A Terrible Beauty movie storyline. In Ireland, it’s 1941 and Irish Republicans have made a tentative bond with Nazi Germany to help Ireland in its never-ending struggle with Great Britain. A small cell of IRA soldiers is recruited in one village, under the flimsy leadership of the morally and physically lame Don McGinnis.
Among the new recruits is Dermot O’Neill, who wants to free Ireland from Britain, but is not as convinced of the means as are his colleagues. McGinnis, in love with Dermot’s sister, who spurns him, means to prove himself through violence, even though he’s not able due to his disability to participate in the raids he sends Dermot and others on. On one such raid, Dermot and his pal Sean Reilly are separated from the squad. Dermot helps the wounded Sean to safety, but when Sean returns to their village and is captured, Dermot must decide whether his duty lies with the cause, with Ireland, or with his own humanity.
A Terrible Beauty (also known as The Night Fighters) is a 1960 drama film, directed by Tay Garnett and starring Robert Mitchum, Anne Heywood, Dan O’Herlihy and Richard Harris. It was adapted from a 1958 novel of the same name, written by Arthur Roth. It was an international co-production between the United Kingdom and Robert Mitchum’s production company DRM.
About the Story
Dermot O’Neill (Robert Mitchum) is recruited into the Irish Republican Army (IRA) when a unit is formed in his Northern Ireland town during the Second World War. Reaction to the news is mixed. His mother is strongly against it, while his father (Harry Brogan) is proud. His brother Ned (Niall MacGinnis) and sister Bella (Marianne Benet) are ambivalent. Dermot’s girlfriend, Neeve Donnelly (Anne Heywood), breaks up with him, telling him the IRA will turn him into a murderer.
Dermot and his friend Sean Reilly (Richard Harris) are chosen from their unit to participate in a raid on a British armoury to steal weapons and ammunition. Don McGinnis (Dan O’Herlihy) is frustrated because, as commandant of the unit, he is too important to risk. The theft goes off without a hitch.
However, their next attack, to destroy a guarded power plant in concert with a planned German invasion, results in bloodshed. To get away, Dermot shoots a soldier blocking the way out. Sean is wounded in the foot and Johnny Corrigan is killed. Dermot and Sean evade their pursuers and manage to cross the border to safety in the Republic of Ireland. Dermot returns home, leaving his friend to recuperate.
Despite Dermot’s advice to stay away, Sean tries to sneak back across the border and is captured by the police. Dermot wants to stage a rescue, but McGinnis turns him down. Sean is sentenced to ten years imprisonment.
McGinnis decides to get revenge by attacking a police barracks. Dermot opposes this plan, as a policeman’s wife and children are living there, and warns that he will tell the authorities if McGinnis does not change his mind. When the commandant refuses to back down, Dermot tells McGinnis he is quitting the IRA. He is beaten up, but a police patrol comes upon the scene before the IRA members can do anything more drastic. Dermot carries through on his threat, telling Sergeant Crawley (Geoffrey Golden), though without naming names. He is abducted to stand trial as an informant.
A Terrible Beauty (1960)
Directed by: Tay Garnett
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Richard Harris, Dan O’Herlihy, Anne Heywood, Cyril Cusack, Niall MacGinnis, Marianne Benet, Christopher Rhodes, Harry Brogan, Eileen Crowe, Marie Kean
Screenplay by: R. Wright Campbell
Production Design by: John Stoll
Cinematography by: Stephen Dade
Film Editing by: Peter Tanner
Set Decoration by: Josie MacAvin
Makeup Department: Harold Fletcher, Pearl Tipaldi
Music by: Cedric Thorpe Davie
MPAA Rating: Nohe,
Distributed by: United Artists
Release Date: June 17, 1960
Views: 197