Director: John Ford
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Top Billed Actors: Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee
Won 5 Oscars:
Outstanding Motion Picture - 20th Century-Fox
Best Director: John Ford
Best Supporting Actor - Donald Crisp
Best Art Direction - Interior Decoration, Black-and-White - Art Direction: Richard Day and Nathan H. Juran; Interior Decoration: Thomas Little
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White - Arthur Miller
Nominated for 5 more:
Best Supporting Actress - Sara Allgood
Best Screenplay - Philip Dunne
Best Scoring of a Dramatic Picture - Alfred Newman
Best Sound Recording - E. H. Hansen
Best Film Editing - James B. Clark
Plot: A working class family in a coal mine town takes down the greatest film ever made.
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Top Billed Actors: Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee
Won 5 Oscars:
Outstanding Motion Picture - 20th Century-Fox
Best Director: John Ford
Best Supporting Actor - Donald Crisp
Best Art Direction - Interior Decoration, Black-and-White - Art Direction: Richard Day and Nathan H. Juran; Interior Decoration: Thomas Little
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White - Arthur Miller
Nominated for 5 more:
Best Supporting Actress - Sara Allgood
Best Screenplay - Philip Dunne
Best Scoring of a Dramatic Picture - Alfred Newman
Best Sound Recording - E. H. Hansen
Best Film Editing - James B. Clark
Plot: A working class family in a coal mine town takes down the greatest film ever made.
Let's get it out of the way early - How Green Was My Valley (1941) is the film that took down Citizen Kane (1941) for Best Picture. I will try not to vilify it for this nor compare the two on each aspect; this whole Project is predicated on going back and selecting my personal Best Picture winners in each given year so this will only be one of many the Academy "got wrong." But let's be happy for John Ford who ties the record for Best Director wins with three. He later broke the record with his fourth win and that still holds up today. He is also the first person to win this category in consecutive years. And in a category that typically mirrors the Best Picture winner, this is curiously the only Ford Best Director win to win both. Ford wasn't the original director to be assigned this film. William Wyler had intentions to film on location in Wales and in color. But with World War II heating up, the location was moved to California and Wyler went off to shoot The Little Foxes (1941). To simulate the valleys of Wales, an 80-acre site was faithfully constructed, complete with black-painted hills to convey the accumulation of soot. I've read some notes that a reason this was shot in black-and-white is that the flowers in California are not the same color as the foliage overseas. However, with this being on an elaborate artificial set, I think the decision was made for them. It paid off as this film won two visual technical awards in Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.
I can't in good conscience claim that this film should have won these awards against the likes of Citizen Kane but I can in good conscience praise these aspects. First and foremost, the set design is incredible and I can't fathom how much effort went into constructing this coal mine town. When the whole hill leading up to the coal mine is in the shot, complete with houses and hundreds of workers, the visuals take my breath away. If I had to yield one of these Awards the film actually won, Art Direction would be my pick. The interiors are also noteworthy in that the ceilings are usually in the frame, giving us a sense of both suffocation (when things are going poorly) as well as homeliness (when there are upbeat vibes). The film does an excellent job at shifting how these small houses feel depending on the context and that's another point in the Art Direction and Cinematography categories. The music also gives the film some points. The score by Alfred Newman is obviously grand but nothing puts us in Victorian-era Wales like authentic Welsh singing. I had no idea what they were singing but anytime the entire village would band together and break out in a heart song, I sat back and soaked it in graciously. I also want to praise the two actors with the nominations, Donald Crisp (who plays the father) and Sara Allgood (who plays the mother). The Academy seems to always reward the elderly performers with these Supporting categories but these were clearly well deserved. Crisp's stern and stubborn nature pairs so nicely with Allgood's yearning and loving complexion. I wouldn't necessarily want these two as my own parents but they are such a strong foundation for the whole narrative.
There is a reason I wouldn't want these two as parents. I know this is a period piece and this is how parents would act in that era, but the strictness and old-fashioned ideals frustrated me throughout. This guy has his 30-year-old sons at the dinner table not even able to speak. He also condemns socialism (after unions are discussed) mere moments after pooling the family's money and redistributing it. Over time, I do warm up to him but I really didn't care for his staunch ideology being presented as a romantic way of life gone by. This is just a personal tick of mine as old people unable to change their ways always frustrates me. Ultimately, the film is pro-union so it's not all a lost cause. A couple of other oddities in the script include the young Roddy McDowell calling his father "da da" and the over-the-top diatribes by the head deacon at the church, who likes to publicly shame people in the chapel. If the film tries to get my blood to boil in these moments, then it succeeds. The structure of the story confuses me in certain sequences. For the most part, we are peering into the memories of Huw (McDowell) so most of the picture is from his point of view. However, there is a side romantic plot concerning his sister and the preacher which includes scenes in which Huw is nowhere to be found. I guess he could be extrapolating what happens in these moments but I would have liked a little more consistency with the composition of the screenplay.
Overall, a gorgeously constructed set that visually puts you in Victorian-era Wales along with a collection of authentic songs that does the same thing aurally makes this a picture to behold. Donald Crisp is the head and Sara Allgood is the heart of this working class, soot-covered family.
My Score: 7/10
I can't in good conscience claim that this film should have won these awards against the likes of Citizen Kane but I can in good conscience praise these aspects. First and foremost, the set design is incredible and I can't fathom how much effort went into constructing this coal mine town. When the whole hill leading up to the coal mine is in the shot, complete with houses and hundreds of workers, the visuals take my breath away. If I had to yield one of these Awards the film actually won, Art Direction would be my pick. The interiors are also noteworthy in that the ceilings are usually in the frame, giving us a sense of both suffocation (when things are going poorly) as well as homeliness (when there are upbeat vibes). The film does an excellent job at shifting how these small houses feel depending on the context and that's another point in the Art Direction and Cinematography categories. The music also gives the film some points. The score by Alfred Newman is obviously grand but nothing puts us in Victorian-era Wales like authentic Welsh singing. I had no idea what they were singing but anytime the entire village would band together and break out in a heart song, I sat back and soaked it in graciously. I also want to praise the two actors with the nominations, Donald Crisp (who plays the father) and Sara Allgood (who plays the mother). The Academy seems to always reward the elderly performers with these Supporting categories but these were clearly well deserved. Crisp's stern and stubborn nature pairs so nicely with Allgood's yearning and loving complexion. I wouldn't necessarily want these two as my own parents but they are such a strong foundation for the whole narrative.
There is a reason I wouldn't want these two as parents. I know this is a period piece and this is how parents would act in that era, but the strictness and old-fashioned ideals frustrated me throughout. This guy has his 30-year-old sons at the dinner table not even able to speak. He also condemns socialism (after unions are discussed) mere moments after pooling the family's money and redistributing it. Over time, I do warm up to him but I really didn't care for his staunch ideology being presented as a romantic way of life gone by. This is just a personal tick of mine as old people unable to change their ways always frustrates me. Ultimately, the film is pro-union so it's not all a lost cause. A couple of other oddities in the script include the young Roddy McDowell calling his father "da da" and the over-the-top diatribes by the head deacon at the church, who likes to publicly shame people in the chapel. If the film tries to get my blood to boil in these moments, then it succeeds. The structure of the story confuses me in certain sequences. For the most part, we are peering into the memories of Huw (McDowell) so most of the picture is from his point of view. However, there is a side romantic plot concerning his sister and the preacher which includes scenes in which Huw is nowhere to be found. I guess he could be extrapolating what happens in these moments but I would have liked a little more consistency with the composition of the screenplay.
Overall, a gorgeously constructed set that visually puts you in Victorian-era Wales along with a collection of authentic songs that does the same thing aurally makes this a picture to behold. Donald Crisp is the head and Sara Allgood is the heart of this working class, soot-covered family.
My Score: 7/10