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Patrick McGoohan, Sylvia Syms, Walter Macken, Harry Brogan, Jack Cunningham ... see more see more... , Dermot Kelly , Hilton Edwards , Marie Kean , Philip O'Flynn , Leo McCabe , Pauline Delaney , Geoffrey Golden , Tom Irwin , Agnes Bernelle , Dominic Roche , Arthur O'Sullivan , Aubrey Morris , Robert Bernal , Brendan Cauldwell , Marie Conmee , John Cowley , Eddie Golden , Eric Gorman , Michael Hennessy , T.P. McKenna , Derry Power , Norman Rodway , John Welsh , Joseph O'Donnell , David Kelly , Gerry Alexander , Charlie Roberts , James Brennan , Aiden Grennell

Brendan Behan, the quixotic, eternally sloshed Irish poet/playwright, peppered his play The Quare Fellow with plenty of "gallows humor." The film version dispenses with most the play's morbid jests, l... read more read more...eaving us with a grim, straightforward account of a Dublin death-row prison guard (Patrick McGoohan) and his growing empathy with two condemned prisoners. One could understand the removal of the play's comic elements had the film been made in timorous Hollywood. But since Quare Fellow was financed and produced in Ireland, it seems a inappropriately glum tribute to one of the country's boldest and most brilliant talents. Quare Fellow was directed by American "B" specialist Arthur Dreifuss, who also adapted Behan's play for the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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73% liked it

59 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.

Directed by: Arthur Dreifuss

Release Date: February 19, 1963

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DVD Release Date: December 9, 2008

Stats: 11 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (11)

  • ajv2688
    November 23, 2010
    ajv2688
    Finally a movie starring Patrick McGoohan, I don't know why he didn't do more movies, he's a great actor. This movie is a really good drama, dealing with the inner turmoil of a new prison guard, and the wife of the prisoner who is about to be executed. It's really suspenseful, ... read moreand I recommend it.
  • gator681
    May 7, 2010
    gator681
    In "The Quare Fellow," Thomas Crimmin(Patrick McGoohan) is a newly hired prison guard under the supervision of veteran guard Regan(Walter Macken) who is looking forward to a promotion but is instead being forced out at the end of one last task. That turns out to be a double hang... read moreing which turns into a single when the guards learn through the prison grapevine that one of the condemned has been given a reprieve. Now, they are left with the difficult task of telling Kathleen(Sylvia Syms) that it was not her husband.

    While it certainly has its share of flaws(I don't know how small this town is but what are the odds of Kathleen and Thomas ending up at the same boardinghouse?) and whose punch has probably been diminished with time, "The Quare Fellow" is still a gritty look at prison life in Ireland which serves as a microcosm of the country in general. The former rebels from the time of the Troubles are now in charge while islanders are treated by most as outcasts. Of central concern is the hypocrisy surrounding the death penalty which is connected to the outside population as well.

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Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz
July 19, 2009
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The only thing carried over from Behan's play is the bleakness. Full Review

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