How Green Was My Valley

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1 hr. 58 min.

Drama

List

93%

88 Reviews

Tomatometer

81%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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).

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Critics Consensus

Nostalgic without becoming maudlin, this working-class drama is enlivened by a terrific cast and John Ford's ineffable directorial eye.

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Alejandro E

Inspired by the literary work, the story about the daily routine, and the many changes, in a Welsh community of miners, emits a scent of nostalgia that makes it a classic in its own right.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/06/24

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Grant H

Good but not great, and certainly not up there with Ford's classic The Grapes of Wrath. Episodic and without a core.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/08/24

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Alec B

It definitely needed to be longer but the movie remains a deeply sad nostalgia piece that's filled with surprising complexity.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/14/23

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Bob W

I'm a huge admirer of John Ford but this one just strikes me as treacly glorification of poverty. I'm definitely in the minority on this one so you should probably see it for yourself but, for me, this is near the bottom of the canon.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/22/23

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j F

Excellent movie, and the portrayal of the seemingly authentic life of a Welsh miner in the early 1900s was fascinating, and sad.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/15/23

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Sharon S

The reminiscing of Roddy McDowall's character in this film, to his childhood, set in the South Wales mining valleys is poignant. All the characters are beautifully acted though some of the Welsh accents are a tad dodgy. It is a film, but does depict the hard lives they lived and the way they were treated by the mining companies then and how Chapel was central to their lives. The singing of Calon Lan and Myfanwy, just made me cry. The film is full of every emotion.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/30/23

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John Ford

Director

Walter Pidgeon

Mr. Gruffydd, Village Preacher

Maureen O'Hara

Angharad Morgan, Eldest Daughter

Roddy McDowall

Huw Morgan, Youngest Son

Donald Crisp

Mr. Gwilym Morgan

Anna Lee

Bronwyn Morgan, Ivor's Wife

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

John Ford's much-honored movie about the decline of a Welsh mining family is moving and impressive in a big-Hollywood-picture way.

Jul 28, 2022

Full Review

Marjory Adams

Boston Globe

The drama is no "made up" tale, but a panoramic glimpse of the small joys, the unmeasurable needs, the many griefs of a whole countryside. It is a story of life that is no more, but it is also a drama of people in every community.

Jul 26, 2022

Full Review

Katherine Howard

Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com

It is a cinema masterpiece of rare beauty. It brings the same thrilling experience as reading a fine piece of poetry or looking at an exquisite painting. You feel that they have come from the heart.

Jul 26, 2022

Full Review

Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

Unfairly derided as one of the most undeserving Best Picture winners, John Ford's gorgeous, heartbreaking portrait of a Welsh coal-mining community represents the best sort of cinema.

Rated: 4.5/5

Sep 18, 2023

Full Review

Mark Johnson

Awards Daily

Core values, faith in God, and the importance of doing a good job well are at the center of this dreary and determined drama.

Jun 27, 2023

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Dilys Powell

Sunday Times (UK)

You cannot translate something you do not know in your bones. Ford has made a sincere and, as I say, moving film of How Green Was My Valley; but something of the salt and wildness of the people about whom Richard Llewellyn wrote is gone.

Aug 8, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

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).

Director: John Ford
Screenwriter: Philip Dunne
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 27, 1941, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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