A Favorite Flick: “How Green Was My Valley (1941)” (VIDEO)

This is one of my all time favorite old flicks.  It came out in 1941 and tells the sweeping story of the lives, loves and losses of a poor Welsh mining community.  The cast is one of the best ever in Hollywood with Donald Crisp as the crusty old Pa walking away with the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for 1941.

There is something so compelling to me about this movie.  It is a movie about an extended family.  Set against the grime and grit of a poor man's company town, the soundtrack soars with the haunting melodies of the men singing as they go to the coal mines and enter the center of the earth.

Beloved character actor Barry Fitzgerald was in a lot of bad movies but HE was never bad in any movie.  And that goes for this one!

Actor Roddy McDowell made his major film debut at age 12 in this film as young "Hew" Morgan.  The final gripping scene, focusing on the young actor as he rides up and out of the dark coal mine with his doomed family is simply unforgettable.

Oh,  and how good was this movie?  Well, consider this.  It won the Best Picture of the Year Oscar by beating out Citizen Kane!

I give the classic How Green Was My Valley four meatballs...my highest rating!  Find it, rent it, and enjoy it!