Juno and the Paycock (1930) on Netflix
In Dublin during the Irish Civil War, Juno Boyle works while her husband, whom she calls the Paycock, idles and drinks. Word comes that he is to receive an inheritance.
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- Netflix1.9/5
- IMDb4.6/102,874 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes30%
Plot summary
The Boyles live in a two-room tenement flat in Dublin during the Irish Civil War. Juno Boyle works to keep the family going, while her husband, whom she calls the Paycock, loafs about and spends what he can get on drink. Their son Johnny has lost the use of his right arm and injured a hip fighting the Black and Tans. Their daughter Mary, a worker on strike, is courted by Jerry Devine, and leaves him for Charles Bentham, the lawyer who tells the family that Captain Boyle is to come into an inheritance. The Captain borrows money against what he has not received and buys new furniture and a gramophone, and friends are invited to a party in the once shabby flat.
Cast
- Sidney Morganas 'Joxer' Daly
- Fred Schwarzas Mr Kelly
- George Spenceas Man in Crowd(uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Juno and the Paycock (1930)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The tailor Mr Kelly, who repossesses Captain Boyle's new clothes, is played in the film by a Jewish actor with a strong Germanic accent, even though the play's equivalent, Nugent, is an Irish Gentile; the reworked dialogue has been alleged to play on the stereotype of Jews as alien usurers.
- Playwright Seán O'Casey made such an impression on Alfred Hitchcock while working on the film that he became the inspiration for the prophet of doom in the diner in Hitchcock's later film The Birds.
- Hitchcock shot a faithful reproduction of the play with few of the directorial touches from his earlier films, often asking cinematographer Jack Cox to hold the camera for long single shots, and added a pub scene after getting permission from O'Casey.
- Barry Fitzgerald, who had played Captain Jack Boyle in the original stage production of the play, made his film debut in this adaptation as an orator in the first scene and had no other role.
