
How Green Was My Valley
1941, Drama, 1h 58m
47 Reviews 5,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
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. Read critic reviews
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Where to watch
How Green Was My Valley Photos
Movie Info
Huw Morgan (Roddy McDowall), the academically inclined youngest son in a proud family of Welsh coal miners, witnesses the tumultuous events of his young life during a period of rapid social change. At the dawn of the 20th century, a miners' strike divides the Morgans: the sons demand improvements, and the father (Donald Crisp) doesn't want to rock the boat. Meanwhile, Huw's eldest sister, Angharad (Maureen O'Hara), pines for the new village preacher, Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon).
Cast & Crew
Walter Pidgeon
Mr. Gruffydd, Village Preacher
Mr. Gruffydd, Village Preacher
Maureen O'Hara
Angharad Morgan, Eldest Daughter
Angharad Morgan, Eldest Daughter
Roddy McDowall
Huw Morgan, Youngest Son
Huw Morgan, Youngest Son
Donald Crisp
Mr. Gwilym Morgan
Mr. Gwilym Morgan
Anna Lee
Bronwyn Morgan, Ivor's Wife
Bronwyn Morgan, Ivor's Wife
John Loder
Ianto Morgan
Ianto Morgan
Critic Reviews for How Green Was My Valley
Audience Reviews for How Green Was My Valley
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Aug 09, 2020John Ford, master raconteur, does have a particular affection for "remember how good it was in the old country" stories, and that affection does shine some here. Coal mining in Wales? Remember those good old days? And child labor? They don't make 'em like that anymore! As ever Ford's sweep of the tale brings it all off much better than it sounds. There might be a tear or two. And perhaps Walter Pidgeon's best film.Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
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Jun 13, 2016It definitely needed to be longer but the movie remains a deeply sad nostalgia piece that's filled with surprising complexity.Alec B Super Reviewer
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Oct 27, 2013A boy comes of age in a Welsh village. A sprawling, ambitious epic of a film, How Green Was My Valley wreaks of nostalgia, in the voice over, in the salt-of-the-earth characters, and the cursory treatment it gives its themes. While many of these nostalgia films achieve a universality, I found the characters ultimately unrealized and unexplored. For example, Angharad's love affair with the preacher, which is aborted by her marriage to an upper class man, is portrayed only slightly, and the next time we see her, she is miserable. But what about the interceding time? What about the preacher's life between then and now? Whereas a good epic like War and Peace leaves none of its main characters ignored, this one satisfies itself with episodic fragments. Overall, epics like this one are tricky, and I think director John Ford bit off more that he could chew.Jim H Super Reviewer
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Oct 18, 2013Slightly overrated film but it is a good depiction of life in a coal mining town. We get to see young Roddy McDowall before he started wearing chimpanzee makeup. Nice imagery for an early film. The valley is clearly very green..or not.John B Super Reviewer
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