by Chris Marshall:
If you’ve followed The Oscar Project so far, or if you’re
somewhat familiar with the early history of the Best Picture award, then you
might have realized that the winners up to this point have been predominately
focused on rich people. So far, only the two war films (Wings and All Quiet on the Western Front) and Mutiny on the Bounty have been primarily focused on non-wealthy protagonists.
In this sense, it was refreshing to see a movie that was about
characters who are, if not necessarily poor, at least somewhere near the lower
class. How Green Was My Valley
centers around a family of coal miners in Wales, particularly the youngest son,
played by Roddy McDowall, who you might know better as Caesar from Planet of the Apes.
Despite breaking socio-economic trends, it kept some others
going. It was the fourth of five consecutive winners based on either plays or
novels, and it stuck to the tradition of not using actors from the country the
movie is about. Only one Welsh actor was used for this film, and it was a minor
role. This resulted in some of the more bizarre accents I’ve heard. I’ll admit
that I’m not an expert on Welsh phonology, but I’ve never in my life heard
anybody talk like they do here.
It’s always risky to base a movie entirely around the
performance of young actors. For every gifted child actor, there are dozens
more who come across as hokey and unbelievable. McDowall , though not great, is
competent enough not to be distracting, and he’s vomit-inducingly cute enough
to keep you from holding his flaws against him. I kept expecting him to say “God
bless us, everyone!” every time he showed up on screen.
