Victor Young/Various Artists: Themes & Songs From The Quiet Man, CD

The Quiet Man was director John Ford's most cherished personal project and, quite possibly, his most beloved film.

Starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, It is a love story (a story about an Irish-American who returns to the soft, romantic place of his birth after enduring a gritty upbringing in Pittsburgh) set famously in an impossibly beautiful west of Ireland, around Galway Bay, quite close to Ford's ancestral home, with the village of Cong in County Mayo as the primary location.

The soundtrack combines Victor Youngs' moving orchestral score with Irish folk songs sung by Merv Griffin and Bing Crosby. As an additional feature, our edition includes three Bing Crosby tracks recorded for the film but, in the end, not used, along with selections from the album, Maureen O'Hara Sings Her Favourite Irish Songs.

The Quiet Man took years to come to fruition. Wary of an art house film, the major studios wouldn't touch it. It was eventually financed by Republic Pictures. (who specialised in B Movies and cheapish westerns) It would be the most expensive project Republic would undertake and also its most successful by far. Released in 1952, it won the Academy Award for Best Director for John Ford, his fourth, and another for Winnie Hochs' breathtaking technicolor cinematography. It was nominated in five other categories.

Directed by John Ford.  Starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara

Original Film Soundtrack Written and Conducted by Victor Young Songs from the film sung by Merv Griffin and Bing Crosby