How Green Was My Valley Overview:

How Green Was My Valley (1941) was a Drama - Family Film directed by John Ford and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck.

The film was based on the novel of the same name written by Richard Llewellyn published in 1939.

SYNOPSIS

Ford's vivid recounting of a childhood spent in the lush hills of Wales. A Welsh coal-mining family experiences labor unrest and personal tragedy as their traditional way of life collides with the 20th century. Beautifully realized and deeply felt portrayal of the sustaining power of home and family. And O'Hara was never lovelier. The Oscars have solidified its place in history as one of the top tearjerkers of all time. Adapted from Richard Llewellyn's best-selling novel.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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How Green Was My Valley was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1990.

Academy Awards 1941 --- Ceremony Number 14 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Supporting ActorDonald CrispWon
Best Supporting ActressSara AllgoodNominated
Best Art DirectionArt Direction: Richard Day, Nathan Juran; Interior Decoration: Thomas LittleWon
Best CinematographyArthur MillerWon
Best DirectorJohn FordWon
Best Film EditingJames B. ClarkNominated
Best Picture20th Century-FoxWon
Best WritingPhilip DunneNominated
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BlogHub Articles:

Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O’Hara head the cast in “How Green Was My Valley”

By Stephen Reginald on Jun 10, 2021 From Classic Movie Man

Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O’Hara head the cast in “How Green Was My Valley” How Green Was My Valley (1941) was an American drama film directed by John Ford and starring Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, Donald Crisp, Anna Lee, and Roddy McDowall. It is based on the best-s... Read full article


How Green Was My Valley

By Michael on Sep 14, 2016 From Le Mot du Cinephiliaque

Editor’s note : this review is a translation of one of the first reviews to ever appear on this blog back in 2009. Those were less than a 150 words long and were written immediately after the viewing of each film. This is as aforementioned a translation and a longer edit of this original film ... Read full article


1001 Classic Movies: How Green Was My Valley

By Amanda Garrett on Aug 15, 2016 From Old Hollywood Films

How Green Was My Valley (1941) starring Walter Pidgeon and Roddy McDowall is one of the 1001 classic movies you should see. Each Monday, I'm going to recommend a classic movie you should see (for the reasons behind the 1001 series and reviews of earlier films covered go here). August's theme coin... Read full article


How Green Was My Valley

By Amanda Garrett on Feb 27, 2016 From Old Hollywood Films

Today, I'm reviewing How Green Was My Valley, starring Walter Pidgeon (left) and Roddy McDowall. This film about life in a Welsh coal-mining village won the 1941 Academy Award for best picture. This article is part of the 31 Days of Oscar blogathon hosted by Paula's Cinema Club, Outspoken & Fr... Read full article


Friday Fail: How Green Was My Valley (1941)

By Vanessa Buttino on Jun 13, 2014 From Stardust

Friday Fail: How Green Was My Valley (1941) It took me three days to watch John Ford's epic drama HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1941). Three days! I had heard so much about this film from all of the classic movie bloggers that attended the TCM Film Fest this past April and I was really looking fo... Read full article


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Quotes from

Mr. Gruffydd: I know why you have come - I have seen it in your faces Sunday after Sunday as I've stood here before you. Fear has brought you here. Horrible, superstitious fear. Fear of divine retribution a bolt of fire from the skies. The vengeance of the Lord and the justice of God. But you have forgotten the love of Jesus. You disregard His sacrifice. Death, fear, flames, horror and black clothes. Hold your meeting then, but know if you do this in the name of God and in the house of God, you blaspheme against Him and His Word.


Mr. Gruffydd: Who is for Gwilym Morgan and the others?
Dai Bando: I, for one. He is the blood of my heart. Come, Cyfartha.
Cyfartha: ...'Tis a coward I am. But I will hold your coat.


Huw Morgan: There is no fence nor hedge around time that is gone. You can go back and have what you like of it, if you can remember. So I can close my eyes on my valley as it is today, and it is gone, and I see it as it was when I was a boy. Green it was, and possessed of the plenty of the Earth. In all Wales, there was none so beautiful. Everything I ever learned as a small boy came from my father and I never found anything he ever told me to be wrong or worthless. The simple lessons he taught me are as sharp and clear in my mind as if I had heard them only yesterday. In those days, the black slag, the waste of the coal pits, had only begun to cover the sides of our hill. Not yet enough to mar the countryside, nor blacken the beauty of our village, for the colliery had only begun to poke its skinny black fingers through the green.


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Facts about

The film was shot in black and white because the color of flowers in Southern California did not match those found in Wales.
The author continued the story about Huw Morgan's life in 3 sequels. 'Up into the Singing Mountain' (1960) in which Huw emigrates to Argentina; 'Down Where the Moon is Small' (1966), Huw's life in Welsh-speaking parts of Argentina; and 'Green, Green My Valley Now' (1975), in which Huw returns to Wales. None of these have been made into films, and 'How Green Was My Valley' is still the most consistently popular novel of the series.
Plans to film in Wales were abandoned due to WWII; an 80-acre set was built in the Santa Monica Mountains at Brent's Crags, near Malibu. The design of the village was based on the real Cerrig Ceinnen and nearby Clyddach-cum Tawe in Wales.
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Best Picture Oscar 1941











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National Film Registry

How Green Was My Valley

Released 1941
Inducted 1990
(Sound)




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Also directed by John Ford




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Also produced by Darryl F. Zanuck




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Also released in 1941




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