AN IRISH FILM ARCHIVE
PRESENTATION
MADE UNDER THE WORKING TITLE OF ‘THE THREE-LEAF CLOVER’, THE RISING OF THE MOON CONSISTS OF THREE SEPARATE STORIES WHICH TAKEN TOGETHER REPRESENT ALMOST A COMPENDIUM OF DIRECTOR JOHN FORD’S IRISH CONCERNS.
‘A Minute’s Wait’ is effectively an extended version of the opening scene of The Quiet Man, in which a whole galaxy of ‘Oirish’ performers wreak havoc on a railway timetable. ‘The Rising of the Moon’ reworks the themes of The Informerand employs the same ‘expressionist’ visual style. ‘The Majesty of the Law’ is less typical but focuses on the characteristic confrontation between the old and traditional as represented by Old Dan and the new and bureaucratic forces of law and order which are taking him to court. Altogether the three episodes celebrate the ‘rebellious’ Irish spirit and its refusal to bow to alien rulebe it the British, the law court or the railway timetable. Not a major Ford movie, but a fascinating series of vignettes that finds the master juggling with notions of Irishness as well as different cinematic styles.
The Rising of the Moon, just released, Dublin 1957