GB
1962
1hr 25mins
Dir: Arthur Dreifuss
Starring: Patrick McGoohan and Sylvia Syms
The arrival of a naïve and idealistic new warder at a Dublin prison coincides with preparations to hang two men
The Quare Fellow was a 1954 play by Brendan Behan and though the film is based on this play it is not considered a faithful adaptation. The title is taken from a Hiberno-English pronunciation of queer, meaning ‘strange’ or ‘unusual’ and in this context the word lacks the denotation of homosexuality that it holds today. As the credits are rolling at the start of this drama there is an unusual track level shot of an ex-GSR J15 Class 0-6-0 arriving with a train at an unknown Irish rural station. The scene then cuts to Patrick McGoohan exiting down the old carriage ramp at Westland Row station (renamed Dublin Pearse in 1966). This descended from platform level to a gate on Westland Row, immediately beside the junction with Pearse Street. The whole area has now been obliterated by the Trinity College accommodation block. The access ramp was also seen in Educating Rita (qv).
