''The Plough and the Stars'' is a 1937 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...

directed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

based on the play of the same name by

Seán O'Casey Seán O'Casey ( ga, Seán Ó Cathasaigh ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes. ...

Plot

Nora Clitheroe runs a rooming house in Dublin while trying to stay away from the political turmoil raging around her in Revoluntary Ireland. However, try as might, she discovers that her husband Jack has joined a militia of Irish rebels seeking to oust the British from Ireland. Nora fears for Jack's safety and begs him to keep his distance from the revolutionary forces. Jack assures her that he'll step back from their activities, but it's not until it's too late that Nora learns that Jack has done just the opposite—and has become a commander with the

Irish Citizen Army The Irish Citizen Army (), or ICA, was a small paramilitary group of trained trade union volunteers from the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) established in Dublin for the defence of workers' demonstrations from the Dublin M ...

as they plan to occupy the Dublin Post Office as part of the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the ...

Cast

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...

as Nora Clitheroe *

Preston Foster Preston Stratton Foster (August 24, 1900 – July 14, 1970), was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist. Early life Born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...

as Jack Clitheroe *

Barry Fitzgerald William Joseph Shields (10 March 1888 – 14 January 1961), known professionally as Barry Fitzgerald, was an Irish stage, film and television actor. In a career spanning almost forty years, he appeared in such notable films as ''Bringing Up Ba ...

as Fluther Good *

Denis O'Dea Denis O'Dea (26 April 1905 – 5 November 1978) was an Irish stage and film actor. He was born in Dublin and attended Synge Street CBS. When very young he and his mother Kathleen (from County Kerry) moved in with her sister, who kept a boardin ...

as The Young Covey * F. J. McCormick as Capt. Brennan * Una O'Connor as Maggie Gogan *

Arthur Shields Arthur Shields (15 February 1896 – 27 April 1970) was an Irish actor on television, stage and film. Early years Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, Shields started acting in the Abbey Theatre when he was 17 years old ...

Padraig Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...

Moroni Olsen Moroni Olsen (June 27, 1889November 22, 1954) was an American actor. Life and career Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah to Latter-day Saint parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Martha ( Hoverholst) Olsen, who named him after the Moroni found in the ...

James Connolly James Connolly ( ga, Séamas Ó Conghaile; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. Born to Irish parents in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, Connolly left school for working life at the ...

* J. M. Kerrigan as Peter Flynn *

Bonita Granville Bonita Gloria Granville Wrather (February 2, 1923 – October 11, 1988) was an American actress and producer. The daughter of vaudevillians, Granville began her career on the stage at age three. She initially began as a child actress, making ...

as Mollser Gogan *

Erin O'Brien-Moore Erin O'Brien-Moore (born Annette O'Brien-Moore, May 2, 1902 – May 3, 1979) was an American actress. She created the role of Rose in the original Broadway production of Elmer Rice's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, '' Street Scene'' (1929), and was ...

as Rosie Redmond *

Neil Fitzgerald Neil Fitzgerald (15 January 1893 – 15 June 1982) was an Irish actor. Cornelius James Fitzgerald was born at Henry Street (now O'Brien Street), Tipperary, the son of James Joseph Fitzgerald, a grocer, and Ellen McGrath. He was educated in Tri ...

as Lt. Langon *

Robert Homans Robert Edward Homans (November 8, 1877 – July 28, 1947) was an American actor who entered films in 1923 after a lengthy stage career. Life and career Robert Homans was born November 8, 1877, in Malden, Massachusetts. Although he studied ...

as Timmy the Barman *

Brandon Hurst Brandon Hurst (30 November 1866 – 15 July 1947) was an English stage and film actor. Early life Born in London, England, Hurst studied philology in his youth and began performing in theater in the 1880s. Before he began acting professionall ...

as Sgt. Tinley *

Cyril McLaglen Cyril McLaglen (1899–1987) was a British actor who appeared in a variety of films between 1920 and 1951. He was born in London in 1899 and made his film debut in the 1920 film '' The Call of the Road''. He was the younger brother of the act ...

as Cpl. Stoddard *

Wesley Barry Wesley Barry (August 10, 1907 – April 11, 1994) was an American actor, director, and producer. Barry began his career as a child actor in silent motion pictures and later became a producer and director of both film and television. As a direc ...

as Sniper *

D'Arcy Corrigan D'Arcy Corrigan (2 January 1870 – 25 December 1945) was an Irish lawyer who became an American film character actor. Life and career D'Arcy Corrigan was born in County Cork, playing over 50 film roles from 1925–1945. His early career inc ...

as Priest * Mary Gordon as Woman at Barricades *

Doris Lloyd Hessy Doris Lloyd (3 July 1891 – 21 May 1968) was an English–American film and stage actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in ''The Time Machine'' (1960) and ''The Sound of Music'' (1965). Lloyd appeared in two Academy Award w ...

as Woman at Barricades

Production

Casting

Director John Ford wished to reuse the entire cast of the original play for the film; however,

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

insisted upon two stars for the leading roles to make the production more appealing at the box office, hence the inclusion of Barbara Stanwyck and Preston Foster in the almost all-Irish cast.

Filming

John Ford had several bitter disputes with RKO Pictures while making The Plough and the Stars, leading RKO to re-shoot many scenes with a different director in an effort to tone down the film's politics. Ford disowned the finished product, complaining RKO ''"completely ruined the damned thing."''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plough And The Stars 1937 drama films 1937 films American black-and-white films American drama films American films based on plays Films based on works by Seán O'Casey Films directed by John Ford Films produced by Cliff Reid Films set in Dublin (city) Films with screenplays by Dudley Nichols Films set in hotels Films set in the 1910s Irish War of Independence films RKO Pictures films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films