Qu'elle était verte ma vallée

Vintage and memorable film and one of Ford and Maureen O'Hara's best. This tearjerker tale of a Welsh's valley's turn of the century family from a coal mining region . It is told in flashback by a voice-in-off carried out by Huw Morgan (Roddy McDowall) who has decided to leave the valley forever . As he remembers back to his growing up period, when the dust from the coal mines, his family , mirths and distresses . Huw (played by a 13-year-old Roddy McDowall) is the youngest in a family composed by parents (Donald Crisp , Sara Allgood) and 6 brothers (John Loder, Patrick Knowles, among others) and one sister (Maureen O'Hara) who falls in love with the new preacher, Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon) , who had a slightly different view of his relationship with her, and which would end up destroying his life in the valley. Rich is their humor! Deep are their passions! Reckless are their lives! Mighty is their story! Millions Have Read This Great Novel... Millions more will see an even greater picture!

Stunning and sensitive tale about tribulations and trial of a Welsh mining family from the youthful perspective of the youngest child , marvelously played bt the agreeable prodigy child Roddy MacDowall who had subsequently a long career as a great secondary actor . This dramatic film contains interesting characters , full of good feeling and tragic moments . This classic , sturdy picture ranks as one of the most sentimental of John Ford's work . It contains Ford's usual themes as familiar feeling , religion , friendship , sacrifice , sense of comradeship among people and ample shots on the mining village .It is a hight-spirited tale , being one of Ford's finest movies with a marvelous fresh-air feeling . Thought-provoking , enjoyable screenplay portraying in depth characters and brooding events with interesting issues running beneath script surface .In the forties , Ford won-back-to-back Best Director Oscars for two more classics he made at Fox, the screen adaptations of future Nobel laureate John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic Grapes of the wrath (1940) in 1941, and of Richard Llewellyn's memoir of his youth in the coal-mining region of Wales, this How Green was my valley (1941) . Adequate production design that achieved a deserved Oscar , buit by Richard Day and Nathan Juran , 160 builders took six months to construct Richard Day's elaborate set design. The studio brought in blocks of coal weighing over a ton apiece for the construction of the mines. To create the impression that coal slag covered the landscape in the opening and closing scenes, John Ford had the hillside painted black. This magnificent film featuring a magnificent performance by the whole casting , including a top-notch support cast such as Anna Lee , John Loder , Sara Allgood ,Barry FitzGerald , Rhys Williams ,Frederick Worlock , Ann Todd , Richard Fraser and Arthur Shields .There is another rendition about this classic story made in 1975 by Ronald Wilson (6 episodes, 1975-1976) with Stanley Baker , Siân Phillips , Mike Gwilym , Gareth Thomas .

Beautifully cinematographed by Arthur Miller in black and while , plenty of lights and shades . Evocative and sensitive musical score by Alfred Newman . The picture was magnificently directed by John Ford . John Ford often referred to this film as his favorite. In the 1940s, Ford won-back-to-back Best Director Oscars for two more classics he made at Fox, the screen adaptations of future Nobel laureate John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic The grapes of the wrath (1940) in 1941, and of Richard Llewellyn's memoir of his youth in the coal-mining region of Wales, ¡Qué verde era mi valle! (1941) . the mid-1940s, after working in many genres, Ford began to focus on Westerns again, beginning with My Darling Clementine (1946), one of the classics of the genre. Many of his Westerns featured John Wayne, whom he had first worked with on Stagecoach (1939) and who became a superstar in Howard Hawks' classic oater Río Rojo (1948). Wayne appeared in Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), and Río Grande (1950), the famous "Cavalry Trilogy." Along with "My Darling Clementine," Ford was plumbing the nature of American myth-making, and the creation of history as an historical narrative, that is, the re-creation of history John Ford created so many classic Westerns that he began to be associated with the genre. It's interesting to note that from 1950 through 1959, he made only one Western, the classic The searchers (1956), one of the greatest examples of the genre. Starting with Horse soldiers (1959) which he made for the Mirisch Co. at the end of the decade, six of his last eight completed movies were Westerns, including his last masterpiece, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." rating : Above average , 8 .

The story is told by an adult who remembers his childhood:Roddy McDowall gives a very sensitive performance in this part,he's simply the best actor of a topflight cast (to think that nowadays McDowall is remembered by the young generations mainly for his part of Cornelius the ape)All the scenes which involve the boy are simply wonderful,particularly the one with the daffodils (it 'd have been shot in color!),and the one with his father in his arms at the end.John Ford ,as usual , is a master when it comes to depict a small community who's got to stand together to survive.And he does not spare us the tragedies ,the bigotry ,the slander,but he adds humor,joie de vivre (the men,turning their nose on tea and wanting beer).

But sometimes it seems too good to be true:the boss's offspring marrying a miner's daughter,even when she's a beauty like Maureen O'Hara?The boss asking the poor father's permission?We are far from Emile Zola's "Germinal" :both stories happen about during the same era ,both with the miners' life both are radically different.Zola's world is a bleak,desperate world ,his depiction of the families' houses and meals (when there is food) and the pictures of Ford's movie are worlds apart.But the biggest difference is the omnipresence of the Lord's will:in "how green" the minister is a cool young handsome man (Pidgeon),in "Germinal" ,the priest's only a silhouette,but a selfish cruel one,unconcerned to man's plight:Zola's miners do not put their trust in a God anymore .

Wales and the east of France ,were they that much different?You can only say they were novels and movies,and reality is probably somewhere between them.

This movie tugged at my heart strings like few others. I was thoroughly immersed in the lives of the Morgans and found myself especially drawn to young Huw's trials, tribulations, and triumphs. The scene where he taps his fork twice and sneezes before he is acknowledged by his father was poignant beyond belief. Despite the hardships and tragedies there is also warmth and humor such as when family friends of the Morgans visit the schoolmaster after he had been especially harsh with Huw. The romantic aspect of the film is also well done by its primary principles, Angharad and the pastor. All in all the films does a magnificent job of capturing the lives of a family in a bygone time and place. There is no doubt that this is a great film and the fact that it beat out the likes of Citizen Kane for Best Picture is a testament to that fact. 9/10.

This film's legacy has been funneled down to "The Film That Shouldn't Have Beat Citizen Kane at the Oscars." This is a massive shame...yes, it skirts the technical experimentation and rampant cynicism of Kane, but it's sappy sentimentalism and moments of sweet humor are what make its more bitter critique of impersonal progress even more affecting. Ford was truly a master; he creates such a sense of place and community in this small mining town, and your heart breaks for their loss of innocence.

This movie is a little long at times, but this is still a powerful story about the many stories that came out of the coal mining families in Wales, Great Britain. One of the top aspects of the movie is the cinematography, under the direction of John Ford. It is very effective. You can just feel the grime and dirt of the mines and cobblestone town. It looks really good now that's it out on DVD.

Walter Pigeon is the likable minister, and lead character, "Mr. Gruffydd." He's likable because he doesn't judge people as the head deacon does. The latter is portrayed ludicrously by Barry Fitzgerald, much to the delight of secular-minded film critics, who loved his performance. Nonetheless, there is a lot of "religion" pictured positively in this film, a lot of spiritual scenes and most were done well.

Roddy McDowell plays the most memorable character, I thought: "Huw," a young boy who went through some really tough times, as did most of the townsfolk.

If you are used to modern films, be warned this film does drag in spots. It is a fine movie, to be sure, and a powerful and emotional story.