The Fighting Prince of Donegal Movie Review (1966)

After starring opposite Hayley Mills in the Moon-Spinners, Peter McEnery is back again as the Fighting Prince of Donegal. I can’t be sure (I haven’t looked) but I’m pretty sure there was at least some press brief with that line for this next movie. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.

A Brief Summary

(Taken from D23)

In the time of Queen Elizabeth I, the English fear that Spain will attack through Ireland, so English troops occupy the Irish countryside. It is a gallant young man, Hugh O’Donnell, the prince of Donegal, who leads resistance against them. Hugh has many exciting adventures while he is uniting the clans of Ireland. He is captured and imprisoned—twice. But he escapes again to lead and win the final battle against the English, and to rescue Kathleen, his lady love.

What works

• I was getting the same vibes from this movie as the UK Disney films of the early 50s (Robin Hood/The Sword and the Rose/Rob Roy)
• Hurray for text blurbs! I always appreciate when period pieces come with text blurbs. This movie’s text blurb was at the very beginning establishing the year (1587), location (Ireland), and some brief info of what’s going on (Elizabeth I ruled and Ireland was garrisoned by English troops against the threat of Spanish invasion)
• While the sudden urge to fight may seem disrespectful (see note of clans fighting in what might not work section) for the newly diseased (prophecy notwithstanding) it does provide a stage for Hugh to showcase why he is the deserved new Prince of Donegal
  • an understated but solid performance
  • Hugh emphasizing his point with the shield and daggers is one of my favorite scenes in this entire film. So effective and it was so cool to see him throwing daggers. I would rewatch this movie just for that scene.
• At about this point, I was only 20 minutes in and the story moves forward at a decently fast pace. Certainly helped keep my interest level up and flows much better plot-wise than either Rob Roy or The Sword and the Rose
• I do appreciate that so far, for good or bad, everything seems to be in service of the story. There haven’t been any scenes that feel like a waste of screen time (which is saying something for some of the live-action Disney movies I’ve seen)
• Hugh’s escape/recapture was a thing of beauty. What with his maneuvering it so that the O’Toole didn’t get in trouble. *chef’s kiss* worth it. It’s moments like this that make me smile.
• I really like that Henry O’Neill joins Hugh in jail. The guards really shouldn’t have stuck them both in the same cell.
  • “But why? you didn’t get very far trying to get away by yourself, did you? Now with me here to help you, they don’t stand a chance.”
• I like O’Neill better than I thought I would. At first, I thought he was just going to be this pushy arrogant guy who was trying to steal Hugh’s girl, Kathleen. But no, he actually has depth and I’m now a fan.
• Sean O’Toole’s sacrifice –
• Okay, but the fact that Martin actually did stuff to help them (Hugh, O’Neill, etc) other than just getting them knives and finding out how to escape the prison. I’m impressed. The man got them dresses to wear as a disguise & a rope for the outer wall. It says something about other escape movie scenes where they DON’T show the little things and just expect the audience to play along.
• it’s not flashy or over the top. very nuanced
  • Like a well-oiled machine, this story moves forward and I find it so refreshing.
• I really like that Leeds doesn’t die (been there, seen that), but that Hugh takes him as a hostage.
  • “Your soldiers can go back to Dublin and say that if we’re attacked again, the Queen will have a war on her hands. But you stay here, Leeds.” – Hugh
    • Stay?
    • Until Sean O’Toole’s returned to us alive. Two can play the hostage game.
      • cue Irishmen laughing
• A satisfying ending (party at the castle, Irishmen singing, O’Neill being a flirt, and Hugh & Kathleen on the castle wall together). It was kind of a quick ending, but I don’t know if adding anything more to it would have improved it.

What may or may not work

• After the text blurb, the main plot starts with the fulfillment of a prophecy
  • Apparently it’s a pretty important prophecy, but kind of meh/lackluster
    • “the birds will gather in their hundreds when Hugh succeeds Hugh as Prince of Donegal, and Ireland shall be free.”
      • That’s it? That’s the best they got??
      • Some Irish women call the above bit part of their legend
        • Based on a book so I’ll ease a bit but still…it’s a weak prophecy.
• Literally, the moment after Hugh’s mom announces that his father is dead, the clansmen start arguing about going to fight for Ireland.
  • Sudden but also not fully out of place. It just felt a little much for the fact that a man just died, even if they did want to be free of England.
• Kathleen, bless her heart, is a cookie-cutter character. She’s not terrible; there’s not much to say about her because she’s just kind of there.
  • To be fair, there isn’t much depth to most of the characters. They’re not bad, they do enough to get the job done and keep the story moving forward, but they’re not very complex characters.  (except maybe Hugh and O’Neill)
• At the time of me handwriting this note, I was not even halfway through the movie, and it feels like a lot has happened. It still has a feeling overall of ‘been there, done that’ but better than the 20-40 minute ending movies that bug me so much.

Honorable Mentions

• Some of my favorite dialogue moments from the movie:
  • At last there’s an excuse to fight these Irish.” – Capt. Leeds
  • O’Neill is such a playboy
    • Keeps saying the same thing to the sisters but keeps getting the names wrong
    • “How do you know my name?”
    • A girl as pretty as you would have to be called Bridgette
  • “my father taught me that victory goes to him who takes the greatest risk.”
    • Now remember Hugh, my Kathleen and your mother are held hostage there.”
    • That’s the greatest risk of all.
• During the prison scenes, O’Neill caught some mice and was training them for entertainment. That he let the mice go when the men left the prison is adorable
  • Also, the fact that O’Neill can’t swim. I really came to appreciate the character that is O’Neill by the end of the movie.

Side Questions

• I’m curious how Hugh is a prince as they seem to be using the clan system. I wouldn’t have thought a “prince” would be the head of a clan, but I haven’t done much research in that area.
• And he (O’Neill) just happens to have tiny gems? I know they did a search of him before throwing him into prison with Hugh, sort of, because he said they wouldn’t let him have a knife. but he has gems? They really are tiny gems but it wasn’t that hard for him to pull the gems out so why didn’t the guards find them?

Would I watch this movie again?

• You know, the movie really grew on me. It wasn’t an instant like but I would watch it again with or without friends. By the end of the second viewing, I really liked the subtle

If you’ve seen The Fighting Prince of Donegal, what are some of your thoughts? Share in the comments below!

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