Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959)
August 23, 2022 1:44 PM - Subscribe

A wily old codger matches wits with the King of the Leprechauns and helps play matchmaker for his daughter and the strapping lad who has replaced him as caretaker.

"Darby O'Gill & the Little People" film trailer

"WTF Fiddle Scene"

"Little People Big Effects" is a 10 min exploration of the visual effects that yielded leprechauns in the film.

My friend hosts a St. Patrick's Day party each year, and the party ends with a viewing of this film. Come for the forced perspective visual effects, stay for the bewildering array of accents attempted by a young Sean Connery. I have yet to see the film completely sober, I'm not sure if it would seem more or less surreal.
posted by elkevelvet (7 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
I love this movie. The matte painting and forced perspective effects are amazing. I hadn’t seen Little People Big Effects before. Thanks for posting!
posted by saeva indignatio at 9:49 PM on August 23, 2022 [1 favorite]


I loved and was terrified by this movie as a child, and recently re-watched it to see whether it would terrify my kids or not. I feel like it mostly held up.
posted by gauche at 8:31 AM on August 24, 2022 [1 favorite]


We had a tape of this when I was a kid and one of my brothers watched it relentlessly. I've been this probably 2 dozen times, and totally forgot that Sean Connery was in it. So maybe not his most memorable performance, but I still love the sassy old man character.
posted by jeoc at 7:09 PM on August 24, 2022


My partner is very Irish Catholic and was forced to watch this by the school nuns in her youth. She told me about it recently, and I was half convinced it was a dream she had, especially when she told me Sean Connery was the star. I was wrong!
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:17 PM on August 25, 2022 [1 favorite]


I should say that in the US, this film is available on Disney Plus.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:21 PM on August 25, 2022


Kittens for breakfast, you might be my partner.

I was terrified, absolutely bowel loosening terrified, of the banshee scenes as a child. I told my partner just how frightening this was, and that I couldn't believe the nuns forced us to watch it in Catholic school.

Turns out on a rewatch...not that scary. The homoeroticism of a young Sean Connery though, well now, that should have given the nuns some pause.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 12:19 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]


I so old I saw this in the theater as a child. I wasn't too frightened but the younger kid sitting between me and my brother tried to leave when the banshee appeared. I might have to watch it again, paired with The Gnomemobile.
posted by Ber at 7:23 AM on August 27, 2022


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