The collective effort has paid off and Da is a film of great charms. Indeed, one is hesitant about calling Da a ghost story at all – it has more in common with The Odd Couple (1968) than it does The Haunting (1963). The film’s greatest success is its casting. (The oddest thing about this is an evocation of Ireland where the principal actors are all American, although all the actors manage a particularly good grasp of regional colloquialism). One is used to Martin Sheen in bland, painedly sincere roles and seeing him play with wry wit and tenderness is an effectively surprising turn. The centre of the show though is Barnard Hughes’ performance as the titular Da, which he plays with a great obstinate charm – it is a shame that Hughes’ performance here was overlooked when it came to awards season that year.

The writing is wry and sardonic. Hugh Leonard does a perceptive of turning the character of Da inside out – the whole film is no more than a tribute to his cranky, irascible and stubborn-headed father. Leonard resolutely refuses to let the film become the sentimental story that a Hollywood mainstream equivalent with an eye toward the awards would opt for. There are many moments in the film that come with a wonderfully sly wit – like Barnard Hughes’ interruption of young Charlie’s nervous attempts to pick up a girl where he succeeds in charming her himself. Hugh Leonard’s narrative device is particularly clever. He refuses to conduct anything like a simple autobiographic memoir, but instead resurrects the father as a ghost and allows Martin Sheen’s present self to walk through the past – there’s a lovely moment when middle-aged Sheen meets up with his younger self (Karl Hayden) who berates him about the loss of his ideals.