Home > How Green Was My Valley

The novel tells the story of the Morgans, a poor but respectable mining family of the South Wales valleys, through the eyes of the youngest son, Huw Morgan. Huw's academic ability sets him apart from his elder brothers and enables him to consider a future away from this troubled industrial environment. His four brothers and his father are miners; after the eldest brother, Ifor, is killed in an industrial accident , Huw moves in with his sister-in-law, Bronwen, with whom he is secretly in love. Later, Huw's father is also killed in the mine. Meanwhile, Huw's only sister, Angharad, catches the eye of a wealthy coal-owner, but the marriage is an unhappy one and she enters into a clandestine relationship with the local minister. The death of Huw's father, coupled with the realisation that Bronwen has no romantic interest in him, causes him to leave the valley. In the sequels to the novel, Huw emigrates and makes a new life in Patagonia.

The immensely successful 1941 film of the book had a cast which included Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee, Roddy McDowall (as Huw), and Barry Fitzgerald. None of the leading players were Welsh.

The film won five Oscars:

• Academy Award for Best Picture - Darryl F. Zanuck, producer
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor - Donald Crisp
• Academy Award for Best Art DirectionThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White - Richard Day , Nathan Juran , and Thomas Little
• Academy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is awarded each year to a cinematographer for his or her work in one particular motion picture. 1920s 1928 Sunrise 1929 White Shadows in the South Seas 1930s 1930 With Byrd at the South Pole 1931 Tabu: A Story of, Black-and-White - Arthur C. Miller
• Academy Award for DirectingThe Academy Award for Directing is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; the awards are voted on by other people within the industry. As is the customary practice in Wi - John Ford

It was also nominated for another five awards

• Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressThe Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. The winners - Sara Allgood
• Best Film Editing - James B. Clark
• Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture - Alfred NewmanAlfred Newman ( March 17, 1901 February 17, 1970) was a major American composer of music for films. He received 45 Academy Award nominations (a record in the music categories), winning 9 times; in 1940 he was nominated for 4 different films. He also compo
• Best Sound, Recording - Edmund H. Hansen
• Best Writing, Screenplay - Philip Dunne

The 1939 version has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film RegistryThe National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. The board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized in 1992.

The book was successfully adapted for televisionSee TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band Television is a telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance. The term has come to refer to all the aspects of television p during the 1970s by the BBC, with a script by Elaine Morgan. It starred Stanley Baker, Sian Phillips and Nerys Hughes .