The only three people who knew the secret each took it to their graves
Maureen O’Hara is responsible for one of the greatest secrets from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Just what exactly did she whisper in John Wayne’s ear at the end of The Quiet Man? 67 years after the film was released, we still have no idea. What we do know is that it was enough to leave Wayne pretty shocked.
In the film’s conclusion, viewers see John Wayne look visibly shocked as Irish actress O’Hara whispers something naughty into his ear. Whatever she whispered wasn’t in the script, as filmmaker John Ford previously revealed.
The classic Hollywood flick follows retired boxer Sean Thornton making a pilgrimage to his home village in Ireland to claim his family estate during the 1920s. While there, he meets the difficult Mary Kate Danaher, played by Maureen O’Hara, and her brother Red, played by Victor McLaglen.
The film was shot in Co Mayo and Co Galway and was a huge hit at home and abroad.
Teasing what she might have said in her memoir years later, O’Hara revealed that she initially refused to say whatever the words were. “I couldn’t possibly say that to Duke,” she said.
In the scene, both Wayne and O’Hara’s characters were waving goodbye to Michaeleen Óge Flynn, who had helped them pursue their blossoming romance. It was at this moment when O’Hara whispered the obscenity.
However, Ford apparently insisted as he wanted to get a genuinely shocked reaction from Wayne. And it was only those three people, O’Hara, Wayne, and Ford, who knew what the words were, each of them taking the secret to their grave.
O’Hara previously said: “It was something very rude, and John Ford insisted I say it. I said I didn’t want to and he said ‘I’m telling you, you’re doing it. You must do it’.
“So, the agreement was that neither Duke, nor I, nor John Ford would ever, ever, ever tell what I said.”
While fans are eager to know exactly what was said, it adds a layer of cheeky fun and mystery to a film already loved by fans of classic Hollywood around the world.
