Donald Crisp

British actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Donald Crisp as "Gwilym Morgan", on the right, Irish actress Maureen O'Hara as "Angharad Morgan", in the centre, and Irish actress Sara Allgood as "Mrs. Beth Morgan", on the left, in John Ford's film drama set in Wales, 'How Green Was My Valley' (1941), for which Donald Crisp won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The screenplay, written by Philip Dunne, was adapted from the bestselling 1939 novel of the same name by Richard Llewellyn, and the film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck for 20th Century Fox studios.

The film also features Canadian actor Walter Pidgeon as "Mr. Gruffydd", pastor of the village chapel, British actors Patric Knowles as "Ivor Morgan", Anna Lee as "Bronwen", Ivor's wife, John Loder as "Ianto Morgan", Morton Lowry as "Mr. Jonas", the school teacher, Ethel Griffies as "Mrs. Nicholas" , a housekeeper, Lionel Pape as "Mr. Evans", Frederick Worlock as "Dr. Richards", and a very young Roddy McDowall as "Huw Morgan". Also performing in the movie are Irish actors Barry Fitzgerald as "Cyfartha", a boxing manager and Arthur Shields as "Mr. Parry", a deacon, Welsh actor Rhys Williams as "Dai Bando", a boxer, and Scottish actor Richard Fraser as "Davy Morgan".

The film tells the story of the Morgans, a hard-working Welsh mining family, from the point of view of the youngest child Huw, who lives with his affectionate and kind parents as well as his sister and five brothers, in the South Wales Valleys during the late Victorian era. The story chronicles life in the South Wales coalfields, the loss of that way of life, and its effects on the family.

The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning five. In addition to Donald Crisp's win for Best Supporting Actor, the film famously beat 'Citizen Kane', 'Sergeant York', and 'The Maltese Falcon' for Best Picture, John Ford won for Best Director, Arthur Miller for Best Cinematography, and Richard Day, Nathan H. Juran, and Thomas Little for Best Black and White Art Direction and Interior Decoration. In 1990, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The Academy Film Archive preserved 'How Green Was My Valley' in 1998. (From Wikipedia).

Donald Crisp appeared in movies from the very early days of silent films in 1908 up until 1963. Remembering the great British actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Donald Crisp (27th July, 1882 – 25th May, 1974).