How Green Was My Valley (film)
| How Green Was My Valley | |
 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | John Ford |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Darryl F. Zanuck |
| Written by | Story: Richard Llewellyn Screenplay: Philip Dunne |
| Starring | Walter Pidgeon Maureen O'Hara Anna Lee Donald Crisp Roddy McDowall |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | Arthur C. Miller |
| Editing by | James B. Clark |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | October 28, 1941 (USA) |
| Running time | 118 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Welsh |
How Green Was My Valley is a 1941 American drama film directed by John Ford. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, written by Philip Dunne, and based on the Richard Llewellyn novel of the same name. The film stars Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp, and Roddy McDowall. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards,[1] winning five and beating out such classics as Citizen Kane, The Maltese Falcon, and Sergeant York for Best Picture. However, How Green has become a classic in its own right.
The film tells the story of the Morgans, a close, hard-working Welsh family at the turn of the twentieth century in the South Wales coalfield at the heart of the South Wales Valleys. It chronicles a socio-economic way of life passing and the family unit disintegrating.
In 1990, How Green Was My Valley was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Contents |
Plot
The story is told through the eyes, and with the voice-over narration of Huw Morgan (Roddy McDowall), now a middle-aged man leaving the mining town of Cwm Rhondda, recalling the events that most impressed his younger self. The boy Huw is played by Roddy, but the voice-over is that of actor Irving Pichel, who is never seen in the film.
His first memories are of the marriage of his brother, Ivor (Patric Knowles), and the burgeoning, unspoken, and ill-fated romance of his sister, Angharad (Maureen O'Hara) with the new preacher, Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon). Because of the forbidden nature of the romance, Angharad marries another man, whom she later divorces, and Mr. Gruffydd leaves his church in disgust after being subjected to untrue town gossip - his romance with Angharad is never consummated, nor do they ever marry. Still too young to work in the local coal mine like his father, Gwilym (Donald Crisp), and his five older brothers, Huw 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 temporarily 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. Other subplots are featured in the film. The film concludes with the death of the father in a mining accident.
Background
William Wyler, the original director, saw the screen-test of McDowall and chose him for the part. Wyler was replaced later by director John Ford. Ford wanted to shoot the movie in Wales, but events in Europe during World War II made this impossible. Instead, he built a replica of the mining town at the nearly 3,000-acre (12 km2) Fox Ranch in Malibu Canyon.[2]
The cast had only one genuinely Welsh actor in a minor role, Rhys Williams.
Cast
- Walter Pidgeon as Mr. Gruffydd
- Maureen O'Hara as Angharad Morgan
- Anna Lee as Bronwyn, Ivor's wife
- Donald Crisp as Gwilym Morgan
- Roddy McDowall as Huw Morgan
- John Loder as Ianto Morgan
- Sara Allgood as Mrs. Beth Morgan
- Barry Fitzgerald as Cyfartha
- Patric Knowles as Ivor Morgan
- Morton Lowry as Mr. Jonas
- Arthur Shields as Mr. Parry
- Ann E. Todd as Ceinwen
- Frederick Worlock as Dr. Richards
- Richard Fraser as Davy Morgan
- Evan S. Evans as Gwilym Morgan
- James Monks as Owen Morgan
- Rhys Williams as Dai Bando
- Lionel Pape as Evans
- Ethel Griffies as Mrs. Nicholas
- Marten Lamont as Iestyn Evans
Awards
Academy Award wins
- Best Picture - Darryl F. Zanuck.
- Best Director - John Ford
- Best Supporting Actor - Donald Crisp
- Best Black-and-White Cinematography - Arthur C. Miller
- Best Black-and-White Art Direction-Interior Decoration - Richard Day, Nathan H. Juran and Thomas Little
Academy Award nominations
- Best Adapted Screenplay - Philip Dunne
- Best Supporting Actress - Sara Allgood
- Best Film Editing - James B. Clark
- Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture - Alfred Newman
- Best Recording Sound - Edmund H. Hansen
Other
- New York Film Critics Circle Awards: NYFCC Award; Best Director, John Ford; 1941.
- Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor; Best Foreign Film, John Ford, USA; 1943.
- 1990—National Film Registry.
See also
References
- ^ "NY Times: How Green Was My Valley". NY Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/23422/How-Green-Was-My-Valley/awards. Retrieved on 2008-12-13.
- ^ Reel Classics
External links
- How Green Was My Valley at the Internet Movie Database
- How Green Was My Valley at Allmovie
- How Green Was My Valley at the TCM Movie Database
- How Green Was My Valley at Rotten Tomatoes
- How Green Was My Valley at Reel Classics
- How Green Was My Valley at Film Site web site; contains plot detail.
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by Rebecca |
Academy Award for Best Picture 1941 |
Succeeded by Mrs. Miniver |
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