Walt Disney’s Darby O’Gill and the Little People is a charming little piece of work that celebrates the Irish folklore of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. Directed by Robert Stevenson, Darby is a colourful motion picture that would eventually lead Sean Connery to his James Bond role and would feature some pretty darn advanced special effects for its time.
The movie ages well enough, surprisingly, and it’s fun to chuckle at some of the campier sequences. The use of “forced perspective” put the “little people” further away from the camera, thus making them appear small in the necessary leprechaun sequences. A whole lot of lighting was required to create the effects, too, and it is said that a substation blew its beaker due to the amount of power needed to light one of the film’s key sequences.
Albert Sharpe is the titular Darby O’Gill, an aging Irishman and caretaker of an estate. He lives in the estate with his daughter Katie (Janet Munro) and has become rather lonely since the passing of his wife. He spends much of his time at the public house, telling tales with friends and having a laugh. Eventually the time comes for O’Gill to be released from his post as caretaker, so he begins to fret when his replacement (Sean Connery) arrives.
Begging his replacement, Michael McBride, not to tell Katie he’s been canned is a matter of pride for Darby. He eventually works out a deal that has Michael keeping his secret, but as expected Michael falls in love with Katie. Meanwhile, Darby is captured by leprechauns (the “little people,” you see) and finds himself in a cat-and-mouse game with the leprechaun king (Jimmy O’Dea) that includes wishes, hopes and a whole lot of fancy Disney magic.
The plot of the film is a little bit busy to make it something easy to follow, but there’s enough charm with the performers and the setting to keep things moving at a fair click. Sharpe is especially cool to watch as Darby, offering a combination of Irish wit and trickery in the role. He’s just silly enough to pull it off, but we still manage to feel for him as he finds himself in various circumstances.
Connery was noticed by producer Albert R. Broccoli for his part in Darby O’Gill and the Little People. Connery does pull off the strapping young lad role rather well and it’s easy to see why he’d be ideal for the role of Bond commencing in 1962’s Dr. No. His chemistry with the other characters is pleasant enough, too, and he works the romance angle with the lovely Janet Munro like a seasoned pro.
Leprechaun-wise, there’s a whole lot of fun to be had with Darby O’Gill and the Little People. The wee people are never quite the whole focal point of the plot, so they never overtake things with a variety of songs and silliness. The majority of the picture is spent focusing on the tricky relationship between Darby and the leprechaun king, as both resort to whatever games they can get their hands on to fool the other. The effects come in handy here, especially when the time comes for a particularly catty incident.
Overall, Darby O’Gill and the Little People is simple escapist fun. It’s a terrific family movie for a rainy Saturday afternoon. It won’t change the world or move mountains, but there’s enough laughter and joy here to recommend it. It tells a nice selection of Irish folk tales, too, and manages to rise above its relatively convoluted plot high enough to be enjoyable.
7.0/10
