimcrack melodrama of adventure films". "Ms. O'Hara was called the Queen of Technicolor, because when that film process first came into use, nothing seemed to show off its splendor better than her rich red hair, bright green eyes and flawless peaches-and-cream complexion. One critic praised her in an otherwise negative review of

6981-446: Is generally seen by critics and the director himself as one of his weakest films, O'Hara was praised, with one critic stating "the newcomer, Maureen O'Hara is charming to look at and distinct promise as an actress". Seeing the film was an eyeopener for O'Hara and change in self-perception, having always seen herself as a tomboy and realizing that on screen she was a woman of great beauty to others. When she returned to Ireland briefly after

7160-401: Is perhaps why she didn't mention the film much. It also looks as if it were made in the 1920s rather than the 1930s, so primitive are the sets and characters". Malone added that though the lot was "ham-fisted", it is a "quaint film which O'Hara scholars should view if only to see early evidence of her natural instinct for dramatic timing and scene interpretation". O'Hara's first major film role

7339-518: The Allies and the Axis powers . Nearly all the world's countries —including all the great powers —participated, with many investing all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of total war , blurring the distinction between military and civilian resources. Tanks and aircraft played major roles , with the latter enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and delivery of

The Long Gray Line - Misplaced Pages Continue

7518-588: The Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German–Polish declaration of non-aggression . The situation became a crisis in late August as German troops continued to mobilise against the Polish border. On 23 August the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, after tripartite negotiations for a military alliance between France, the United Kingdom, and Soviet Union had stalled. This pact had

7697-662: The British Empire , with fighting in the Balkans , Mediterranean, and Middle East , the aerial Battle of Britain and the Blitz , and naval Battle of the Atlantic . Through a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany took control of much of continental Europe and formed the Axis alliance with Italy , Japan , and other countries. In June 1941, Germany led the European Axis in an invasion of

7876-519: The Dublin suburb of Ranelagh . She stated that she was "born into the most remarkable and eccentric family I could have possibly hoped for". She was the second-eldest of six children of Charles and Marguerite (née Lilburn) FitzSimons, and the only red-headed child in the family. Her father was in the clothing business and bought into Shamrock Rovers Football Club , a team O'Hara supported from childhood. O'Hara inherited her singing voice from her mother,

8055-566: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 , and a democratic government, later known as the Weimar Republic , was created. The interwar period saw strife between supporters of the new republic and hardline opponents on both the political right and left. Italy, as an Entente ally, had made some post-war territorial gains; however, Italian nationalists were angered that the promises made by the United Kingdom and France to secure Italian entrance into

8234-814: The German invasion of Poland and the United Kingdom and France 's declaration of war on Germany two days later on 3 September 1939. Dates for the beginning of the Pacific War include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or the earlier Japanese invasion of Manchuria , on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor , who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and

8413-567: The Italian mainland , and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis powers their initiative and forced them into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France at Normandy , while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and pushed Germany and its allies westward. At the same time, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled

8592-537: The Japanese Navy and captured key islands . The war in Europe concluded with the liberation of German-occupied territories ; the invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the fall of Berlin to Soviet troops; Hitler's suicide ; and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945 . Following the refusal of Japan to surrender on the terms of the Potsdam Declaration ,

8771-682: The League of Nations as a force to preserve peace. Both Italy and Ethiopia were member nations, but the League did little when the former clearly violated Article X of the League's Covenant . The United Kingdom and France supported imposing sanctions on Italy for the invasion, but the sanctions were not fully enforced and failed to end the Italian invasion. Italy subsequently dropped its objections to Germany's goal of absorbing Austria . When civil war broke out in Spain, Hitler and Mussolini lent military support to

8950-693: The Nationalist rebels , led by General Francisco Franco . Italy supported the Nationalists to a greater extent than the Nazis: Mussolini sent more than 70,000 ground troops, 6,000 aviation personnel, and 720 aircraft to Spain. The Soviet Union supported the existing government of the Spanish Republic . More than 30,000 foreign volunteers, known as the International Brigades , also fought against

9129-542: The RMS Queen Mary with he and her mother to New York, and then traveled by train to Hollywood. O'Hara's agent, Lew Wasserman , arranged for a pay increase from $ 80 a week to $ 700 a week. As the new face of RKO, she garnered much attention from the Hollywood press and society before the film was even released, something that made her uncomfortable, as she felt that she was being viewed as a "novelty" and "people were making

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9308-677: The Rome–Berlin Axis . A month later, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact , which Italy joined the following year. The Kuomintang (KMT) party in China launched a unification campaign against regional warlords and nominally unified China in the mid-1920s, but was soon embroiled in a civil war against its former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allies and new regional warlords . In 1931, an increasingly militaristic Empire of Japan , which had long sought influence in China as

9487-463: The San Fernando Valley , at a time when it was experiencing its hottest summer in its history. O'Hara described it as a "physically demanding shoot", due to the heavy makeup and costume requirements, and recalls that she gasped at Laughton in makeup as Quasimodo, remarking, "Good God, Charles. Is that really you?" O'Hara insisted on doing her own stunts from the outset, and for the scene in which

9666-581: The Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1941. By contrast, the Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, massing forces on the Soviet border. Hitler believed that the United Kingdom's refusal to end the war was based on the hope that the United States and the Soviet Union would enter the war against Germany sooner or later. On 31 July 1940, Hitler decided that

9845-580: The Stresa Front in April 1935 in order to contain Germany, a key step towards military globalisation ; however, that June, the United Kingdom made an independent naval agreement with Germany, easing prior restrictions. The Soviet Union, concerned by Germany's goals of capturing vast areas of Eastern Europe , drafted a treaty of mutual assistance with France. Before taking effect, though, the Franco-Soviet pact

10024-689: The Sudetenland , an area of Czechoslovakia with a predominantly ethnic German population. Soon the United Kingdom and France followed the appeasement policy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and conceded this territory to Germany in the Munich Agreement , which was made against the wishes of the Czechoslovak government, in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands. Soon afterwards, Germany and Italy forced Czechoslovakia to cede additional territory to Hungary, and Poland annexed

10203-428: The Tanggu Truce was signed in 1933. Thereafter, Chinese volunteer forces continued the resistance to Japanese aggression in Manchuria , and Chahar and Suiyuan . After the 1936 Xi'an Incident , the Kuomintang and CCP forces agreed on a ceasefire to present a united front to oppose Japan. The Second Italo-Ethiopian War was a brief colonial war that began in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war began with

10382-466: The Trans-Olza region of Czechoslovakia. Although all of Germany's stated demands had been satisfied by the agreement, privately Hitler was furious that British interference had prevented him from seizing all of Czechoslovakia in one operation. In subsequent speeches Hitler attacked British and Jewish "war-mongers" and in January 1939 secretly ordered a major build-up of the German navy to challenge British naval supremacy. In March 1939, Germany invaded

10561-506: The Treaty of Craiova . The loss of one-third of Romania's 1939 territory caused a coup against King Carol II, turning Romania into a fascist dictatorship under Marshal Ion Antonescu , with a course set towards the Axis in the hopes of a German guarantee. Meanwhile, German-Soviet political relations and economic co-operation gradually stalled, and both states began preparations for war. In April 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway to protect shipments of iron ore from Sweden , which

10740-401: The United Kingdom and France to declare war on Germany. Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , in which they had agreed on " spheres of influence " in Eastern Europe. In 1940, the Soviets annexed the Baltic states and parts of Finland and Romania . After the fall of France in June 1940, the war continued mainly between Germany and

10919-426: The Wehrmacht rapidly advanced to the Channel and cut off the Allied forces in Belgium, trapping the bulk of the Allied armies in a cauldron on the Franco-Belgian border near Lille. The United Kingdom was able to evacuate a significant number of Allied troops from the continent by early June, although they had to abandon almost all their equipment. On 10 June, Italy invaded France , declaring war on both France and

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11098-420: The White House to appeal to the commander in chief , West Point graduate, and 5-star general , President Dwight D. Eisenhower , who gives Marty a warm welcome and listens to his story. Arriving from County Tipperary , Ireland, in 1898, Marty begins bussing tables. After two months he has nothing to show for it, because he is docked for every dish he breaks. When he learns that enlisted men only worry about

11277-451: The aftermath of World War I and the rise of fascism in Europe and militarism in Japan . Key events leading up to the war included Japan's invasion of Manchuria , the Spanish Civil War , the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , and Germany's annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland . World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany , under Adolf Hitler , invaded Poland , prompting

11456-440: The guardhouse , he enlists in the U.S. Army. Captain Koehler, Master of the Sword , is impressed with his fist-fighting and brings him on as an assistant in athletics instruction. Marty meets Mrs. Koehler's cook, Mary O'Donnell, just arrived from Ireland. The Koehlers advise Mary not to engage in conversation with Marty until he re-enlists and proposes, for fear their two fiery Irish tempers will clash. They marry and settle into

11635-445: The musketeer , Athos , in At Sword's Point , which according to her showed the "new Maureen O'Hara". The film had actually been made in 1949 but was not released until 1952. The role was the most physically demanding of her career, doing her own stunts and training in the art of fencing for six weeks under Belgian-born fencing master Fred Cavens . She disliked director Lewis Allen and producer Howard Hughes , whom she thought

11814-543: The only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 70 to 85 million deaths , more than half being civilians. Millions died in genocides , including the Holocaust of European Jews, as well as from massacres, starvation, and disease. Following the Allied powers' victory, Germany , Austria , Japan , and Korea were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders . The causes of World War II included unresolved tensions in

11993-404: The reunification of East and West Germany to take place and resolved most post–World War   II issues. No formal peace treaty between Japan and the Soviet Union was ever signed, although the state of war between the two countries was terminated by the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 , which also restored full diplomatic relations between them. World War I had radically altered

12172-399: The 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for playing passionate but sensible heroines, often in Westerns and adventure films. She worked with director John Ford and long-time friend John Wayne on numerous projects. O'Hara was born into a Catholic family and raised in Dublin , Ireland. She aspired to become an actress from a very young age. She trained with

12351-412: The 1950 film "Comanche Territory" with the sentiment "Framed in Technicolor, Miss O'Hara somehow seems more significant than a setting sun." Even the creators of the process claimed her as its best advertisement." —Anita Gates of The New York Times on O'Hara as "The Queen of Technicolor". Although O'Hara became known as the "Queen of Technicolor" (like Rhonda Fleming ), she professed to dislike

12530-409: The Allies were attempting to cut off . Denmark capitulated after six hours , and despite Allied support , Norway was conquered within two months. British discontent over the Norwegian campaign led to the resignation of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain , who was replaced by Winston Churchill on 10   May 1940. On the same day, Germany launched an offensive against France . To circumvent

12709-473: The Army. Because of his training, he ships out immediately. Mary wants to view one of the parades she so loves but is too weak. Marty helps her to the porch. She takes out her rosary and quietly dies while Marty is fetching her shawl and medicine. Christmas Eve, 1944. Marty prepares for a quiet evening alone but is joined by a group of cadets. He picks the all-time West Point football team while they fix his dinner. Kitty arrives with Red, Jr., whose medals make

12888-518: The Axis war against the Soviet Union, in Romania's case partially to recapture territory ceded to the Soviet Union . In early June 1940, the Italian Regia Aeronautica attacked and besieged Malta , a British possession. From late summer to early autumn, Italy conquered British Somaliland and made an incursion into British-held Egypt . In October, Italy attacked Greece , but the attack

13067-521: The Blitz , but largely ended in May 1941 after failing to significantly disrupt the British war effort. Using newly captured French ports, the German Navy enjoyed success against an over-extended Royal Navy , using U-boats against British shipping in the Atlantic . The British Home Fleet scored a significant victory on 27   May 1941 by sinking the German battleship Bismarck . In November 1939,

13246-659: The European Axis declaring war on the US. Japan conquered much of coastal China and Southeast Asia , but its advances in the Pacific were halted in mid-1942 after its defeat in the naval Battle of Midway ; Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. Key setbacks in 1943—including German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and

13425-724: The French possessions of Syria and Lebanon , assisted by the Free French . With the situation in Europe and Asia relatively stable, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union made preparations for war. With the Soviets wary of mounting tensions with Germany, and the Japanese planning to take advantage of the European War by seizing resource-rich European possessions in Southeast Asia , the two powers signed

13604-480: The Germans, and the last large operational unit of the Polish Army surrendered on 6   October . Despite the military defeat, Poland never surrendered; instead, it formed the Polish government-in-exile and a clandestine state apparatus remained in occupied Poland. A significant part of Polish military personnel evacuated to Romania and Latvia; many of them later fought against the Axis in other theatres of

13783-528: The John Street West Girls' School near Thomas Street in Dublin's Liberties Area . She began dancing at the age of 5, when a fortune teller predicted that she would become rich and famous, and she would boast to friends as they sat in her back garden that she would "become the most famous actress in the world". Her enthusiastic family fully supported the idea. When she recited a poem on stage in school at

13962-500: The Moon Around (1938), although she did not consider it a part of her filmography. Richman had introduced her to Forde at Elstree Studios, but as she was not cast in the film in a notable role, she agreed to deliver one line in it as a favor to Richman for helping with her screen test. Laughton arranged for her to appear in the low-budget musical My Irish Molly (1938), the only film she made under her real name, Maureen FitzSimons. In

14141-505: The Nationalists. Both Germany and the Soviet Union used this proxy war as an opportunity to test in combat their most advanced weapons and tactics. The Nationalists won the civil war in April 1939; Franco, now dictator, remained officially neutral during World War   II but generally favoured the Axis . His greatest collaboration with Germany was the sending of volunteers to fight on the Eastern Front . In July 1937, Japan captured

14320-587: The Rathmines Theatre Company from the age of 10 and at the Abbey Theatre from the age of 14. She was given a screen test, which was deemed unsatisfactory, but Charles Laughton saw potential in her, and arranged for her to co-star with him in Alfred Hitchcock 's Jamaica Inn in 1939. She moved to Hollywood the same year to appear with him in the production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame , and

14499-505: The Royal Navy putting three Italian battleships out of commission after a carrier attack at Taranto , and neutralising several more warships at the Battle of Cape Matapan . Italian defeats prompted Germany to deploy an expeditionary force to North Africa; at the end of March 1941, Rommel 's Afrika Korps launched an offensive which drove back Commonwealth forces. In less than a month, Axis forces advanced to western Egypt and besieged

14678-584: The Soviet Union occupied the entire territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the Romanian regions of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Hertsa region . In August 1940, Hitler imposed the Second Vienna Award on Romania which led to the transfer of Northern Transylvania to Hungary. In September 1940, Bulgaria demanded Southern Dobruja from Romania with German and Italian support, leading to

14857-735: The Soviet Union , opening the Eastern Front and initially making large territorial gains. Japan aimed to dominate East Asia and the Asia-Pacific , and by 1937 was at war with the Republic of China . In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories in Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific , including Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , which resulted in the US and the UK declaring war against Japan, and

15036-520: The Soviet Union and Mongolia . The Japanese doctrine of Hokushin-ron , which emphasised Japan's expansion northward, was favoured by the Imperial Army during this time. This policy would prove difficult to maintain in light of the Japanese defeat at Khalkin Gol in 1939, the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War and ally Nazi Germany pursuing neutrality with the Soviets. Japan and the Soviet Union eventually signed

15215-738: The Soviet Union should be eliminated and aimed for the conquest of Ukraine , the Baltic states and Byelorussia . However, other senior German officials like Ribbentrop saw an opportunity to create a Euro-Asian bloc against the British Empire by inviting the Soviet Union into the Tripartite Pact. In November 1940, negotiations took place to determine if the Soviet Union would join the pact. The Soviets showed some interest but asked for concessions from Finland, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Japan that Germany considered unacceptable. On 18 December 1940, Hitler issued

15394-402: The US dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August. Faced with an imminent invasion of the Japanese archipelago , the possibility of further atomic bombings, and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria , Japan announced its unconditional surrender on 15 August and signed a surrender document on 2 September 1945 , marking

15573-568: The United Kingdom and France guaranteed their support for Polish independence ; when Italy conquered Albania in April 1939, the same guarantee was extended to the Kingdoms of Romania and Greece . Shortly after the Franco - British pledge to Poland, Germany and Italy formalised their own alliance with the Pact of Steel . Hitler accused the United Kingdom and Poland of trying to "encircle" Germany and renounced

15752-538: The United Kingdom attacked on 3   July in an attempt to prevent its seizure by Germany. The air Battle of Britain began in early July with Luftwaffe attacks on shipping and harbours . The German campaign for air superiority started in August but its failure to defeat RAF Fighter Command forced the indefinite postponement of the proposed German invasion of Britain . The German strategic bombing offensive intensified with night attacks on London and other cities in

15931-455: The United Kingdom. The Germans turned south against the weakened French army, and Paris fell to them on 14   June. Eight days later France signed an armistice with Germany ; it was divided into German and Italian occupation zones , and an unoccupied rump state under the Vichy Regime , which, though officially neutral, was generally aligned with Germany. France kept its fleet, which

16110-640: The United States was assisting China and the Western Allies, and had amended the Neutrality Act to allow "cash and carry" purchases by the Allies. In 1940, following the German capture of Paris, the size of the United States Navy was significantly increased . In September the United States further agreed to a trade of American destroyers for British bases . Still, a large majority of the American public continued to oppose any direct military intervention in

16289-461: The Victorian melodrama The Forbidden Street , which was shot at Shepperton Studios in London. O'Hara felt that her performance was poor and admitted that she did not have her heart set on the film. After the poorly received comedy Father Was a Fullback , dismissed by Picturegoer magazine as an "unhappy mixture of Freud and football", she starred in her first film with Universal Pictures ,

16468-590: The Yellow River ; this manoeuvre bought time for the Chinese to prepare their defences at Wuhan , but the city was taken by October. Japanese military victories did not bring about the collapse of Chinese resistance that Japan had hoped to achieve; instead, the Chinese government relocated inland to Chongqing and continued the war. In the mid-to-late 1930s, Japanese forces in Manchukuo had sporadic border clashes with

16647-568: The actor with whom she is most closely associated, in Rio Grande (1950); this was followed by The Quiet Man (1952), The Wings of Eagles (1957), McLintock! (1963), and Big Jake (1971). Such was her strong chemistry with Wayne that many assumed they were married or in a relationship. In the 1960s, O'Hara increasingly turned to more motherly roles as she aged, appearing in films such as The Deadly Companions (1961), The Parent Trap (1961), and The Rare Breed (1966). She retired from

16826-641: The age of 14, O'Hara joined the Abbey Theatre . Though she was mentored by playwright Lennox Robinson , she found her time at the theatre disappointing. In 1934, at the age of 15, she won the first Dramatic Prize of the national competition of the performing arts, the Dublin Feis Award, for her performance as Portia in The Merchant of Venice . She trained as a shorthand typist, working for Crumlin Laundry before joining Eveready Battery Company, where she worked as

17005-572: The age of six, O'Hara immediately felt an attraction to performing in front of an audience. From that age she trained in drama, music, and dance along with her siblings at the Ena Mary Burke School of Drama and Elocution in Dublin. Their affinity with the arts prompted O'Hara to refer to the family as the "Irish von Trapp family". At the age of 10, O'Hara joined the Rathmines Theatre Company and began working in amateur theatre in

17184-524: The attention, Marty notices the first tune: Garryowen . “This is for you, Marty. The cadets asked for it ” the superintendent says. The film concludes with a full dress parade in Marty's honor. All the people Marty loves, both living and dead, step up to honor him. The band plays Auld Lang Syne , which brings tears to Marty's eyes—and to Dotson's. Variety called The Long Gray Line "a standout drama on West Point". Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called

17363-590: The better actors became involved in the war effort and O'Hara struggled to find good co-stars. He points out that she increasingly starred in adventure pictures, which allowed her to develop her acting and keep her profile high in Hollywood. O'Hara had next intended appearing opposite Tyrone Power in Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake , but was hospitalized in early 1942, during which she had her appendix and two ovarian cysts removed at Reno Hospital . Producer Zanuck scoffed at

17542-603: The birthing stool", commenting that she looks "deliciously fragrant in the splashy histrionics on view here, in RKO's first film in the three-color Technicolor process" O'Hara became a naturalized citizen of the United States on 24 January 1946, and held dual citizenship with the United States and her native Ireland. In the same year, she portrayed an actress with a fatal heart condition in Walter Lang 's Sentimental Journey . A commercially successful production, O'Hara described it as

17721-509: The cadets whistle. He has earned his captain's bars in Europe and wants Marty to pin them on. The president tells General Dotson to call the point and find out what the SNAFU is. Marty gives an aide a bottle of hair restorer for the president. Dotson tells Marty he is AWOL and flies him back to the point, where the superintendent and Dotson hustle him onto the crowded parade ground. Slightly bemused by

17900-456: The capital Nanking in December 1937. After the fall of Nanking, tens or hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed combatants were murdered by the Japanese . In March 1938, Nationalist Chinese forces won their first major victory at Taierzhuang , but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Chinese forces stalled the Japanese advance by flooding

18079-424: The church service is interrupted by the news of Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor and the United States' likely entry into World War II , Red confesses to Marty that he was married over Thanksgiving weekend. The bride’s parents had the marriage annulled, but it means expulsion for Red if it is discovered. Deeply disappointed, Marty is filled with pride when Sundstrom does the honorable thing by resigning and enlisting in

18258-473: The combat scenes, many of which had to be cut from the final version to protect Flynn's heroic image. The film was a commercially successful venture. The following year she appeared in The Redhead from Wyoming , which she dismissed as "another western stinkeroo for Universal", and appeared in another western with Jeff Chandler, War Arrow . O'Hara noted that "Jeff was a real sweetheart, but acting with him

18437-403: The conflict well into 1941. In December 1940, Roosevelt accused Hitler of planning world conquest and ruled out any negotiations as useless, calling for the United States to become an " arsenal of democracy " and promoting Lend-Lease programmes of military and humanitarian aid to support the British war effort; Lend-Lease was later extended to the other Allies, including the Soviet Union after it

18616-515: The creation of a " New Roman Empire ". Adolf Hitler , after an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government in 1923, eventually became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933 when Paul von Hindenburg and the Reichstag appointed him. Following Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler proclaimed himself Führer of Germany and abolished democracy, espousing a radical, racially motivated revision of

18795-557: The daughter of a Mexican viceroy. O'Hara described it as "one of my more decorative roles", as her character is a particularly aggressive one among the men on a ship, and during the course of the film her face is smothered in chimney soot. O'Hara almost did not win the role when another actress falsely told RKO executive Joe Nolan that she was "as big as a horse" after giving birth to a daughter in 1944. Around this time "an actress named Kathryn" also falsely accused O'Hara of making sexual advances towards her in an elevator, which she believed

18974-652: The desert near Port Augusta . Although O'Hara disliked the production, she found the Australians extremely welcoming. The Australian government offered her a plot of land during the production to own permanently, but she turned it down for political reasons, only to later discover that significant oil reserves were on the land. In 1952, O'Hara starred opposite John Wayne again in Ford's romantic comedy drama , The Quiet Man . Shot on location in Cong, County Mayo , Ireland, O'Hara described

19153-739: The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires. To prevent a future world war, the League of Nations was established in 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference . The organisation's primary goals were to prevent armed conflict through collective security, military, and naval disarmament , as well as settling international disputes through peaceful negotiations and arbitration. Despite strong pacifist sentiment after World War   I , irredentist and revanchist nationalism had emerged in several European states. These sentiments were especially marked in Germany because of

19332-637: The end of May completed the German conquest of the Balkans. Partisan warfare subsequently broke out against the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia , which continued until the end of the war. In the Middle East in May, Commonwealth forces quashed an uprising in Iraq which had been supported by German aircraft from bases within Vichy-controlled Syria . Between June and July, British-led forces invaded and occupied

19511-463: The end of the war. World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the world, and it set the foundation of international relations for the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st century. The United Nations was established to foster international cooperation and prevent conflicts, with the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the US—becoming

19690-546: The escapist adventure, Bagdad , portraying Princess Marjan. The film was shot on location in the Alabama Hills of Lone Pine, California . O'Hara noted that the film earned a tremendous amount of money for Universal, and its success led to Universal buying into her RKO contract. Malone wrote that she sings, dances, fights, and loves in a tale of derring-do that ticks all the requisite boxes for an opulent history lesson", adding that "when it came to dexterity in action, O'Hara

19869-570: The evenings after her lessons. One of her earliest roles was Robin Hood in a Christmas pantomime. O'Hara's dream at this time was to be a stage actress. By the age of 12, O'Hara had reached the height of 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m), and it worried her mother for a while that she would become "the tallest girl" in Ireland as Maureen's father was 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m). She expressed relief when O'Hara only grew another two inches. At

20048-512: The film and refused to shoot the scene until the last day. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, though O'Hara was devastated at not even being nominated for an award. Film director Martin Scorsese called The Quiet Man "one of the greatest movies of all time", and in 1996 it topped a poll of the greatest films in the Irish Times . O'Hara's last release of 1952

20227-470: The film as her "personal favourite of all the pictures I have made. It is the one I am most proud of, and I tend to be very protective of it. I loved Mary Kate Danaher. I loved the hell and fire in her." Malone notes that she rarely appeared in an interview without mentioning this fact. O'Hara was disconcerted with Ford's harsh treatment of Wayne during the production and constant ribbing. Though Ford generally treated her very well, on one occasion when filming

20406-504: The film sentimental but a rich and rousing tribute to West Point, and likens Power's Martin Maher to " Mr. Chips with a brogue." On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a 90% rating based on 10 reviews. Maureen O%27Hara Maureen O'Hara ( née   FitzSimons ; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was an Irish-born naturalized American actress who became successful in Hollywood from

20585-403: The film took place outside the church after her character gets married, remarking, "I make my way down the steps to the carriage waiting below, the wind catches my veil and fans it out in a perfect circle all the way around my face. Then it floats straight up above my head and points to the heavens. It's breathtaking." Malone notes that when the United States entered World War II in 1941, many of

20764-455: The film was a considerable commercial success, becoming a benchmark for "service pictures" of the era, O'Hara later commented that she "couldn't understand why the quality of his ( Bruce Humberstone 's) pictures never seemed to match their impressive box-office receipts". Malone wrote that "nobody in the film seemed to have lived life. The character's emotions, like their uniforms, seem too streamlined". O'Hara next played an unconventional role as

20943-522: The film was completed it dawned on her that life would never be the same again, and she was hurt when she attempted to make pleasant conversation to some local girls and they rejected her advances, considering her to be very arrogant. Laughton was so pleased with O'Hara's performance in Jamaica Inn that she was cast opposite him in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) for RKO in Hollywood. She boarded

21122-470: The film, she plays a woman named Eiléen O'Shea, who rescues an orphan girl named Molly. Biographer Aubrey Malone stated of it: "One could argue that O'Hara never looked as enticing as she does in Little Miss Molly , even if she isn't 'Maureen O'Hara' quite yet. She wears no makeup, and there's no Hollywood glamour, but despite (or because of?) that, she is rapturously beautiful. Her accent is thick, which

21301-441: The filming, but was very much the boss, commenting that "nobody dared step out of line, which gave the performers a sense of security". O'Hara became such good friends with Anna Lee during the shooting that she later named her daughter Bronwyn after Lee's character. The film was lauded by the critics, and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning three, including Best Picture. Both O'Hara and co-star Walter Pidgeon , who played

21480-566: The first step of what its government saw as the country's right to rule Asia , staged the Mukden incident as a pretext to invade Manchuria and establish the puppet state of Manchukuo . China appealed to the League of Nations to stop the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations after being condemned for its incursion into Manchuria. The two nations then fought several battles, in Shanghai , Rehe and Hebei , until

21659-437: The first three of which were directed by Ford. O'Hara declared that "from our very first scenes together, working with John Wayne was comfortable for me". Her chemistry with Wayne was so powerful that over the years many people assumed that they were married, and newspapers occasionally published sensationalist stories from people claiming to be their love child. In April 1951, she received a call from Universal Pictures that she

21838-843: The former Chinese imperial capital of Peking after instigating the Marco Polo Bridge incident , which culminated in the Japanese campaign to invade all of China. The Soviets quickly signed a non-aggression pact with China to lend materiel support, effectively ending China's prior cooperation with Germany . From September to November, the Japanese attacked Taiyuan , engaged the Kuomintang Army around Xinkou , and fought Communist forces in Pingxingguan . Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to defend Shanghai , but after three months of fighting, Shanghai fell. The Japanese continued to push Chinese forces back, capturing

22017-435: The hangman places a noose around her neck, no safety nets were used. The film was a commercial success, taking $ 3 million at the box office. O'Hara was generally praised for her performance though some critics thought that Laughton stole the show. One critic thought that was the strength of the film, writing: "The contrast between Laughton as the pathetic hunchback and O'Hara as the fresh-faced, tenderly solicitous gypsy girl

22196-770: The industry in 1971, but returned 20 years later to appear with John Candy in Only the Lonely (1991). In the late 1970s, O'Hara helped run her third husband Charles F. Blair Jr. 's flying business in Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands , and edited a magazine, but later sold them to spend more time in Glengarriff in Ireland. She was married three times, and had one daughter, Bronwyn, with her second husband. Her autobiography, 'Tis Herself , published in 2004, became

22375-512: The invasion of the Ethiopian Empire (also known as Abyssinia ) by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy ( Regno d'Italia ), which was launched from Italian Somaliland and Eritrea . The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa ( Africa Orientale Italiana , or AOI); in addition it exposed the weakness of

22554-455: The jaw one day, which put an end to the mistreatment. O'Hara's performance was criticized by reviewers, with the critic from The New York Sun writing that she "lacked the intensity and desperation it must have; nor does she seem to have a sparkle of humor". She next found a role as an aspiring ballerina who performs with a dance troupe in Dance, Girl, Dance (1940). She considered it to have been

22733-441: The last love scenes between them in the film as Fonda's last screen kiss before entering the war. She next portrayed a European school teacher opposite George Sanders and Charles Laughton, in their last film together, in Jean Renoir 's This Land Is Mine for RKO. At the end of a court case in the film, during a hearty speech by Laughton, O'Hara is shown teary-eyed on screen for a prolonged period. Malone thought her performance

22912-411: The latter after expressing contempt at both. When she said "I like Maureen FitzSimons and I want to keep it", Laughton replied with, "Very well, you're Maureen O'Hara." (O'Hara would later say that "nobody would ever get [FitzSimons] straight.") O'Hara noted that Laughton had always wanted a daughter of his own, and treated her as such, and she later stated that Laughton's death in 1962 was like losing

23091-490: The length, thought that O'Hara and Harrison carried off their dramatic scenes with "surprising skill". The following year, O'Hara starred opposite Robert Young in the commercially successful comedy film , Sitting Pretty . Bosley Crowther of The New York Times praised O'Hara and Young as husband and wife, remarking that they were "delightfully clever", acting with "elaborate indignation, alternating with good-natured despair". In 1949, O'Hara played what she described as

23270-461: The losses in the yearbooks with a black ribbon marking the page of each former cadet who is killed in action. Peace comes, and while the campus erupts with joy, a grim-faced Marty places a ribbon on Red's page. Red has won the Medal of Honor and an automatic appointment to the academy for his infant son. Cut to the swearing in of James "Red" Sundstrom, Jr. and his classmates. Marty has guided three generations of cadets. On Sunday, December 7, 1941,

23449-407: The minister, were praised for their performances, with Variety writing that "Maureen O'Hara splendid as the object of his unrequited love, who marries the mine owner's son out of pique". Film historian Joseph McBride considered O'Hara's performance to have been the most emotionally powerful he'd seen since Katharine Hepburn in Mary of Scotland (1936). O'Hara stated that her favorite scene in

23628-566: The morning Mary tells Marty she can never have another child. The cadets become the sons the Mahers will never have. Over time, Marty earns the love and respect of men such as Omar Bradley , James Van Fleet , George Patton , and Dwight D. Eisenhower (to whom he gives advice on slowing hair loss). Marty introduces cadet "Red" Sundstrom, who is struggling with math, to a post school teacher, Kitty Carter. She offers to tutor Red. They marry after graduation in 1917, and Red goes off to war with his classmates. The casualty lists come in. Marty marks

23807-466: The most difficult" due to declining relations with John Ford. John Wayne had originally intended co-starring, but due to a conflicting schedule O'Hara recommended Tyrone Power in replacement. Malone notes that the Irish accents by O'Hara and Power are overdone, and that there is little trace of a Donegal accent in it. The film production marked the lowest point of O'Hara's relationship with Ford, and each day he would greet her with "Well, did Herself have

23986-447: The most stunning costumes of her career — a different one in almost every scene — but her dialogue is floridly empty. She exudes potential in early scenes, where her air of sybaritic slyness seems promise she'll be something more than window dressing", but thought the film "totally lacked drama". The critic from The New York Times thought that O'Hara excessive costume changes made watching her an "exhausting" experience". After

24165-409: The operation, thinking it was an excuse for a break. He passed it off as "probably a fragment left over from an abortion", which deeply offended her, as a devout Catholic. O'Hara instead starred in the Technicolor war picture, To the Shores of Tripoli , her first Technicolor picture and first on-screen partnership with John Payne , in which she portrayed Navy nurse Lieutenant Mary Carter. Though

24344-461: The other girls did. There was one lad who followed me around for two years. He told me at last that he never once dared to speak to me because I looked as though I would bite his head off if I did". —O'Hara on her childhood personality. O'Hara earned the nickname "Baby Elephant" for being a pudgy infant. A tomboy, she enjoyed fishing in the River Dodder , riding horses, swimming, and soccer, and would play boys' games and climb trees. O'Hara

24523-474: The period's most enjoyable adventure films, the critic from The New York Times thought O'Hara's character lacked depth, commenting that "Maureen O'Hara is brunette and beautiful—which is all the part requires". O'Hara played the love interest of Henry Fonda in the 1943 war picture Immortal Sergeant . O'Hara noted that Fonda was studying for his service entry exams at the time and had his head in books between takes, and that 20th Century Fox publicized one of

24702-447: The permanent members of its security council . The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers , setting the stage for the Cold War . In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia . Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion . World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939 with

24881-411: The political European map with the defeat of the Central Powers —including Austria-Hungary , Germany , Bulgaria , and the Ottoman Empire —and the 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia , which led to the founding of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the victorious Allies of World War I , such as France, Belgium, Italy, Romania, and Greece, gained territory, and new nation-states were created out of

25060-427: The port of Tobruk . By late March 1941, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact ; however, the Yugoslav government was overthrown two days later by pro-British nationalists. Germany and Italy responded with simultaneous invasions of both Yugoslavia and Greece , commencing on 6 April 1941; both nations were forced to surrender within the month. The airborne invasion of the Greek island of Crete at

25239-431: The press, O'Hara was not nude in the film, wearing a "full-length body leotard and underwear that was concealed by my long tresses". In December 1955, O'Hara negotiated a new five-picture contract with Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn , with $ 85,000 per picture. The following year, she starred in the Portuguese-set melodramatic mystery film Lisbon for Republic Pictures . For the first time in her career she played

25418-431: The process because it required special cameras and intense light that burned her eyes and gave her klieg eye . She believed that the term negatively affected her career, as most people viewed her solely as a beauty who looked good on film, rather than as a talented actress. In 1944 O'Hara was cast opposite Joel McCrea in William A. Wellman 's biographical western Buffalo Bill . Though O'Hara did not think that McCrea

25597-407: The remainder of Czechoslovakia and subsequently split it into the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a pro-German client state , the Slovak Republic . Hitler also delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania on 20 March 1939, forcing the concession of the Klaipėda Region , formerly the German Memelland . Greatly alarmed and with Hitler making further demands on the Free City of Danzig ,

25776-554: The rest of the cast, even the Indians, are completely subdued." She received first billing above co-star Macdonald Carey . O'Hara then appeared as Countess D'Arneau opposite John Payne in Tripoli , directed by O'Hara's second husband, William Houston Price. She was next cast by John Ford in the Western Rio Grande , the final installment of his cavalry trilogy. It was the first of five films to be made over 22 years with John Wayne, including The Quiet Man (1952), The Wings of Eagles (1957), McLintock! (1963), and Big Jake (1971),

25955-524: The scenes in Macy's , we had to do them at night because the store was full of people doing their Christmas shopping during the day. Natalie loved this because it meant she was allowed to stay up late. I really enjoyed this time with Natalie. We loved to walk through the quiet, closed store and look at all the toys and girls' dresses and shoes. The day she died, I cried shamelessly". The film garnered several awards, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. In O'Hara's last film of 1947, she played

26134-426: The scenes in the film were shot on location at West Point, including the so called "million dollar view" of the Hudson River near the parade grounds. The film was the last one in which actor Robert Francis appeared before his death at age 25 in an air crash. His rising stardom had reached third billing behind Power and O'Hara at the time of his death. Facing forced retirement, Master Sergeant Martin Maher goes to

26313-410: The significant territorial, colonial, and financial losses imposed by the Treaty of Versailles . Under the treaty, Germany lost around 13 percent of its home territory and all its overseas possessions , while German annexation of other states was prohibited, reparations were imposed, and limits were placed on the size and capability of the country's armed forces . The German Empire was dissolved in

26492-447: The start or prelude to World War II. The exact date of the war's end also is not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 15 August 1945 ( V-J Day ), rather than with the formal surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945, which officially ended the war in Asia . A peace treaty between Japan and the Allies was signed in 1951. A 1990 treaty regarding Germany's future allowed

26671-415: The strong Maginot Line fortifications on the Franco-German border, Germany directed its attack at the neutral nations of Belgium , the Netherlands , and Luxembourg . The Germans carried out a flanking manoeuvre through the Ardennes region, which was mistakenly perceived by the Allies as an impenetrable natural barrier against armoured vehicles. By successfully implementing new Blitzkrieg tactics,

26850-442: The time. During the production O'Hara and Harrison intensely disliked each other from the outset, and she found him to be "rude, vulgar, and arrogant". Harrison had thought that she disliked him simply because he was English. He reportedly belched in her face during dance sequences and accused her of anti-Semitism, being married to a Jewish woman ( Lilli Palmer ) at the time, which she vehemently denied. Variety , while acknowledging

27029-415: The two wars became World War II in 1941. Other proposed starting dates for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War   II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939. Others view the Spanish Civil War as

27208-407: The war were not fulfilled in the peace settlement. From 1922 to 1925, the Fascist movement led by Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy with a nationalist, totalitarian , and class collaborationist agenda that abolished representative democracy, repressed socialist, left-wing, and liberal forces, and pursued an aggressive expansionist foreign policy aimed at making Italy a world power, promising

27387-475: The war. Germany annexed western Poland and occupied central Poland ; the Soviet Union annexed eastern Poland ; small shares of Polish territory were transferred to Lithuania and Slovakia . On 6 October, Hitler made a public peace overture to the United Kingdom and France but said that the future of Poland was to be determined exclusively by Germany and the Soviet Union. The proposal was rejected and Hitler ordered an immediate offensive against France, which

27566-404: The west halted the German advance for several days, but it was outflanked and encircled by the Wehrmacht . Remnants of the Polish army broke through to besieged Warsaw . On 17 September 1939, two days after signing a cease-fire with Japan , the Soviet Union invaded Poland under the supposed pretext that the Polish state had ceased to exist. On 27 September, the Warsaw garrison surrendered to

27745-483: The world order , and soon began a massive rearmament campaign . France, seeking to secure its alliance with Italy, allowed Italy a free hand in Ethiopia , which Italy desired as a colonial possession. The situation was aggravated in early 1935 when the Territory of the Saar Basin was legally reunited with Germany, and Hitler repudiated the Treaty of Versailles, accelerated his rearmament programme, and introduced conscription. The United Kingdom, France and Italy formed

27924-433: The young cadet Dwight D. Eisenhower . (Eisenhower wrote the foreword to Bringing Up the Brass .) Philip Carey plays (fictional) Army football player and future general Chuck Dotson. In addition, actress Betsy Palmer makes her screen debut as Kitty Carter. The phrase "The Long Gray Line" is used to describe, as a continuum, all graduates and cadets of the United States Military Academy at West Point , New York. Many of

28103-501: Was Against All Flags opposite Errol Flynn , marking her only collaboration with the actor. O'Hara, knowing Flynn's reputation as a womanizer, was on close guard during the production. Though she "respected him professionally and was quite fond of him personally" she found Flynn's alcoholism a problem and remarked that "if the director prohibited alcohol on the set, then Errol would inject oranges with booze and eat them during breaks". According to Steve Jacques , O'Hara outdid Flynn in

28282-554: Was invaded by Germany. The United States started strategic planning to prepare for a full-scale offensive against Germany. At the end of September 1940, the Tripartite Pact formally united Japan, Italy, and Germany as the Axis powers . The Tripartite Pact stipulated that any country—with the exception of the Soviet Union—that attacked any Axis Power would be forced to go to war against all three. The Axis expanded in November 1940 when Hungary , Slovakia , and Romania joined. Romania and Hungary later made major contributions to

28461-478: Was "cold as ice". The critic from The New York Times appreciated O'Hara's swordsmanship in the film, stating that she was "snarling like a Fury, impales her opponents as though she were threading a needle." O'Hara next played Irish immigrant Australian-based cowgirl, Dell McGuire, in Lewis Milestone 's drama Kangaroo (1952), set during the drought of 1900. Kangaroo is noted for being the first Technicolor film to be shot on location in Australia, mostly shot in

28640-411: Was a child I used to go down the garden, talk to the flowers and pretend I was the flower talking back to myself.' And you had to be a pretty nice girl and had to be a pretty good actress too. And heavens knows you're both". —Charles Laughton addressing O'Hara with his fond memories of spotting her at the age of 17. At the age of 17, O'Hara was offered her first major role at the Abbey Theatre, but

28819-431: Was a nonpareil". In the 1950 Technicolor Western, Comanche Territory , O'Hara played an unusual role as the lead character of Katie Howards, a fiery saloon owner who dresses, behaves, and fights like a man, with hair tied back. She "mastered the American bullwhip" during the filming, in a role which Crowther believed was "more significant than a setting sun" in that she "tackles her assignment with so much relish that

28998-402: Was a way for the actress to gain attention at the start of her career. During the production of The Spanish Main , O'Hara was visited by John Ford, who was initially turned away for being shabbily dressed, but was later admitted. He informed her about the project that would become The Quiet Man (1952). Malone notes that in the film O'Hara "shows her determination not to leave her sexuality at

29177-547: Was an unpredictable character with a mean streak, and in one instance he punched O'Hara in the jaw for some unknown reason, and she only took it from him because she wanted to show him she could take a punch like a man. The production of How Green Was My Valley was originally intended to be shot in the Rhondda Valley , but due to the war it had to be filmed in the San Fernando Valley, on a $ 1.25 million set, which took 150 builders six months to complete. O'Hara recalled that Ford would allow her to improvise extensively during

29356-413: Was cast as a Tunisian princess named Tanya in the swashbuckler film, Flame of Araby (1951). O'Hara "despised" the film and everything it stood for, but had no choice but to make the film or be suspended. By that time, she began to grow tired of the roles she was offered and wanted to perform roles that had more depth than the ones she had done thus far. In 1952, O'Hara played Claire, the daughter of

29535-461: Was deemed to be far from satisfactory. O'Hara detested the audition, during which she had to walk in and pick up a telephone. She recalled thinking to herself, "My God, get me back to the Abbey". Charles Laughton later saw the test and, despite the overdone makeup and costume, was intrigued, paying particular notice to her large and expressive eyes. After seeking the approval of his business partner Erich Pommer , they arranged to meet O'Hara through

29714-501: Was distracted by the attentions of actor-singer Harry Richman . Richman arranged with the manager of the Gresham Hotel in Dublin to meet her at the hotel while she was dining with her family. He proposed that she go to Elstree Studios for a screen test and become a film actress. O'Hara arrived in London shortly afterwards with her mother. During the screen test, the studio adorned her in a "gold lamé dress with flapping sleeves like wings" and heavy makeup with an ornate hair style, which

29893-448: Was effective, both crying and smiling, though considered Renoir to have overdone the film and confused the audience as a result. Later, she had a role in Richard Wallace 's The Fallen Sparrow opposite John Garfield , whom she described as "my shortest leading man, an outspoken Communist and a real sweetheart". Malone notes though that despite them getting on very well, Garfield did not rate her as an actress. He considers This Land

30072-554: Was given a contract by RKO Pictures . From there, she went on to enjoy a long and highly successful career, and acquired the nickname "the Queen of Technicolor". O'Hara appeared in films such as How Green Was My Valley (1941) (her first collaboration with John Ford), The Black Swan with Tyrone Power (1942), The Spanish Main (1945), Sinbad the Sailor (1947), the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947) with John Payne and Natalie Wood , and Comanche Territory (1950). O'Hara made her first film with John Wayne,

30251-504: Was given without a full-screen test, beating Katharine Hepburn and Gene Tierney to the part, proved to be her breakthrough role. It was made possible by a change to her contract with RKO, in which Fox bought the rights to feature O'Hara in one film each year. Ford developed a nickname for her, "Rosebud", and the two developed a long but turbulent friendship, with O'Hara often visiting Ford and his wife Mary in social visits and spending time aboard his yacht Araner . Despite this, Ford

30430-761: Was like acting with a broomstick". In 1954, O'Hara starred in Malaga , also known as Fire over Africa , which was shot on location in Spain. O'Hara played a Mata Hari -like character, a secret agent who attempts to find the ringleader of a smuggling ring in Tangiers . Malone compares the relationship in the film between O'Hara as Joanne and Macdonald Carey as agent Van Logan to that of Bogart and Bacall , with frequent verbal sparring. The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Maureen O'Hara looks very handsome in Technicolor but her expressions are limited—mostly to disgust at shooting smugglers or pulling knives from dying men". In 1955, O'Hara made her fourth picture with Ford, The Long Gray Line , which she considered being "by far

30609-453: Was offered roles in The Razor's Edge (1946), which went to Tierney, John Wayne's film Tycoon (1947), which went to Laraine Day , and Bob Hope 's The Paleface , which went to Jane Russell . She turned down the role in The Paleface as she was going through a turbulent period in her personal life and "didn't think I would be able to laugh every day and have fun". She later deeply regretted turning it down and confessed that she'd made

30788-403: Was postponed until the spring of 1940 due to bad weather. After the outbreak of war in Poland, Stalin threatened Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania with military invasion, forcing the three Baltic countries to sign pacts allowing the creation of Soviet military bases in these countries; in October 1939, significant Soviet military contingents were moved there. Finland refused to sign

30967-408: Was renowned for his "wicked sense of humor". O'Hara grew very concerned about one scene in the picture in which she is thrown overboard in her underwear by Power, and sent a warning letter home to Ireland in advance. She refused to take her wedding ring off in one scene which resulted in screen adjustments to make it look like a dinner ring. Though the film was praised by critics and is seen as one of

31146-657: Was repulsed with heavy Italian casualties; the campaign ended within months with minor territorial changes. To assist Italy and prevent Britain from gaining a foothold, Germany prepared to invade the Balkans, which would threaten Romanian oil fields and strike against British dominance of the Mediterranean. In December 1940, British Empire forces began counter-offensives against Italian forces in Egypt and Italian East Africa . The offensives were successful; by early February 1941, Italy had lost control of eastern Libya, and large numbers of Italian troops had been taken prisoner. The Italian Navy also suffered significant defeats, with

31325-441: Was required to go through the bureaucracy of the League of Nations, which rendered it essentially toothless. The United States, concerned with events in Europe and Asia, passed the Neutrality Act in August of the same year. Hitler defied the Versailles and Locarno Treaties by remilitarising the Rhineland in March 1936, encountering little opposition due to the policy of appeasement . In October 1936, Germany and Italy formed

31504-509: Was rugged enough for the part of William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody , and according to Malone gave her "little to work off", it did well at the box office. Contrary to O'Hara's opinion, Variety was highly praising of the film, describing it as a "super-western and often a tear-jerker", and thought that McCrea was convincing in the part and that O'Hara's own performance was "satisfactory". In 1945, O'Hara starred opposite Paul Henreid in The Spanish Main as feisty noblewoman Contessa Francesca,

31683-444: Was so keen on soccer that at one point, she pressed her father to found a women's team, and professed that Glenmalure Park , the home ground of Shamrock Rovers F.C. , became "like a second home". She enjoyed fighting, and trained in judo as a teenager. She later admitted that she was jealous of boys in her youth and the freedom they had, and that they could steal apples from orchards and not get into trouble. O'Hara first attended

31862-441: Was that of Mary Yellen in Jamaica Inn (1939), directed by Alfred Hitchcock and co-starring Laughton. O'Hara portrayed the innkeeper's niece, an orphan who goes to live with her aunt and uncle at a Cornish tavern, a heroine which she describes as "torn between the love of her family and her love for a lawman in disguise". Laughton insisted that she change her name to the shorter "O'Mara" or "O'Hara", and she eventually decided on

32041-423: Was trying to distance herself from adventure films. O'Hara thought the film was so bad that neither she nor her family saw it, though she enjoyed working with John Forsythe . World War II Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions:

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