How Green Was My Valley is one of John Ford's finest films. Spanning 50 years, the film revolves on the life of a Welsh mining family, told through the eyes of its youngest child (Roddy McDowall). Over the years, the family has to survive through unionization, strikes, and child abuse and, as they do so, their hometown and its culture begins to slowly decline. It's a moving, affectionate tribute to family and lost innocence, highlighted by Donald Crisp's portrayal of the family's father. How Green Was My Valley won five Academy Awards in 1941: Best Picture (beating Citizen Kane), Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Crisp), Best Art Director, and Best Cinematography.