Maureen crowned the queen for Technicolor for her classic Irish beauty which only served to spotlight her red hair, fair skin and luminescent eyes.
She is the reason why I so desperately desired red hair as a child to be magically transformed to a wild Irish colleen just like MaryKate Danaher and spar with the Quiet Man, John Wayne.Her list of successful movies are enviable:
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)--- Esmeralda, the ultimate wild but pure gypsy
How Green Was My Valley (1941) --- Poignant, sad history of Wales & coal mining
Miracle on 34th Street (1947) --- Learning common sense and fairy tales all
have special places in and outside the heart
Sitting Pretty (1948) --- The ultimate babysitter rescues Maureen
The Quiet Man (1952) --- Mythic Irish fairy tale, John Ford style
The Parent Trap (1961) --- For every child of divorce that ever plotted
McLintock! (1963 --- A rollicking mud bath for the whole town
"The Black Swan" and "The Spanish Main" are two personal favorites of mine. In these, Maureen was the fiery damsel in distress that managed to be more than your typical cardboard heroine. Of course, she would eventually take up the sword herself and prove herself as a formidable swashbuckling star following in the best tradition of Douglas Fairbanks Sr.
She was discovered and mentored by Charles Laughton ,of Henry the VII fame, in Ireland and brought to Hollywood to play Esmeralda to his classic Hunchback. Many roles followed along with admiration more for her beauty than her acting.
She was aptly captured and gracefully photographed by John Ford finally revealing a breathing person behind the well coiffured facade. Her Angharad broke more than one viewer's heart when she was sold to the highest bidder in her loveless marriage.
The roles and the years continue. Her innate strength steels her to survive Hollywood and the lowering of the spotlight. She once happily retired and became the first woman president of a chartered airline. An indomitable spirit is the phrase that only begins to describe her life.
Long live Maureen O'Hara!
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