The Playboys
Encyclopedia
The Playboys is a 1992
Irish
film
directed by Gillies MacKinnon
and starring Albert Finney
, Aidan Quinn
and Robin Wright. The plot follows an unwed young mother whose life is transformed with the arrival of a traveling troupe of actors to her Irish village. The script was written by Shane Connaughton
, an Oscar nominee for My Left Foot
. The film was shot in his native village Redhills
, in County Cavan
, Ireland
.
Mick loses his cattle and facing economical ruin commits suicide. People in town blame his death to Tara’s rejection. The local priest, father Malone, compels Tara to marry the constable before another tragedy takes place. But Tara is not in love with the solemn and older Sgt. Hegarty, a reformed alcoholic, who hides the fury of his unrequited love for Tara in his devotion for her. He carves a cradle for the baby, but Tara vehemently refuses the gift and his attentions.
The beautiful and strong willed Tara lives with her sister Bridget and is determined to make it on her own. She supplements her income as a dressmaker, raising chickens in her garden and smuggling goods from the nearby border with Northern Ireland. However even in this she has to face Hagerty who discovers her secret illegal dealings while riding his bicycle at night looking for smugglers on the roads.
The arrival of a shabby troupe of traveling actors called the "Playboys", stirs the town. Tara surprises, Tom, one of the actors, stealing one of her chickens. He has to pay for it, but he is smitten with her beauty and her character. They flirt and spar around the village, all under the resentful eye of the constable. The Playboys are a success in the sleepy village and the tent is full when the shows stars at night. One of their numbers with female dancers lifting their skirts creates the furious response of Father Malone who has other opinion of what is wholesome entertainment. The actors are forced to switch to staging Othello
. A blind woman gets so excited during a show that she suddenly regains her vision. Not only the group of actors have to deal with discord when the time to share the dividends comes, but the recent arrival of television threatens the survival of their art.
The romance between Tara and Tom grows slowly over the few days that theatrical company is in the village. Her past has made her suspicious of men, and Hegarty's intrusions provide an added obstacle. He tells her that Tom is a liar who already has a wife, which turn out not to be true. Hagerty confronts Tom and tells him that he is the father of the baby, but Tara assures him that not only she does not have any feelings for the constable but that the baby was conceived on a lonely night without deep feeling involved on her part.
One of the actors is involved with the IRA
and has smuggled some explosives. When the explosives are accidentally discovered by Hagerty he blames his rival. Tom is framed as an IRA man, but he breaks out of jail with Tara's help. When Gone With the Wind
plays on the local cinema, the actors stage an instant, improvised knock-off of it, with Atlanta burning while Tom struggles with his lines in the role of Rhett Butler
. Comically, Fred has to take the role of Mammy. During the show the triangle between Tara, Tom and Sargent Hagerty comes to a boiling point. The performance is interrupted by the frantic Bridget. Hagerty, drunk, has taken the baby. He comes to the tent, drunk, but gives the baby back to Tara. There is a confrontation between Tom and the Sergeant, but the Sergeant painfully loses in a public fist fight with Tom. Even after this defeat, he trashes the tent. The next day the time for the playboys to leave has come. Hagerty, now jobless and in civilian clothes, also leaves the town for good. Tom is happily surprised when Tara decides to join the group with her baby and share a life together, perhaps in the end to take on a new life with Tom in America.
1992 in film
The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Gillies MacKinnon
Gillies MacKinnon
Gillies MacKinnon is a Scottish film director and writer.His film credits include Hideous Kinky, Small Faces and Regeneration.-Personal life:...
and starring Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
, Aidan Quinn
Aidan Quinn
-Early life:Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of...
and Robin Wright. The plot follows an unwed young mother whose life is transformed with the arrival of a traveling troupe of actors to her Irish village. The script was written by Shane Connaughton
Shane Connaughton
Shane Connaughton is an Irish writer and actor, probably best known as co-writer of the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for My Left Foot. He also co-wrote the screenplays for the Academy Award-winning 1980 short film The Dollar Bottom and 1992 film The Playboys, as well as other screenplays and...
, an Oscar nominee for My Left Foot
My Left Foot (film)
My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown is a 1989 drama film directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the true story of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Christy Brown grew up in a poor, working class family, and...
. The film was shot in his native village Redhills
Redhill, County Cavan
Redhills , is a village located in northern County Cavan, Ireland. It is near the N54 road and is home to Redhills GAA, which has produced four Cavan Inter-County players....
, in County Cavan
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Plot
In a small Irish village in 1957, Tara Maguire, a young resolute woman, is the talk of the town because she is having a baby out of wedlock, and refuses to name the father. During Sunday mass she goes into labor giving birth to a baby boy. The town’s constable, Brendan Hegarty, and Mick, a local landowner vie for Tara’s hand in marriage, but she refuses them both.Mick loses his cattle and facing economical ruin commits suicide. People in town blame his death to Tara’s rejection. The local priest, father Malone, compels Tara to marry the constable before another tragedy takes place. But Tara is not in love with the solemn and older Sgt. Hegarty, a reformed alcoholic, who hides the fury of his unrequited love for Tara in his devotion for her. He carves a cradle for the baby, but Tara vehemently refuses the gift and his attentions.
The beautiful and strong willed Tara lives with her sister Bridget and is determined to make it on her own. She supplements her income as a dressmaker, raising chickens in her garden and smuggling goods from the nearby border with Northern Ireland. However even in this she has to face Hagerty who discovers her secret illegal dealings while riding his bicycle at night looking for smugglers on the roads.
The arrival of a shabby troupe of traveling actors called the "Playboys", stirs the town. Tara surprises, Tom, one of the actors, stealing one of her chickens. He has to pay for it, but he is smitten with her beauty and her character. They flirt and spar around the village, all under the resentful eye of the constable. The Playboys are a success in the sleepy village and the tent is full when the shows stars at night. One of their numbers with female dancers lifting their skirts creates the furious response of Father Malone who has other opinion of what is wholesome entertainment. The actors are forced to switch to staging Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
. A blind woman gets so excited during a show that she suddenly regains her vision. Not only the group of actors have to deal with discord when the time to share the dividends comes, but the recent arrival of television threatens the survival of their art.
The romance between Tara and Tom grows slowly over the few days that theatrical company is in the village. Her past has made her suspicious of men, and Hegarty's intrusions provide an added obstacle. He tells her that Tom is a liar who already has a wife, which turn out not to be true. Hagerty confronts Tom and tells him that he is the father of the baby, but Tara assures him that not only she does not have any feelings for the constable but that the baby was conceived on a lonely night without deep feeling involved on her part.
One of the actors is involved with the IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
and has smuggled some explosives. When the explosives are accidentally discovered by Hagerty he blames his rival. Tom is framed as an IRA man, but he breaks out of jail with Tara's help. When Gone With the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
plays on the local cinema, the actors stage an instant, improvised knock-off of it, with Atlanta burning while Tom struggles with his lines in the role of Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.-Role:In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes...
. Comically, Fred has to take the role of Mammy. During the show the triangle between Tara, Tom and Sargent Hagerty comes to a boiling point. The performance is interrupted by the frantic Bridget. Hagerty, drunk, has taken the baby. He comes to the tent, drunk, but gives the baby back to Tara. There is a confrontation between Tom and the Sergeant, but the Sergeant painfully loses in a public fist fight with Tom. Even after this defeat, he trashes the tent. The next day the time for the playboys to leave has come. Hagerty, now jobless and in civilian clothes, also leaves the town for good. Tom is happily surprised when Tara decides to join the group with her baby and share a life together, perhaps in the end to take on a new life with Tom in America.
Cast
- Albert FinneyAlbert FinneyAlbert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
- Sergeant Hegarty - Aidan QuinnAidan Quinn-Early life:Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of...
– Tom - Robin Wright – Tara
- Milo O'SheaMilo O'Shea-Early life:He was born and raised in Dublin and educated by the Christian Brothers at Synge Street, along with his friend Donal Donnelly.He was discovered in the 1950s by Harry Dillon, who ran the "37 Theatre Club" on the top floor of his shop The Swiss Gem Company, 51 Lower O'Connell Street...
– Freddie - Alan Devlin - Father Malone
- Niamh CusackNiamh CusackNiamh Cusack is an Irish actress. The daughter of late Irish actor Cyril Cusack, she is the sister of Sinéad Cusack and Sorcha Cusack, and half sister of Catherine Cusack. Cusack played Dr Kate Rowan in the television drama series Heartbeat...
– Brigid - Ian McElhinneyIan McElhinneyIan McElhinney is an actor and director.-Personal life:He is married to playwright/actress Marie Jones. Together they started their own company, Rathmore Productions Ltd.-Filmography:-External links:...
- Joe Cassidy - Stella McCusker - Rachel
- Niall BuggyNiall BuggyNiall Buggy is an Irish actor who has worked extensively on the stage and screen in Ireland, the UK and the US. Some of his more well known roles include the lead in Brian Friel's, Uncle Vanya, for which he won an Irish Theatre Award and an Olivier Award for Dead Funny...
– Denzil - Anna Livia Ryan – Vonnie
- Adrian DunbarAdrian DunbarAdrian Dunbar is an actor from Northern Ireland, best known for his television and theatre work. Dunbar co-wrote and starred in the 1991 film, Hear My Song, nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the BAFTA awards.-Personal life:...
– Mick