Hollywood Goes Welsh: How Green Was My Valley and The Corn Is Green

Maureen O'Hara and Walter Pidgeon.

How Green Was My Valley (1941). One of John Ford's most beloved movies, How Green Was My Valley won five Academy Awards including Best Picture. It ranks #75 in the 2007 edition of the American Film Institute's 100 Years…100 Movies. In 1990, the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry, recognizing it as a "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant work."

The film follows Huw Morgan (Roddy McDowall) as he nostalgically recalls his childhood in a Welsh mining village, where his close‑knit family endures the hardships of dangerous coal‑pit labor, economic decline, and social upheaval. Through Huw’s eyes, the story traces the Morgans’ struggles with a miners’ strike, the fracturing of family unity, and the bittersweet passage from an idyllic green valley to an industrially scarred landscape.

Roddy McDowall.

His sister Angharad (Maureen O'Hara) falls in love with the village preacher, Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon), but social pressure pushes her into an unhappy marriage. Huw witnesses his brothers leave the valley in search of better opportunities as wages fall and the mines grow more perilous. He endures his own hardships at school, where he faces bullying before proving his resilience. The central figures in the story, though, are his hard-working father (Donald Crisp) and his steadfast mother (Sara Allgood).

There is much to admire in Ford's family saga, from its outstanding sets and cinematography to the performances of Crisp, Allgood, McDowall, and O'Hara. However, Philip Dunne's adaptation of Richard Llewellyn's 1939 bestseller tries to cram too much plot into the two-hour running time. Characters, such as Huw's charming sister-in-law Bron, are introduced and then ignored for long stretches. A subplot about a local choir performing for Queen Victoria is left hanging. After a long opening narration by the adult Huw, the closing narration feels rushed and incomplete. According to some sources, producer Daryl F. Zanuck originally intended to make a three-hour epic. I think that would have worked better in this case.

How Green Was My Valley is a very good John Ford picture, but I wouldn't rank it with his best. Ford’s most enduring achievements—The Quiet Man and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance among them—derive their strength from a concentrated attention to a handful of characters. These films reveal how much more incisive Ford becomes when he works on a smaller emotional canvas, rather than the sweeping, ensemble-driven mode of How Green Was My Valley.

Bette Davis as Miss Moffat.

The Corn Is Green (1945). Set in the late 19th century, The Corn Is Green stars Bette Davis as L.C. Moffat, a determined English schoolteacher who moves to a struggling Welsh mining village and opens a school. The story centers on her discovery of a young miner, Morgan Evans, whose academic potential is waiting to be unlocked. As Morgan transforms from an unrefined laborer into a promising scholar, the film highlights themes of social mobility, the power of education, and the personal sacrifices required to change a life.

Adapted from Emlyn Williams' 1938 stage play, which starred Ethel Barrymore on Broadway, The Corn Is Green is a Bette Davis vehicle in every sense of the term. She dominates her scenes with the same conviction that Miss Moffat brings to her role as local educator. It may not be Ms. Davis's most subtle performance, but it's a passionate one that propels the plot and themes effectively. It helps that she is surrounded by polished supporting players, three of whom reprise their roles from the Broadway production: Rhys Williams and Mildred Dunnock whose characters are recruited as teachers, and Rosalind Ivan, who plays Miss Moffat's housekeeper.

Joan Lorring.

However, the only members of the cast nominated for Oscars were John Dall (Supporting Actor) and Joan Lorring (Supporting Actress). The latter has the film's showiest role as the housekeeper's dissatisfied daughter whose selfish desires alter the lives of Miss Moffat and her protege. Lorring pulls off the part with conviction, reminding me a little of Bette Davis's similar performance in Of Human Bondage (1934). Sadly, it was her most notable role in an abbreviated screen movie career.

John Dall provides the necessary earnestness and conflict as Morgan. He shines in a scene in which he recounts to his teacher the simple joy of having an intelligent conversation with a fellow scholar. Still, Dall seems miscast at times. He was a last minute replacement for Richard Waring, who originated the part on Broadway, but entered the Army during World War II. At age 25, Dall looks too old to pass for a teenager (Waring was even older!). The stage-trained actor also sounds too articulate despite his attempts to sound blue-collar. 

Director Irving Rapper directs efficiently, making no attempt to "open up" the stage play adaptation. He worked frequently with friend Bette Davis. Their other collaborations include Shining Victory (1941), Now, Voyager (1942), Deception (1946), and Another Man's Poison (1952).

George Cukor directed Katharine Hepburn in a 1979 made-for-TV adaptation of The Corn Is Green. Five years earlier, Bette Davis starred in a 1974 pre-Broadway musical adaptation called Miss Moffat. It was set in the Southern U.S. with Moffat teaching a young Black man. It closed out of town, never reaching Broadway.

Thunderhead--Son of Flicka

Roddy McDowall.

In the 1940s, the biggest producer of children-and-animal films was MGM--not Disney. The studio knew it had a winning formula when the 1943 adaptation of Eric Knight's children classic, Lassie Come Home, blossomed into a boxoffice hit. An added bonus was that the biggest human star in Lassie was young Roddy McDowall, who had garnered fine reviews for a supporting role in How Green Was My Valley. With no large salaries to pay and low production costs (thanks to a lot of outdoor scenes), the studio had to be cheerfully counting its profits.

A Flicka suncatcher.

While MGM launched a Lassie series built around its canine star, Twentieth Century-Fox cast the likable McDowall in My Friend Flicka (1943), another boy-and-animal movie based on a bestseller. Adapted from Mary O'Hara's novel, Flicka told the story of ten-year-old Ken McLaughlin (McDowell), who lives on a Wyoming ranch with his parents and older brother. Ken, who struggles to gain acceptance in his father's eyes, convinces his parents to let him raise a colt. He picks a spirited sorrel filly that he names Flicka (Swedish for "girl"). With mustang in her bloodline, Flicka has a wild streak that almost results in her death--but Ken nurses her back to health. He and Flicka form a strong bond and Ken's father begins to recognize his son's inner strength.

When My Friend Flicka repeated Lassie Come Home's success, Fox rushed out a Flicka sequel the following year. Thunderhead--Son of Flicka again headlined McDowall, who was becoming a dependable young star. It opens with Ken, who is now 12, learning that Flicka is pregnant. It turns out that Ken paired up Flicka with Appalachia, an expensive race horse owned by a neighbor. Fortunately, when the neighbor finds out, he doesn't file a lawsuit against the McLaughlins. In fact, he lets Ken keep the spunky white colt, which is named Goblin.

Goblin grows into a stubborn horse that tries even Ken's patience. Meanwhile, a wild mustang known as The Albino, makes off with a couple of the McLaughlin mares. That doesn't sit well with Banner, the head horse of the McLaughlin herd. A showdown looms between Banner and The Albino, but where does Goblin--whom Ken's Mom had decided to rename Thunderhead--fit into the horsey hierarchy?

Thunderhead--Son of Flicka is a pretty-looking--but sloppy--sequel, a far cry from its quality predecessor. After bringing back most of Flicka's cast, Thunderhead gives them nothing to do. Heck, even Flicka pretty much disappears from the proceedings after Goblin is born. Despite McDowall's efforts, Ken is less likable this time around--spending the family's hard-earned money on a horse racing scheme and, as mentioned earlier, using Appalachia for free. Preston Foster and Rita Johnson, as Ken's parents, are saddled with inane dialogue ("Ken, be careful"). James Bell, as a ranch hand, comes off best (though I identify him so closely with The Leopard Man that it was hard to trust his character). 

That leaves Goblin--I mean, Thunderhead--to carry the film. He certainly is a handsome stallion and, once he figures out his destiny, shows surprising maturity. In fact, despite the film's flaws, I somehow found its ultimate resolution to be oddly satisfying. That doesn't justify the 70 minutes that led up to it, but at least it's a consolation prize.

MGM finished off Mary O'Hara Flicka trilogy with 1948's Green Grass of Wyoming, which replaced the entire cast from Thunderhead. Peggy Cummins stars as the protagonist, with Charles Coburn as her grandfather and Burl Ives as Gus. Thunderhead, now head of the wild mustang herd, plays a major role in this installment, too. Charles Clarke earned an Academy Award nomination for his cinematography in Green Grass of Wyoming.

The Flicka novels have remained popular over the years. A My Friend Flicka TV series appeared in 1956 and lasted a season. Tim McGraw starred in a 2006 film, simply called Flicka, which was loosely based on O'Hara's novel.

This review is part of the Classic Movie Horseathon hosted by My Love of Old Hollywood. Click here to view the full schedule of equine film reviews.