How Green Was My Valley
(1941)
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In John Ford's HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY, Huw Morgan, now a middle-aged man leaving the mining town of Cwm Rhondda, recalls the events that most impressed themselves upon his younger self (Roddy McDowall). His first memories are of the marriage of his brother, Ivor (Patric Knowles), and the burgeoning romance of his sister, Angharad (Maureen O'Hara), and the new preacher, Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon). Still too young to work in the local coal mine like his father, Gwilym (Donald Crisp), and his five older brothers, he senses the seriousness of an imminent strike by the rift it creates between his father and the other boys when three of them move out of the family abode. During the tensions of the strike, Huw saves his mother (Sara Allgood) from drowning and in so doing loses the use of his legs. As Gruffydd aids in Huw's recovery, insisting on a positive attitude, he suggests that it is only the first of many trials the boy will have to face. Richard Llewellyn's nostalgic novel, with its Fordian themes of family and community, could hardly have found a better director. While the acting and writing are excellent, this is truly Ford's film, one in which his brilliantly chosen groupings and compositions are the most expressive elements. Possibly the most moving film of Ford's career, HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY received five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. |
This magnificent Oscar-winning family saga may seem a trifle dated, with its superb, but phoney, studio re-creations of the valleys of South Wales instead of actual locations. But there's no denying its power to move as well as entertain audiences, as brilliant director John Ford lovingly details life in the pits and valleys of Richard Llewellyn's famous autobiographical novel. Ford rightly won the best director Oscar and the movie won best picture, but often overlooked is the sincerity of the film's hand-picked cast, notably sturdy, top-billed Walter Pidgeon and fiery Ford regular Maureen O'Hara. The best supporting actor Oscar went to Donald Crisp's patriarch. This is precisely the kind of movie that gave Hollywood film-making dignity and supremacy in its heyday.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Prettified and unconvincing but dramatically very effective tearjerker in the style which lasted from Cukor's David Copperfield to The Green Years. High production values here add a touch of extra class, turning the result into a Hollywood m