In the spring of 1916, hostility towards the British is brewing on the streets of Dublin. Nora Clitheroe (Barbara Stanwyk) tries in vain to keep her husband Jack (Preston Foster) from joining the rebel forces for fear he will die fighting for Ireland. John Ford displays his wholehearted support for the Irish struggle for independence in this adaptation of Sean O’Casey’s long-running play. Hollywood stars Barbara Stanwyck and Preston Foster were cast in the lead roles at the insistence of the RKO Studio allowing Ford to ship in the cream of Abbey actors – Barry Fitzgerald, Denis O’Dea, Eileen Crowe, F. J. McCormick and Arthur Shields – to reprise their roles in the long-running stage play.

Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn