Das Geheimnis der verwunschenen Höhle (1959)

Das Geheimnis der verwunschenen Höhle: Directed by Robert Stevenson. With Albert Sharpe, Janet Munro, Sean Connery, Jimmy O’Dea. 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.

“As a lad I well remember the kind of campaigns Walt Disney used to publicize his films. He used all the available outlets he had such as his Mickey Mouse Club show or the Walt Disney Wonderful World of Color television shows. If Walt Disney could have worked it out, heu0026#39;d have plugged Darby Ou0026#39;Gill and the Little People on Zorro.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI remember Disney on one of his shows having a formal meeting with King Brian of Knocknasheega to sign over screen rights to the story of the leprechauns. It was all done with a kind of serious pomp that would impress a kid with Disney and Jimmy Ou0026#39;Dea who played the leprechaun king, Brian Conners.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAccording to the Films of Walt Disney by Leonard Maltin, Disney had it in mind to do an Irish story for over 15 years before Darby Ou0026#39;Gill was released. In fact when he saw the original Broadway production of Finianu0026#39;s Rainbow, he had his leading man in mind in the person of Albert Sharpe. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSharpeu0026#39;s Darby Ou0026#39;Gill is a gamekeeper on the grounds of Lord Fitzpatrick who in his declining years spends more time at the local pub, regaling the patrons with his tales of encounters with the leprechauns. As Walter Fitzgerald who plays Lord Fitzpatrick says, Darby retired a couple of years ago without telling me. So heu0026#39;s hired himself a young new gamekeeper, an outsider from Dublin named Michael McBride played by a pre-James Bond Sean Connery. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eConneryu0026#39;s a decent chap though and heu0026#39;ll give Sharpe time enough to vacate the gamekeeperu0026#39;s gate cottage. Besides Conneryu0026#39;s taken a liking to Darbyu0026#39;s daughter Katie in the person of winsome Janet Munro.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film alternates and then blends the story of Conneryu0026#39;s courtship of Munro with the person of her other suitor, the town bully played by Kieron Moore and Sharpeu0026#39;s adventures with the leprechauns. King Brian tricks him a couple of times, but Darby captures him by getting him drunk and keeping him out until daylight when he has no powers.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf Darby Ou0026#39;Gill had been made by someone other than Disney probably Barry Fitzgerald would have played Darby. Sharpe certainly has the elfin charm of Fitzgeraldu0026#39;s Michaeleen Ou0026#39;Flynn from The Quiet Man. And because he was not a movie name, he worked a lot cheaper for Disney, always a consideration in The Magic Kingdom.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe special effects are really good here considering this was the age before computer generated graphics. Enough to give even a twelve year old a fright with the appearance of the banshee and the costa bower, the death coach.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe answer to a movie trivia question is this film if it is ever asked whether Sean Connery sang in a movie. Itu0026#39;s in fact him singing, My Little Irish Girl, both he and Janet Munro sing it alone and duet it for the finale. No dubbing, in fact Sean Connery cut a 45 rpm record of it back in the day. Probably worth a fortune if you could find one. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJanet Munro did a few films for Disney. She was a wholesome lass in his films, very appealing and her death at too young and age was a real tragedy. Either Disney didnu0026#39;t spot anything in Sean Connery or Connery was too smart to be tied down to a long term contract to that studio. Connery after Dr. No premiered spent the next dozen years or so trying to prove both artistically and financially that he was capable of more than James Bond. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut it sure would be fascinating to speculate on what turn Sean Conneryu0026#39;s career would have taken if I had starred in a half a dozen or so Disney features. Can you imagine him trying to escape that kind of typecasting?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDarby Ou0026#39;Gill and the Little People is a childrenu0026#39;s film and I think it still has charm a-plenty even for todayu0026#39;s generation who might be skeptical about leprechauns.”