'The Greatest Famine Film Never Made'

Evans, Bryce (2018) 'The Greatest Famine Film Never Made'. In: The Great Irish Famine: Visual and Material Cultures. Liverpool University Press, Liverpool. ISBN 9781786941602

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Abstract

In 1937 Liam O'Flaherty's acclaimed novel 'Famine' was published. The book quickly won acclaim and remains one of the best fictional accounts of Ireland's Great Hunger, widely regarded as its author's best work. However the irascible O'Flaherty - a complex and colourful character - was not content with literary success alone. Having worked as a scriptwriter in Hollywood and befriended director John Ford ('The Quiet Man'), his goal was to have 'Famine' on the big screen. This paper tells the story of why this dream was never realised. Based on a broad swathe of archival material including letters between O'Flaherty and Ford, the paper contextualises O'Flaherty's quest to see 'Famine' made into a film against the context of the Great Depression, world war, and post-war recovery, as well as exploring the inimitable world of golden era Hollywood. It discusses the importance of the Great Hunger in the creative imaginations of both Ford and O'Flaherty and, in this centenary year of the Easter Rising, sheds light on under-documented forms of commemoration around the Famine's centenary in the 1940s.

Item Type: Book Section
Faculty / Department: Faculty of Creative Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities
Depositing User: Bryce Evans
Date Deposited: 22 Nov 2017 12:16
Last Modified: 16 Dec 2024 11:28
URI: https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/2267

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