# Now what kind of man doesn't believe in the Little People? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815 "2008-03-26T17:52:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/21 "2008-03-27T06:26:10Z")
So, since I can’t sleep now anyway, I decided to reread the thread, all 20 posts of it, and I realize that it says right there in #10 that the banshee is in the death coach clip, Somehow I either missed the warning or forgot about it after watching the first one. Perhaps I was under the spell of the little people. Or perhaps I’m an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/22 "2008-03-27T08:30:38Z")
The banshee scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. After watching the clip on Youtube I can’t remember why it scared me so much. It’s been nearly 22-23 years since I’ve seen that movie. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/23 "2008-03-27T10:20:30Z")
[QUOTE=MGibson] The banshee scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. After watching the clip on Youtube I can’t remember why it scared me so much. It’s been nearly 22-23 years since I’ve seen that movie. Marc [/QUOTE] I suspect that the volume was louder in the theatre. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/24 "2008-03-27T11:48:08Z")
[QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee] I LOVED this film. It was only when I was much older and re-watching it in a fit of nostalgia that I realized: “HOLY SHIT THAT’S SEAN CONNERY!” [/QUOTE] And him a Dublin man! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/25 "2008-03-27T12:05:47Z")
[QUOTE=TWDuke] So, since I can’t sleep now anyway, I decided to reread the thread, all 20 posts of it, and I realize that it says right there in #10 that the banshee is in the death coach clip, Somehow I either missed the warning or forgot about it after watching the first one. Perhaps I was under the spell of the little people. Or perhaps I’m an idiot. [/QUOTE] The bad part of that is that even if you DID know the banshee was in the death coach clip, her first appearance in it is a “GOTCHA!”, as she’s RIGHT THERE when he opens the door! ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/26 "2008-03-27T15:57:10Z")
[QUOTE=Barrett Bonden] I think he was making it clear (to Katie) that he didn’t believe Darby and inviting her in on the joke. Katie didn’t appreciate that Michael was making fun of her Dad. The banshee scared me too. [/QUOTE] I think you’ve nailed it, **Barrett Bonden**. My impression has always been that Michael’s comment was meant to be noncommittal, expressing neither belief in the truth of Darby’s tales nor an outright challenge. But I think that it’s the sideways glance to Katie that sets her off – sort of an unvoiced “he really **is** ready for retirement isn’t he?” ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/27 "2008-03-27T16:09:02Z")
Well, the sideways glance and the tear-gas filled exploding briefcase. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/28 "2008-03-27T16:26:50Z")
I love the film and I was very happy my kids love it. I have the DVD and there are some great extras with Walt himself. Apparently they had a special about the film shortly before its release on the Disneyland program or whatever it was called back then. This program on the making of it and the special effects is one of the better “Makings Of” I have seen. I did not even realize they had any of those back then. I also have a disjointed in time crush on Janet Munro who died far too young. I have only seen her in three films and she was cute as can be in all three. Albert Sharpe was great in the film as Darby and it seems like a shame he did so little film work. I understand he was a successful stage actor. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/29 "2008-03-27T16:29:38Z")
It’s been years since I saw this movie. I’ll have to see about renting it (or maybe I’ll just buy it). ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/30 "2008-03-27T16:30:05Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] I suspect that the volume was louder in the theatre. [/QUOTE] I’m not near old enough to have seen it in the theater. I saw it through the magic of VHS in the early 80s. Marc ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/31 "2008-03-27T17:37:08Z")
[QUOTE=MGibson] I’m not near old enough to have seen it in the theater. I saw it through the magic of VHS in the early 80s. Marc [/QUOTE] Ah, but remember that Disney’s policy through the early 90s was to re-release their films every 10 years or so (before Eisner dumbed down the brand and the prestige of seeing a Disney classic). I KNOW that I saw _Darby O’Gill_ in the theater and I’m only 37. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/32 "2008-03-27T17:51:49Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Ah, but remember that Disney’s policy through the early 90s was to re-release their films every 10 years or so (before Eisner dumbed down the brand and the prestige of seeing a Disney classic). I KNOW that I saw _Darby O’Gill_ in the theater and I’m only 37. [/QUOTE] I saw it in the theatre and I’m 47… …_heeeey_. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/33 "2008-03-27T18:10:31Z")
Sorry to introduce a discordant note on this film but [not everyone believes in little people or that **Darby O’Gill** is an entertaining movie.](http://www.slatev.com/player.html?id=1456328755) [QUOTE=What Exit?] I also have a disjointed in time crush on Janet Munro who died far too young. I have only seen her in three films and she was cute as can be in all three. [/QUOTE] I was only aware of Munro from her Disney films and did not know she came to such a sad end. Anyway, on a related but far less morbid subject, I discovered on a UK movie site that Janet Munro is better remembered across the pond for her role in [The Day the Earth Caught Fire](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054790/) mainly due to some scenes that did not make it into the prints shown in American theaters. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/34 "2008-03-27T18:27:29Z")
I saw this when I was very young. My Gran filled me with stories of the little people and the banshee after watching it with me. For years after that if I was in the countryside I expected to see hints of the little people and once it got dark I would fear the banshee. Now this has got me thinking of my little Gran and how she would both fill me with ideas of magic and scare the piss out of me at the same time. I miss ya Nana ☹ ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/35 "2008-03-27T18:28:03Z")
[QUOTE=NDP] Sorry to introduce a discordant note on this film but [not everyone believes in little people or that **Darby O’Gill** is an entertaining movie.](http://www.slatev.com/player.html?id=1456328755) I was only aware of Munro from her Disney films and did not know she came to such a sad end. Anyway, on a related but far less morbid subject, I discovered on a UK movie site that Janet Munro is better remembered across the pond for her role in [The Day the Earth Caught Fire](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054790/) mainly due to some scenes that did not make it into the prints shown in American theaters. [/QUOTE] I vaguely remember that movie and I never made the connection that she was the star of it. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/36 "2008-03-27T21:51:00Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I vaguely remember that movie [The Day the Earth Caught Fire] and I never made the connection that she [Janet Munro] was the star of it. [/QUOTE] Since it was years between when I saw **Darby O’Gill** and **The Day the Earth Caught Fire** , I didn’t make much of a connection either. In fact, it wasn’t until I came upon an article and related thread at the Guardian movie web site (which I’ll link to when I’m not at work and if anybody’s interested) that I became aware she was in both movies and that the latter film featured some cut-from-the-American-release scenes of her that apparently jump-started puberty for a generation of UK boys. Getting back on topic, I saw **Darby O’Gill** in the theater when I was around seven. I didn’t get too freaked out by the banshee scenes but, then again, none of the villains and monsters featured in Disney movies really scared me. I think it was because I was aware that in a Disney movie, the forces of malovelence would be defeated by the film’s end. Also, I trusted my parents would never take me to a movie where the bad guys won. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/37 "2008-03-28T00:51:25Z")
[QUOTE=NDP] Sorry to introduce a discordant note on this film but [not everyone believes in little people or that **Darby O’Gill** is an entertaining movie.](http://www.slatev.com/player.html?id=1456328755) [/QUOTE] Well, the fellow doesn’t make a very convincing case; the only thing he appears to complain about is Sean Connery’s singing. Frankly I think he included the film just for the James Bond connection. Obviously he doesn’t have any familiarity with leprechaun movies if he thinks **Finian’s Rainbow** and **Darby O’Gill** are among the most mockable. What about the Hallmark classic **[The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYifWf0MTAs)**, starring Colm Meaney, Randy Quaid, and Whoopi Goldberg? With Roger Daltrey as King of the Fairies? Or [**The Leprechauns’ Christmas Gold**](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1CBLXpTNno), courtesy of the ever-reliable Rankin/Bass? _“Everyone knows, that rainbows end in gold…”_ Narrated by Art Carney, playing the leprechaun “Blarney Killakillarney.” Everyone involved with this production should have been slapped into unconsciousness for that name alone. In light of these other films, it becomes clear what the true failing of the Warwick Davis **Leprechaun** movies was: _they had no banshee_. How can you claim to be a leprechaun-themed horror film franchise, if you don’t feature a compulsively hair-combing harbinger of death played by Whoopi Goldberg? That’s like a Batman movie without homoerotic subtext. Let’s face it; we’re all poorer for the fact that they don’t make family entertainment like \*\*Darby O’Gill and the Little People \*\* anymore. Once upon a time, it was possible for a children’s film to unapologetically include fistfights and drinking contests. I’m pretty sure that if Disney ever attempted to remake **DO’GatLP** for a modern audience, the plot would somehow involve explosive flatulence. And of course, Whoopi Goldberg. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815/38 "2008-03-31T15:20:10Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Ah, but remember that Disney’s policy through the early 90s was to re-release their films every 10 years or so (before Eisner dumbed down the brand and the prestige of seeing a Disney classic). I KNOW that I saw _Darby O’Gill_ in the theater and I’m only 37. [/QUOTE] I just turned 37 on Saturday, and I saw many of the original Disney classics in the theater on re-release. In fact the first movie I can recall ever seeing in the theater was Disney’s _Treasure Island_. My second-grade viewings of _Darby O’Gill_ were the result of a double timewarp. Not only was the film in re-release, but I was living on an Army base in Germany, where it was normal to see a fairly recent movie preceded by episodes of _Flash Gordon_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-kind-of-man-doesnt-believe-in-the-little-people/442815.md?page=1)