Maureen O'Hara Recommendation #1
How Green Was My Valley (1941)- 2 hrs 2 mins
In this acclaimed masterpiece, director John Ford (Stagecoach) explores common themes of humanity through one family’s ups and downs within a small Welsh mining town. Maureen O’Hara, in her breakout performance, is in a large sense representative of the hope depicted in this film. You can practically feel the dust from the coal on everything in the house and town, so that if it were not for her, you would want to leave. Even as her character, the only daughter in the family, faces her own hills and valleys, O’Hara is able to communicate a hopeful perseverance that is common to all humanity. She does this without ever having to say a word. You can see it all in her eyes.
There’s something about her in this movie that if you removed her from the film, you would have much less hope despite her many troubles. She is part of what draws you into the family, making you fall in love with them. You couldn't simply swap her with another actress and have the same film. It’s hard to put a finger on that special something that she has, but that is exactly what makes Maureen O’Hara so special.
Availability: Youtube, Googleplay, Vudu, HBO Max (with subscription; includes context introduction and discussion panel), Amazon, DVD, and Blu-ray.
The Quiet Man (1952)