14. How Green Was My Valley (1941)

Director: John Ford

Starring: Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara

Other Oscar Wins: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Donald Crisp), Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction

Other Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Sara Allgood), Best Writing, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Score

Favourite Line: "Prayer is only another name for good, clean, direct thinking. When you pray, think. Think well what you're saying. Make your thoughts into things that are solid. In that way, your prayer will have strength, and that strength will become a part of you, body, mind, and spirit."

A scene from How Green Was My Valley.

 How Green Was My Valley is a beautiful and sentimental picture about a poor Welsh mining town as seen through the eyes of a young boy, Huw Morgan. As I have Welsh heritage myself, it was very cool to see a film featuring my family's cultural background. Wales is not a country that usually gets a lot of attention.

This movie is brilliantly filmed and written with some lovely performances from all involved. The most impressive, I found, was Donald Crisp as Huw's father, Mr. Morgan. He certainly earned his Oscar, and his performance is very truthful and nuanced. Also, Roddy McDowall as Huw himself is so endearing and he draws the viewer into the story.

Art by Olly Moss.

Something I found very interesting about How Green Was My Valley, was that despite being very clearly set in Wales, it was actually filmed Southern California. The plan had been to film on location, but the Second World War made that extremely difficult, and an 80 acre set was built instead. This also meant that the film had to be shot in black and white, because the colour of the flowers in California didn't match Welsh flowers. The film was finished in only two months.

Perhaps How Green Was My Valley's biggest claim to fame is that it beat Orson Welles masterpiece, Citizen Kane, for Best Picture. Citizen Kane is widely considered one of, if not the best film ever made, whereas How Green My Valley has faded into obscurity. Nonetheless, this is a lovely film, which I would recommend viewing, even just once.

13. Rebecca (1940)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine

Other Oscar Wins: Best Cinematography

Other Oscar Nominations: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Laurence Olivier), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Joan Fontaine), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Judith Anderson), Best Director, Best Writing, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Effects, Best Score

Favourite Line: "Please promise me never to wear black satin or pearls... or to be 36 years old."

Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier in Rebecca.

 Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, based on the novel by Daphne Du Maurier, is the story of the shy second wife of Maxim de Winter, who is haunted by the memory of his first wife, the beautiful and popular Rebecca.

Rebecca is an exceptionally well done film, full of romance, mystery and suspense, and with some wonderful and interesting twists along the way. This is an incredible piece of storytelling, which keeps the viewer captivated throughout.

The most astonishing thing about this film, that I found, was that the character of Rebecca de Winter herself, has an astounding presence throughout the film. It feels as though she is always there, even though she is never seen, not even in a photograph. All we see of the title character is her signature, and her monogram on several items around the house. To be able to create that sort of presence for an absent character is simply brilliant, and really shows Hitchcock's undeniable ability as a director.

Art by Olly Moss.

The acting in this picture is also very impressive, having earned three acting nominations at the Oscars that year. Joan Fontaine's portrayal of the second Mrs. de Winter is lovely, and you really feel for her shyness and uneasiness. Apparently her sense of unease is partly due to the fact that Fontaine herself felt that she was not liked on the set, having not been the first choice for the role. In fact, over 20 actresses were tested for the role, including Vivien Leigh. The most impressive performance, however, I found to be Laurence Olivier as the reclusive and mysterious Maxim de Winter. His monologue describing the final night of Rebecca's life is so compelling and intriguing, and makes for my favourite overall scene of the film.

Rebecca is a wonderful film, and definitely one worth seeing more than once.

12. Gone with the Wind (1939)

Director: Victor Fleming

Starring: Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable,  Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland

Other Oscar Wins: Best Actress in a Leading Role (Vivien Leigh), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Hattie McDaniel), Best Director, Best Writing, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing

Other Oscar Nominations: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Clark Gable), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Olivia de Havilland), Best Sound, Best Effects, Best Score

Favourite Line: "If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again."

Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind.

Gone with the Wind, rated by the American Film Institute as the 6th Greatest Movie of All Time, and also the top grossing movie of all time (if adjusted for inflation), is an incredible picture with very compelling storytelling, and is just so enormous that it is hard not to be in awe of the film.

This is the story of the manipulative and selfish southern belle, Scarlett O'Hara, whose world is turned upside down by both the American Civil War, and the marriage of her beloved Ashley to another woman. 

First and foremost, Gone with the Wind is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. The cinematography is absolutely brilliant, and every shot is simply stunning, and it is well deserving of it's own Oscar. The most impressive moment of the film for me, is when Scarlett is looking for a doctor to help with Melanie's baby, and she walks through a field of hundreds of injured confederate soldiers. The shot really hits home the scale and brutality of the war that surrounds these characters.

Art by Olly Moss

As for acting, Vivien Leigh steals the show as Scarlett herself. You can see every thought and feeling that comes to Scarlett across her face, and she draws you in, despite being a rather dislikable character. She rightly earned her Oscar as well. 

A few interesting facts. Gone with the Wind has a few firsts, including being the first colour film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and it is also the first film in which an African-American (Hattie McDaniel) was both nominated for and won an Academy Award. Despite Hattie McDaniel's achievement, she, along with the other African-American cast members, could not attend the film's premier in the very segregated Atlanta. Another interesting fact is that because of the Hollywood Production Code, the film's producer was fined $5,000 for swearing in what became one of the most famous movie lines of all time- "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn".

Gone with the Wind is a wonderful film, which should be seen by all.

11. You Can’t Take It with You (1938)

Director: Frank Capra

Starring: Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore

Other Oscar Wins: Best Director

Other Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Spring Byington), Best Writing, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing

Favourite Line: "Well, maybe I am, but I used to be just like you once. Then one morning, when I was going up in the elevator... it struck me I wasn't having any fun. So I came right down and never went back. Yes, sir. That was 35 years ago."

A scene from You Can't Take It with You.

 Frank Capra's You Can't Take It with You is a charming comedy of a rich young man who falls in love with a middle class girl with an eccentric family. When the families meet for dinner, chaos ensues, and neither likes the other very much.

This was a rather enjoyable film with a wonderful cast including the incomparable James Stewart and Lionel Barrymore. Lionel Barrymore plays the Grandfather of the Sycamore family, who believes that the important things in life are friendship and having fun. It is his endearing and lovely performance that ties the whole film together and who drives the story. His performance certainly stood out for me, and he did an absolutely wonderful job of his role.

Art by Olly Moss.

A couple interesting facts about You Can't Take It with You. Shortly before filming, Lionel Barrymore was unable to use his legs due to arthritis and a hip injury, and so the script was changed to say that Grandfather had sprained his ankle riding down the banister, and Barrymore did the film on crutches. Another interesting fact is that Ann Miller, who plays Jean Arthur's dancing sister, was required to wear ballet pointe shoes several times during the film. She was only 15 at the time and the shoes were very painful, so she would hide and cry between takes. James Stewart found her, not knowing why she was crying, but would offer her boxes of candy to cheer her up.

All in all, You Can't Take It with You is a lovely film about camaraderie and living life in a way that makes you happy.

10. The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

Director: William Dieterle

Starring: Paul Muni

Other Oscar Wins: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Joseph Schildkraut), Best Writing (Screenplay)

Other Oscar Nominations: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Muni), Best Director, Best Original Story, Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Assistant Director, Best Score

Paul Muni and Vladimir Sokoloff in The Life of Emile Zola.

Favorite Line: "I shall tell the truth. Because if I did not, my nights would be haunted by the spectre of an innocent man expiating under the most frightful torture a crime he never committed."

The Life of Emile Zola is the fictionalized story of the life of the French writer, Emile Zola. 

I'm afraid I don't have a lot to say about this film. I personally did not find it very interesting at all, and it was very difficult to get through to the end. Its not that the film isn't well done or even that the acting is bad, in fact it is a well done film, but it is simply not very interesting.

Art by Olly Moss.

I have to say that I was surprised that Paul Muni did not win the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Emile Zola himself. He does an absolutely incredible job, especially of portraying the same man at multiple stages of his life.

The Life of Emile Zola is a well done film, just not one particularly fascinating to me.