AN INSULT TO WALES!

Oh, for crying out loud, lighten up. This is an American film made in 1941 primarily for an American audience who wouldn't have known Welsh scenery or a Welsh accent if it had walked up to them and shaken hands. What's important here is the story. And it's a great story masterfully told by a master storyteller. Be grateful that John Ford didn't cast John Wayne and Ward Bond in this film. He used the talent that was available to him and made great choices and a great film.

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I feel the same way about Spaghetti Westerns!

What we have here is failure to communicate!

I agree that your point is interesting but I can't imagine that more than 1 in 1000 viewers of this great film over the years has noticed or cared. Yes you care, but what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? I'm reminded of something reading your post. Some years ago the American TV comedian David Letterman had a bit where he brought in a dentist from New Jersey to review the movie "Reds" from the point of view of how the film portrayed teeth, dental work, certain dental work wasn't known in Russia in those days, etc. The reviewer paid zero attention to anything else and got into a major lather about the dental faults of the picture. Funny stuff. I do believe Letterman had this as an ongoing bit. Perhaps you see the point I'm trying to make. One final point (not germane to accents). "Citizen Kane" is obviously a great film worthy of our respect. But IMO "How Green Was My Valley" easily matches it for sheer pleasure of watching and may be more worthy of our (well, my) love.

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The accents? With a cast that included Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O'Hara? I bet Walter sounds classy and American. And Maureen...well you can guess what she sounds like.

This reminds me of a movie called THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO(2009) and the (2011) version. The (2011) was a re-make for "the American audience." The original with subtitles was in Swedish (I presume) and I could not tell if anyone had an offbeat Swedish accent. I just saw subtitles. But the re-make. WOW. They were in Sweden????? With Daniel Craig and the rest of the cast each having accents from who knows where? I had to keep reminding myself of where this film was supposed to take place. Finally I had to give up and realized that this was the latest James Bond attempt and was taking place WORLDWIDE.

Despite understanding what was spoken, the original was far better and understandable. Any time you have a movie made for language X, you are going to have accents from various regions where that language is spoken. It's just part of "movies."

I heard the TCM blurb at the beginning anyway and knew this was made on soundstages in Hollywood, LA, CA. So I knew to expect a story and not "filmed on location with real people" type stuff.

To 90% of the world, Welsh sounds the same as Irish. It's good enough for a movie. I can't tell a difference between Rhys Williams accent and the others. Then again, I'm watching a film for enjoyment. I'm not studying every syllable uttered in an attempt to find flaws and criticize.

Also, filming had to be done in the US because Wales, along with everything else in Europe was being bombed night and day by Germany.

If you want the most authentic Welsh film experience ever, get a film crew and have it at it. But don't be surprised when the only people who watch the finished product are a few Welsh. Better yet, let's not insult anyone. Hollywood can just make movies about the US. Then everyone can complain there are no mainstream movies about their homeland. People just want to complain for the sake of complaining.

I'm assuming you're in your teens or twenties, and perhaps konw little about moviemaking . Had the film included Welsh actors, speaking Welsh, it would have never been as popular as it is today.

Hollywood in 1941 was more intersted in making stories that would appeal to all movie goers, not just people of Welsh descent.