"Young Cassidy" is one of my all time favorite movies. I am a big fan of Sean O'Casey, and became a big fan of Rod Taylor's when I first saw this film over 35 years ago. It used to be shown every St. Patrick's day, like The Informer and The Quiet Man, I believe it was WOR, Channel 9 (now the UPN) here in NY, then it just disappeared, and I have been unable to find a VHS or DVD copy of it, a real shame. John Ford worked his usual magic and was well replaced by Jack Cardiff (after Ford fell ill), and a wonderful vision of Ireland in the early 20th Century took shape. It tells of Young Jack Cassidy (O'Casey) and his attempts to break out of the poverty cycle he has been trapped in, to get away and pursue a career as a writer. He is faced with the prejudice that all "common" Irish faced, and then has to survive the madness that overtakes Dublin during the "Easter Rebellion" of 1916, before he finally gets a chance and sails off to London. I have not seen this film in 20 years, and I wish I knew why it was so unavailable. It adheres quite well to O'Casey's Autobiographies, though it is more fun to read his words than see them portrayed.
Review of Young Cassidy
