The Quiet Man

The Quiet Man is not a ring film: an official bout appears only in a few flashback shots. Boxing still runs through it. Sean Thornton, a former heavyweight known as "Trooper Thorn", has sworn never to hit anyone again after a young opponent died. The whole story turns on that vow, which the village reads as cowardice.

A real boxer opposite John Wayne

John Ford cast Victor McLaglen as Will Danaher. McLaglen had boxed professionally before acting: 16 wins, 8 losses and a draw, the British Army heavyweight title in 1918 and, in 1909 in Vancouver, a six-round exhibition against world champion Jack Johnson. Arthur Shields's Reverend Playfair is also a former boxer, and the one Thornton confides in.

Classic cinema's longest brawl

The final act is a fight between Thornton and Danaher that starts in a field, rolls across the countryside and ends in the pub, with the whole village following and betting. Both men pretend to accept the Marquess of Queensberry rules, then forget them. Patrick Ford, the director's son, doubled McLaglen for some of the stunts. Republic Pictures wanted a film under two hours; as the story goes, Ford stopped the screening just as the fight began, and the studio kept all 129 minutes. Boxers will find no technique here, but a comedy about violence and honour and one of the most imitated brawls on film.

Two Oscars

Shot in summer 1951 in counties Mayo and Galway, around Cong and Ashford Castle, it earned seven Oscar nominations and won two: Best Director, Ford's fourth, and colour cinematography. It was among the ten biggest US hits of 1952 and joined the National Film Registry in 2013.