# How Green Was My Valley

> 1941 film by John Ford

**Wikidata**: [Q244448](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q244448)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Green_Was_My_Valley_(film))  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/how-green-was-my-valley

## Summary
How Green Was My Valley is a 1941 American drama film directed by John Ford, based on the 1939 novel of the same name by Richard Llewellyn. The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and is celebrated for its poignant portrayal of a Welsh coal-mining family’s struggles and the decline of their community. It is preserved in the National Film Registry for its cultural and historical significance.

## Key Facts
- **Director**: John Ford
- **Release Dates**: October 28, 1941 (New York City), January 29, 1942 (U.S. wide)
- **Awards**: 5 Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction)
- **Production Company**: 20th Century Studios
- **Based On**: Novel by Richard Llewellyn
- **Cast**: Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, Roddy McDowall, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp
- **Runtime**: 130 minutes
- **Aspect Ratio**: 1.37:1
- **Box Office**: $3.8 million (1941–1942)
- **National Film Registry**: Selected in 1990
- **Wikipedia Sitelinks**: 56 language editions
- **IMDb ID**: tt0033729
- **Wikidata Description**: "1941 film by John Ford"

## FAQs
**Who directed How Green Was My Valley and what awards did it win?**  
The film was directed by John Ford and won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, at the 14th Academy Awards in 1942. It also received honors from the National Board of Review and New York Film Critics Circle.

**What is the film’s historical and cultural significance?**  
The film is recognized for its vivid depiction of Welsh coal-mining communities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, addressing themes of industrialization, labor struggles, and familial bonds. It was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry in 1990.

**How does the film relate to John Ford’s career?**  
How Green Was My Valley marked John Ford’s fourth Best Director Oscar and solidified his reputation as a master of sentimental dramas. It contrasts with his Western genre works, showcasing his versatility in handling intimate, culturally rooted stories.

**What technical achievements is the film known for?**  
The film won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography (Arthur C. Miller) and Best Art Direction (Richard Day, Nathan Juran, Thomas Little). Its use of lighting and set design recreated Welsh villages and mines on California studio lots, earning critical acclaim for its visual authenticity.

## Why It Matters
How Green Was My Valley endures as a landmark of American cinema, offering a powerful exploration of community, identity, and the human cost of industrial progress. Its Academy Award success underscored its technical and narrative excellence, while its preservation in the National Film Registry ensures its legacy as a cultural artifact. The film’s universal themes of family, loss, and resilience continue to resonate with audiences, making it a timeless work in John Ford’s filmography and a key representation of 1940s Hollywood storytelling.

## Notable For
- **Academy Award Dominance**: Won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, in 1942.
- **Cultural Preservation**: Selected for the National Film Registry in 1990 for its historical and aesthetic significance.
- **Artistic Craftsmanship**: Renowned for its cinematography and art direction, which recreated Welsh landscapes on studio sets.
- **Thematic Depth**: Explores labor rights, environmental degradation, and the erosion of traditional ways of life during industrialization.
- **John Ford’s Career Highlight**: Represents a peak in Ford’s dramatic storytelling, distinct from his Westerns like *Stagecoach* and *The Searchers*.
- **Influence on Filmmaking**: Inspired later period dramas and studies of working-class life, such as *The Coal Miner’s Daughter* (1980).

## Body

### Production and Release
- **Director**: John Ford, known for his meticulous attention to detail, directed the film as a departure from his typical Western genre.
- **Screenplay**: Adapted by Philip Dunne from Richard Llewellyn’s novel, the script focuses on the Morgan family through the eyes of young Huw (Roddy McDowall).
- **Cast**: Featured Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, and Donald Crisp, with Crisp winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
- **Filming Locations**: Primarily shot at 20th Century Studios in Burbank, California, with sets designed to mimic Welsh mining villages.
- **Release**: Premiered in New York City on October 28, 1941, with a wide U.S. release on January 29, 1942.

### Awards and Recognition
- **Academy Awards (1942)**: Won Best Picture (Darryl F. Zanuck), Best Director (John Ford), Best Supporting Actor (Donald Crisp), Best Cinematography (Arthur C. Miller), and Best Art Direction (Richard Day, Nathan Juran, Thomas Little).
- **National Board of Review (1941)**: Named one of the Top Ten Films of the year.
- **New York Film Critics Circle (1941)**: Awarded Best Film and Best Director.
- **National Film Registry (1990)**: Selected by the Library of Congress for preservation.

### Themes and Legacy
- **Industrialization and Labor**: Depicts the harsh realities of coal mining and the exploitation of workers, reflecting broader societal tensions of the early 20th century.
- **Cultural Heritage**: Preserves Welsh traditions and dialects, though filmed in California, highlighting the immigrant experience in America.
- **Family Dynamics**: Explores generational conflicts, such as the tension between the patriarchal Gwilym Morgan (Walter Pidgeon) and his children.
- **Environmental Commentary**: Foreshadows modern concerns about industrialization’s impact on nature and community.

### Technical Specifications
- **Runtime**: 130 minutes (2 hours 10 minutes).
- **Aspect Ratio**: 1.37:1 (Academy ratio), standard for films of the era.
- **Cinematography**: Arthur C. Miller’s work emphasized high-contrast lighting to evoke the gloom of mining environments and the warmth of domestic scenes.
- **Soundtrack**: Composed by Alfred Newman, featuring leitmotifs for key characters and choral arrangements of Welsh folk songs.

### Box Office and Reception
- **Box Office**: Grossed $3.8 million domestically during its initial release, making it one of 1942’s top-grossing films.
- **Critical Response**: Praised by *The New York Times* for its “magnificent” performances and “stirring” direction, though some critics noted its melodramatic tone.
- **Cultural Impact**: Reinforced John Ford’s status as a leading American filmmaker and solidified 20th Century Studios’ reputation for prestige dramas.

### Related Entities
- **20th Century Studios**: Produced the film during its golden age of storytelling, under head of production Darryl F. Zanuck.
- **Academy Awards**: The film’s five wins contributed to the Oscars’ growing prestige in the 1940s.
- **National Film Registry**: Its inclusion reflects its enduring relevance as a document of industrial history and family life.
- **John Ford’s Filmography**: Stands alongside *The Grapes of Wrath* (1940) as a highlight of Ford’s social dramas, distinct from his Westerns.

## References

1. [Source](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033729/)
2. [Source](http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=1594.html)
3. [Source](http://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film976373.html)
4. [Source](http://www.ofdb.de/film/19556,Schlagende-Wetter)
5. [Source](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033729/fullcredits)
6. Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze
7. [Source](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1942)
8. The Movie Database
9. [Source](https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/)
10. MusicBrainz
11. How Green Was My Valley. Rotten Tomatoes
12. [IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033729/releaseinfo/)
13. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
14. [IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033729/technical/)
15. Kinopoisk
16. mymovies.it
17. Bechdel Test Movie List
18. [Source](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/83628)
19. Film & Video Labelling Body
20. Trakt.tv
21. FilmVandaag.nl