John Wayne left stunned by Maureen O'Hara's unscripted line in The Quiet Man

John Wayne's stellar performance as retired boxing champion Sean Thornton in the 1952 Oscar-winning masterpiece , sensitively directed by John Ford, is widely recognised. In the film, set against an arresting 1920s Irish countryside backdrop , Wayne's character seeks to reclaim his family estate.

His path crosses with the indomitable Mary Kate Danaher, played impeccably by Maureen O'Hara , and her tenacious brother Red, brought to life by Victor McLaglen.

The narrative reveals that during the making of The Quiet Man in the stunning locales of County Mayo and County Galway, OHara experienced some physical hardships due to a hand fracture sustained for much of the filming duration. Particularly poignant was the scene featuring O'Hara's first-time on-screen kiss with Wayne , where she solidly serves him a slap.

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The hand fracture, however, resulted from a mishap involving Wayne. With the movie being filmed chronologically, O'Hara stoically soldiered through without a cast to facilitate her bone's recovery.

Further testing O'Hara's resilience was an unexpected dialogue utterance sprung on Wayne. This unfolded in a scene where both are seen bidding goodbye and O'Hara surprised Wayne with an impromptu line which shocked him, earning it a place in the final cut.

A highlight of the film, it remains elusive as we do not have the hearing privilege of the shock-inducing dialogue.

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O'Hara initially showed resistance towards delivering the notorious lines, divulging in her memoirs later: "I couldn't possibly say that to Duke! " But Ford remained unyielding in his directive to get an authentic reaction from their leading man, a decision that can be deemed a resounding success.

Only three individuals knew what the line was, and they took it to their graves. Given that the director considered The Quiet Man his most provocative film, it's likely that the line was something deemed risque in the early 1950s.

Interestingly, this scene and the final fight almost didn't make it into the movie until Ford insisted on the final cut in his typical uncompromising style.

Republic Pictures had stipulated that The Quiet Man should not exceed two hours, believing that audiences wouldn't want to sit in a cinema for any longer than that.

Initially, Ford resisted, arguing that he had trimmed all the unnecessary parts and needed the extra nine minutes, but the executives stood firm. A few days later, he claimed to have the final print ready for screening, when in reality it was his 129-minute cut.

After exactly two hours, the director signalled to the projectionist to stop the movie right in the middle of the big final fight between Sean and Red. Eventually, the studio executives relented and allowed him his additional nine minutes.