How Green Was My Valley (1941)
When you’ve got Maureen O’Hara, Donald Crisp, and Barry Fitzgerald all in the same movie, you know it’s going to take place in Ireland. How Green Was My Valley, a classic epic that swept at both the Academy and Rag Awards, is one of the most beloved Irish classics of all time—except it’s isn’t Irish! It’s supposed to take place in Wales!
Donald Crisp is the strict but respectful patriarch of the poor, hardworking Welch family. His children include Maureen O’Hara, Roddy McDowell, Richard Fraser, Patric Knowles, and John Loder. After starting out directing silent films and gradually working way to becoming a very popular character actor, Donald won Best Supporting Actor for his role in this movie. However, when you watch the movie, you’ll struggle to figure out why he was placed in the supporting category, when he and his wife Sara Allgood are clearly the leads. At the Rags, we placed both the patriarch and matriarch in their correct categories. Sara took home a Rag for Best Actress, and her incredible realism in the role makes you think she wasn’t an actress, but instead a local mother director John Ford found during filming and asked to read some lines. She personifies the roles of wife and mother during that time period, but when you see her sharing special moments with Donald, you can still see them as they were decades earlier, as young sweethearts.
Included in the supporting cast, and garnering a Rag Award of his own, is Walter Pidgeon. The versatile actor is a man of the cloth in this one, and while he gives fiery sermons, he’s far more cautious with his personal life. He and Maureen O’Hara are in love, but Pidge doesn’t want to enter into a courtship for fear of ruining her life with poverty. Their sweet, innocent chemistry is so touching, adding just one more Kleenex to the pile you’ll use up during this epic tear-jerker. If you happen to have a heart of stone and the story doesn’t get to you, Alfred Newman’s music will surely tug on your heartstrings. His themes in this movie are some of my favorite of all time, and we were very happy to give him his fourth nomination and second win.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Maureen O'Hara movies here!
Donald Crisp is the strict but respectful patriarch of the poor, hardworking Welch family. His children include Maureen O’Hara, Roddy McDowell, Richard Fraser, Patric Knowles, and John Loder. After starting out directing silent films and gradually working way to becoming a very popular character actor, Donald won Best Supporting Actor for his role in this movie. However, when you watch the movie, you’ll struggle to figure out why he was placed in the supporting category, when he and his wife Sara Allgood are clearly the leads. At the Rags, we placed both the patriarch and matriarch in their correct categories. Sara took home a Rag for Best Actress, and her incredible realism in the role makes you think she wasn’t an actress, but instead a local mother director John Ford found during filming and asked to read some lines. She personifies the roles of wife and mother during that time period, but when you see her sharing special moments with Donald, you can still see them as they were decades earlier, as young sweethearts.
Included in the supporting cast, and garnering a Rag Award of his own, is Walter Pidgeon. The versatile actor is a man of the cloth in this one, and while he gives fiery sermons, he’s far more cautious with his personal life. He and Maureen O’Hara are in love, but Pidge doesn’t want to enter into a courtship for fear of ruining her life with poverty. Their sweet, innocent chemistry is so touching, adding just one more Kleenex to the pile you’ll use up during this epic tear-jerker. If you happen to have a heart of stone and the story doesn’t get to you, Alfred Newman’s music will surely tug on your heartstrings. His themes in this movie are some of my favorite of all time, and we were very happy to give him his fourth nomination and second win.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Maureen O'Hara movies here!
Hot Toasty Rag Awards:
Best Picture of 1941
Best Director: John Ford
Best Actress: Sara Allgood
Best Supporting Actor: Walter Pidgeon
Best Dramatic Screenplay
Best Musical Score: Alfred Newman
Hot Toasty Rag Nominations:
Best Actor: Donald Crisp
Best Supporting Actress: Maureen O'Hara