This film screened on Wednesday 26th June 2019.

This screening was  introduced by Ultan Macken, son of Walter Macken.

When Paddo O’Reilly (Walter Macken) is released from prison after a five year sentence for killing the father of his son’s girlfriend, he attempts to re-establish his role as head of the household and runs into conflict with his wife Daylia (Eileen Crowe), his daughter Josie (Joan O’Hara) and his assertive son Willie (US actor Arthur Kennedy).

Adapted from Walter Macken’s stage play, this early Ardmore Studio production provides a fine vehicle for the cast of Abbey Theatre actors, in particular for Macken himself in the powerfully muscular lead. Director Fielder Cook sustains a melancholic mood throughout, alternating studio sequences with unusual Dublin shooting locations – Drumcondra, Phibsboro and the Grand Canal.

Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn