"Young Cassidy" (1965)Rod Taylor plays Johnny Cassidy in this movie based upon the autobiographical writings of Irish author Sean O'Casey. (Cassidy is the name O'Casey gives himself in his third-person writing.) Taylor considers this to be one of the most important films of his career, and many consider it to be his finest performance. For example, a1965 review in Variety magazine said:
BEHIND THE SCENESBefore O'Casey died in 1964, he approved the script and bestowed his blessing on the choice of Taylor, who "combines both the ruggedness and tenderness that went into Ireland's greatest poet-playwright," Life magazine noted in its Feb. 12, 1965, issue. However, other actors had been considered. The producers wanted Richard Harris or Peter O'Toole. The initial director of the film, John Ford, wanted Sean Connery. But Ford wound up casting Rod Taylor and hit it off immediately with the rugged Australian. Taylor, in fact, said he had "the impertinence" to talk Ford out of making the movie one of his black-and-white art films. In "Print the Legend," a biography of Ford by Scott Eyman, Taylor is quoted as telling the director:
Filming began -- in color -- but Ford didn't last long as the director. Already in frail condition, Ford's health failed quickly. Part of the reason, Eyman noted, was that Ford was "getting drunk, heading out for the pubs of Dublin every night in a vain attempt to keep up with the energy and drinking capacity of Rod Taylor, nearly 35 years younger." On the set, Ford gave Taylor little actual direction because, as Eyman wrote, "Taylor was one of the authentic, two-fisted types that [Ford] liked." Taylor relates an example:
After about three weeks of filming, Ford left the picture, and Jack Cardiff was summoned to finish. It was a difficult task -- matching another director's style and intent. The best indication of success is that both men's names are on the final release: A John Ford Film -- Directed by Jack Cardiff. Of all the compliments Rod received for "Young Cassidy," the one he cherishes the most is a note from John Ford, saying: "Your performance could have gotten tears from a rock." Cardiff thought well of Taylor, too, as he wrote in his memoir, "Magic Hour":
ON THE SCREEN"Young Cassidy" is the story of a working-class rebel who rises to literary greatness. The movie unfolds episodically as it spans a dozen years in the early 1900s. Some scenes are astonishingly violent, some heart-rending and sweet. Throughout, Taylor covers an incredible range of emotion -- anger, grief, love, pride. He's alternately drunken, literary, sexy, fearsome and foolish. At the opening of the film, Cassidy is a manual laborer, digging ditches to support his mother (Flora Robson) and sister (Sian Phillips). Cassidy also is active with the Irish revolutionary movement against the occupying British. He uses his writing skills on leaflets to rouse Dublin workers. Cassidy also finds time for romance, notably with street wench Daisy Battles (Julie Christie), followed by the more serious bookstore merchant, Nora (Maggie Smith). Taylor says that Ford adored Christie: "He was like Hitchcock with Tippi Hedren -- 'Give her more scenes, she's wonderful.' " But just as in "The VIPs," it's the scenes with Maggie Smith that are most magical. I think I will never tire of watching Cassidy croon to Nora upon the riverbank. But Nora's timid nature can't keep pace with Cassidy's continued rise in literary circles. He's encouraged by such Irish literary giants as W.B. Yeats (Michael Redgrave) and Lady Gregory (Edith Evans). He gets a play accepted at the Abbey Theatre, "The Shadow of a Gunman." The next, "The Plough and the Stars," causes a near-riot at the theater and prompts a fight with a longtime friend and protector. The night finally ends with heart-rending good-bye to Nora. Infused with emotion and loudly pledging their love, the two nevertheless pull farther apart and Nora flees. Cassidy then sets out for England, alone, to achieve fame and fortune. FORD OR CARDIFF?When the critics weighed in on "Young Cassidy," they reserved their praise for the original director: "There are some very good things in this movie, obviously the work of John Ford. But the second and "real" director, Jack Cardiff, measured it out -- only four and a half minutes of the total two-hour film were directed by Ford. Two Ford scenes were the fight in the pub and scene following the funeral of Cassidy's mother. Author Scott Eyman described the latter in his biography of John Ford, "Print the Legend":
The rest, presumably, was shot by Cardiff. In his autobiography, "Magic Hour," Cardiff wrote about being dismayed that critics attributed some of his best work to "the master, John Ford."
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Hear Rod sing, from the scene above SEE and hear
rod sign!
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"Sean O'Casey: The Spirit of Ireland" (1965)Rod Taylor appears as himself in this short film, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Young Cassidy." Narrated by Herschel Bernardi, the film intersperses footage from "Young Cassidy" with glimpses of the actors at work and play. Bernardi's voice-over hails the Irish spirit and the poet/playwright Sean O'Casey, whose life is depicted in "Young Cassidy." The lead role was handled by "distinguished Australian actor" Rod Taylor, Bernardi narrated, who "absorbed" all that he could from the locals in Dublin. (That description accompanies Rod's real-life pub scene at right.) Another behind-the-scenes look shows Taylor interacting with director Jack Cardiff, as they prepare for the scene in which Cassidy hollers for Nora (Maggie Smith) to come down out of her house. |
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