How Green Was My Valley (1941)
87%RT Audience Score: 81%
Awards & Nominations: Won 5 Oscars
13 wins & 6 nominations total
Though it perhaps strays into overly maudlin territory, this working-class drama is saved by a solid cast and director John Ford’s unmistakeable style
How Green Was My Valley is a classic film that captures the essence of a small mining village and the struggles of its inhabitants. The cinematography is stunning, and the acting is top-notch, especially Donald Crisp’s portrayal of the village patriarch. Sure, some may find the film a bit preachy, but hey, it’s John Ford, what do you expect? Overall, it’s a beautiful and emotional journey that will leave you feeling nostalgic for a time and place you’ve never even been to. So grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the ride!
Production Company(ies)
Carolco Pictures, Pacific Western Lightstorm Entertainment,
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
Year of Release
1942
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
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Runtime:1h 58m
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Language(s):English, Welsh
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 27, 1941 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 7, 2000
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Roddy McDowall, Maureen O’Hara, Walter Pidgeon, Donald Crisp, Anna Lee, John Loder, directed by John Ford, written by Philip Dunne, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Richard Brody, Kate Cameron, Ty Burr, James Agee, David Parkinson, Abel Green, mono sound mix, flat aspect ratio, produced by Darryl F Zanuck, MPAA rating, coal mining, Welsh village, miners’ strike, social change, family drama, working-class, nostalgia, salt-of-the-earth characters, love affair, preacher, upper class, episodic fragments, sprawling epic, childhood memories, rapid social change, academic, youngest son, proud family, solid cast, director’s style
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Maureen O’Hara – Angharad Morgan, Eldest Daughter
Roddy McDowall – Huw Morgan, Youngest Son
Donald Crisp – Mr. Gwilym Morgan
Anna Lee – Bronwyn Morgan, Ivor’s Wife
John Loder – Ianto Morgan
Director(s)
John Ford
Writer(s)
Philip Dunne
Producer(s)
Darryl F. Zanuck
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 5 Oscars
13 wins & 6 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (5)
Captures an idyll of youth that has been lost to the corrosive practices of modern business.
November 16, 2015
Richard Brody
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
One of the outstanding film productions of the year.
February 18, 2015
Kate Cameron
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
The acting is strong, and Arthur Miller’s Oscar-winning photography gives the images a spooky luster, but a little bit of Ford’s salt-of-the-earth piety goes an awfully long way.
February 19, 2013 | Rating: B
Ty Burr
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Because his recollections ring true, they are certain to evoke a similar nostalgia in all but the most slab-sided of moviegoers.
February 17, 2009
James Agee
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
This John Huston film [is] typically epic with a faithful screenplay to Richard Llewellyn’s famous novel.
February 20, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
How Green Was My Valley is one of the year’s better films, a sure-fire critic’s picture and, unlike most features that draw kudos from crix, this one will also do business.
January 30, 2008
Abel Green
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Strangely, a sizable portion of the plot occurs without Huw’s direct involvement, which makes his narration somewhat flawed, since he’s not privy to all the details.
August 5, 2020 | Rating: 2/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
One of the most beautifully-shot films of the 1940s… one of the highest achievements of John Ford’s fascination with the ebb and flow of life in a small community.
July 7, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Tim Brayton
Alternate Ending
You are left with a memory of something as fine as any motion picture could hope to be.
February 6, 2020
Jay Carmody
Washington Star
It is a great picture, a poignant, emotion-stirring drama.
February 6, 2020
Josephine O’Neill
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The last John Ford movie is something exquisite and of a supreme artistic quality. [Full Review in Spanish]
September 19, 2019
Elena de la Torre
Cine-Mundial
The film is beautifully played, with Donald Crisp as the humorous patriarch of the mining village dominating the screen with tough sensibility.
February 15, 2019
Edgar Anstey
The Spectator…
Plot
Life is hard in a Welsh mining town and no less so for the Morgan family. Seen through the eyes of the family’s youngest, Huw, we learn of the family’s trials and tribulations. Family patriarch Gwilym and his older sons work in the mines, dangerous and unhealthy as it is. Gwilym has greater hopes for his youngest son, but Huw has his own ideas on how to honor his father. Daughter Angharad is the most beautiful girl in the valley and is very much in love with Mr. Gruffydd, who isn’t sure he can provide her the life she deserves. Times are hard and good men find themselves out of work and exploited by unseen mine owners.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Donald Crisp’s performance as the humorous patriarch of the mining village dominates the screen with tough sensibility, according to one critic.
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