1941 – Sara Allgood
How Green Was My Valley
Any movie that centers around a family and the love within that family, has to have a strong and caring matriarch, and Allgood fit the bill perfectly. She played Beth Morgan, the mother of six boys and a daughter. The entire cast was good, and she was no exception. She looked the part, she played it well, and it was well-written, so I think her Oscar nomination was completely deserved.
Allgood created a multi-dimensional character, though a lesser actress might have easily made her flat and uninteresting. She had the task of seeing her family through both good times and bad. The movie said it pretty well when it said that if her husband, played by Donald Crisp, was the family’s head, she was its heart. It was clear that the actress understood the character, knew her motivations, her strengths, and even her weaknesses. Allgood did a fantastic job of bringing these things out, not just with her dialogue, but with her eyes, the way she carried herself, the intimate way she interacted with her sons and husband.
Some of her most powerful scenes were near the end of the movie, when her husband is killed in a mining accident. The way she was filmed, with her face lit from above so that her eyes were lost in shadow, was an intense image. She looked almost ghostly, and yet you never saw a tear on her cheeks. To me, that says that the character had long lived with the ever present possibility of such a tragedy hanging over her head, and when it happened, she was prepared. Allgood really sold that moment, and she earned her nomination.
But then right after that, Beth has a vision of her husband’s spirit visiting her. She knows he has died, and yet there is a smile on her face, a smile of real sadness mixed with pride and love. It was a sweet and touching moment. I’ve seen this movie several times, and each time, I like it more than the last. It is the powerful performance of the incredible cast that speak to me every time. They all did a fantastic job, and Allgood was no exception.