How Green Was My Valley (1941)

Another of the films I caught on the big screen during Maureen O'Hara's recent birthday bash celebration is How Green Was My Valley.  It's hard to believe that upon my first viewing of this film five or six years ago, I quite disliked it.  I wasn't so bored by it that I needed to turn it off, and I certainly didn't hate it, but it was definitely in the "2-star, hard to get through" category for me.  I found it excessively tedious and horribly depressing, and for the life of me, I couldn't understand how in the world it had come away with the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1941.  What a difference a few years makes (or perhaps I should say, "a few generations"), for last week's viewing of that Oscar-winning film was seen through new eyes (or maybe I should say "old" eyes). Deeply and powerfully moved, I loved the film and, without question, moved it to 5-star status.

Directed by John Ford, How Green Was My Valley is a period drama with the terrific ensemble cast of Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Donald Crisp, Sara Allgood, Patric Knowles, Anna Lee, John Loder, Barry Fitzgerald, and a very young Roddy McDowall. Nominated for ten Academy Awards, and coming away with the win in five categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Supporting Actor for Mr. Crisp, this heart-tugging film is based on Richard Llewellyn's novel of the same name.

Set in Wales in the late 1800's, How Green Was My Valley is the story of the Morgan family, who live in a small coal mining village.  Family patriarch (Donald Crisp) and his five older sons all work in the local mine at a time when change is on the horizon.  With wages being cut and workers being dismissed, the Morgan sons intend to get involved in the newly-forming unions---a fact which does not sit well with their father.

On the homefront are matriarch Beth (Sara Allgood), daughter Angharad (Maureen O'Hara), son Ivor's wife, Bronwyn (Anna Lee), and young son, Hugh (Roddy McDowall).  Although father and mother bicker regularly, there is deep devotion between them.  Angharad and the local preacher (Walter Pidgeon) have fallen in love; however, not wanting to subject her to the difficult life of a preacher's wife, he steadfastly refuses to marry her.  Young Hugh, after overcoming a near-paralyzing accident, enrolls in a nearby school, where he is regularly taunted and beaten up.  As providing for a family through the mill grows ever more difficult, some of the Morgan sons make the decision to leave Wales behind and to head for America. The remainder of the film chronicles the joys and heartbreaks of this loving, hardworking family.




There is very little that is feel-good about this film.  Quite honestly, it's rather depressing.  But it's well acted, especially by Donald Crisp, Sara Allgood, Maureen O'Hara, and Roddy McDowall. The cinematography is fantastic (and Oscar-winning), quite capturing the gritty harshness of a coal miner's life. Additionally, it's an incredibly heart-tugging story, and I found myself moved to tears on several occasions, all because I identify with it in a deep, powerful, and very personal way---something I did not do when I first watched this film in the mid 2000's.

In the last two years, I have gotten heavily into genealogy, and I have discovered that I, too, have a coal mining heritage.  One of my great-grandfathers and at least five of my 2nd and 3rd-great-grandfathers (as well as several great-grand-uncles) were lifelong coal miners.  While most of them worked in the United States, one of them also mined in England, before immigrating to America in the 1880's. Since the area of England from which he hailed was very close to the northern border of Wales, Donald Crisp's character could easily have been my grandfather, and through most of the film, that is how I saw him. As Mr. Morgan watched his sons leave their homeland and head to America, I pictured my ancestor getting on a ship with his younger children, while leaving his older children and deceased wife behind in England (knowing they would be buried on different continents). Beyond that particular grandfather, one of my other 2nd-greats was killed in a mine accident, and the mine fatalities in the film served to remind me of him; though I never knew that man, his blood runs in my veins. How could I not think of him---and the life he gave up mining coal. The scenes in which the anxious family members hover around the mine opening, awaiting news of those trapped below, affected me deeply and I was very nearly sobbing, as I thought of my relatives who endured similar situations. For those reasons, this film was very personal to me, enabling me to see it through fresh eyes and quite touching my heart. Depressing or not, it is a powerful, deeply moving story.

Out on DVD, How Green Was My Valley should be easy to track down. Additionally, it is on the TCM schedule for Saturday, November 2nd, at 8:00 p.m. (ET).  I hope you get a chance to see it, because it is well worth viewing.

Happy viewing!

These Wilder Years (4 stars)

With July being James Cagney and Barbara Stanwyck month here at They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To, I thought it would be appropriate to review the only pairing of those two amazing stars---1956's These Wilder Years, a drama which features Walter Pidgeon and Betty Lou Keim in supporting roles.

Back in 1936, college student Steven Bradford (James Cagney) impregnated his girlfriend, and when he refused to marry her, the little boy she bore was given up for adoption.  Now, 20 years later, having gotten older and lonely, Bradford is on a quest to locate that son and, therefore, makes a trip to the small-town orphanage which handled the adoption.  Used to getting his way, the wealthy businessman first begins his quest at the desk of agency director, Ann Dempster (Barbara Stanwyck), but she assures him that adoption laws are strict and that she will not break them to accommodate Mr. Bradford.  For his part, Bradford maintains that the boy is his son and that no one has the right to keep him away from him...except the boy himself.

While at the agency, Steve makes the acquaintance of Susie (Betty Lou Keim), a sweet 16-year old pregnant girl.  When a couple arrives at the agency to pick up the child they will be adopting, Susie is greatly affected and cannot stop weeping.  Though Steve attempts to comfort the girl, she is grieved because the day of giving away her own baby is drawing near, and she knows she will never get over losing the child.  Because he, too, longs for a child who was given up, Steve understands Susie's feelings, and the two of them form a father/daughter kind of relationship.

Although Steve tells Miss Dempster that he's not looking for the child to take something away from him but rather to give to him all that he has accomplished through the years, the agency director will not be swayed.  She reminds Steve that the boy has parents who have raised him and that it would wrong to try to jump into his life at this late juncture.  Finally, in desperation, Steve gets his lawyer (Walter Pidgeon) involved, and Ann Dempster is taken to court.  However, will Steve, who has begun to like and respect that lady, allow her to be held in contempt of court for not relinquishing the records?  And will Ann, who, likewise, respects and likes Steve, change her mind and reveal the whereabouts of the long-lost son?  How it all plays out is the balance of the film.




First and foremost, I must say that I wish Mr. Cagney and Miss Stanwyck had made more than just this one film together.  They were both terrific in dramatic roles, and I think they would have made a completely sensational team!!  While Miss Stanwyck is her usual solid self here, the film really is James Cagney's, and, as always, he plays it perfectly!  He was completely stellar in this role; in fact, given that he was highly out of character, I think it is actually one of his best performances.  (However, being totally honest, I think Mr. Cagney always gave a "best" performance...he could well be the most brilliant actor there has ever been.)  In this film, he shows a bit of a soft, vulnerable side...and he did it beautifully.  I loved the interaction between him and the young girl, Susie.  It's not often James Cagney plays paternal, so the opportunity to see him in that light, makes this film extra special.

Mr. Cagney and his wife were adoptive parents themselves (having adopted a son and a daughter), so I wonder if that made this film a bit more personal to him than some of his other films?  Regardless, These Wilder Years is a sweet, touching, mildly heart-tugging film, which I believe all James Cagney fans will want to see.

The film is not out on DVD, and I do not believe it is on YouTube either, so it may be hard to track down. Do keep your eyes open for it, though, as I think it is a very worthwhile film.

Happy viewing!!

Stronger Than Desire (3 stars)

Stonger Than Desire, from 1939, is a crime/mystery drama starring Walter Pidgeon and Virginia Bruce, with Lee Bowman and Ann Dvorak taking on co-starring roles.  It is virtually identical to 1934's Evelyn Prentice, my favorite William Powell/Myrna Loy film.  In fact, I turned on the TV at one point and said to myself, "Oh, this must be a remake of Evelyn Prentice."  The storyline was exactly the same, and even some of the lines were identical...in my mind I could hear both Loy and Powell in many of the things Bruce and Pidgeon said. 

The names were different from Evelyn Prentice.  In this film, Walter Pidgeon's character, a prominent defense attorney, is Tyler Flagg.  His wife, Elizabeth, weary of his workaholic ways, misses spending time with him.  One evening, while Tyler is with a client and she is at a club with friends, Elizabeth catches the eye of married ladies' man, Michael McLain (Lee Bowman).  McLain makes it a point to garner an introduction to Elizabeth, and the two begin spending time together...on a strictly platonic basis.

Meanwhile, Tyler's latest client begins to put the moves on him, even following him on a trip to Boston.  When it appears to Elizabeth that Tyler is having an affair with his client, she is devastated; hurt, she continues spending time with Michael.  Ultimately, though, Elizabeth comes to believe that her relationship with Michael ought not to be; although they aren't doing anything wrong, she doesn't think they should continue to see each other.  Michael, however, sees dollar signs in their relationship, and he sets out to blackmail her about some letters she had written to him.  The only recourse Elizabeth has is to shoot him, a crime for which Michael's wife (Ann Dvorak) goes to trial.

And that, my friends, is where I will leave off.  To find out anything more, you will have to watch this film.  As I said, it's nearly exactly like Evelyn Prentice, which I reviewed HERE.  Why not watch both films and see which one you prefer.

Happy viewing!!