El valle de la abnegación

In Pittsburgh in 1873, plucky Irish immigrant Greer Garson accepts a position as a servant in the mansion of steel magnate Donald Crisp, though her father was crippled in his mill. Inevitably, Greer and Gregory Peck (as the principled second son of the family) find themselves drawn to each other despite class differences, and surprisingly, his parents spprove. But a series of dramatic events -- a steelworkers' strike, three violent killings, a spite marriage, a natural death and a surprising bequest -- all conspire to keep Greer and Greg apart while the audience is left to wonder when and how they can get together.

In a way we don't care since these mismatched stars have no chemistry together. In only his third screen role, Gregory Peck is always competent and is sometimes better than that, but his cool, placid demeanor works against this tale of romance thwarted for over a decade. For her part, Greer Garson was never one to suggest sexual attraction or romantic passion, and she has the further handicap of looking much older than Peck and seeming too old to play her character in the early parts of the film. But by the end, when her character's age has caught up to her, Garson's usual poise and authority seem just right.

If the lack of fireworks between the stars seems like a drawback, it somehow isn't because the narrative is really about the love affair an unhappy woman has with a warm, charismatic family. And here, the producer and the director Tay Garnett make sure the film is enlivened with a talented and varied supporting cast including Donald Crisp, Gladys Cooper, Lionel Barrymore (a hambone as usual), Dan Duryea, Preston Foster, Reginald Owen, Marshall Thompson and young Dean Stockwell.

Of particular interest are two excellent supporting performances. MGM stalwart Marsha Hunt brings some bite and complexity to the role of Peck's sister, a selfish, superficial woman who is nevertheless decent and loving. And though Jessica Tandy spends most of the film in a thankless role as a brittle society girl hoping to snag Peck, by the end of the film she is allowed to give a vivid performance of bravura shrewishness, the kind of thing Agnes Moorehead usually did so well.

I sat in awe of this film one chilly October evening in 2001 and I remember the thought going through my mind, "how is it that I've never seen this before?" I adore Greer Garson and her performance as Mary Raffery took my breath away and Gregory Peck has always been at the top of my list of talented and handsome actors. This movie is full of anxiety ridden romance and dramatic acting at its best. With a superb cast and a wonderful story line, I'd recommend this movie to anyone that feels they're able to truly recognize greatness.

This MGM 1945 drama brought Greer Garson and Gregory Peck together for the first and only time. They make a terrific acting pair, at the peak of their careers, and ignite the screen with passionate intensity. Filmed in black and white it tells the story of the dispute between a steel manufacturer and the men that work in the mill. Miss Garson plays a pretty maid who takes a job in the lavish home of Pittsburgh steel magnate, wonderfully played by veteran actor Donald Crisp. Peck plays one of his sons, devoted to his father's mill who works diligently alongside some of the mill workers, notably Preston Foster, to bring a newer more modern way of producing better steel. Crisp has two other sons; Dan Duryea, a bit more greedy for the money rather than the work and Marshall Thompson as the youngest son, who tends to drink away his carefree lifestyle. There is also a daughter played by the talented Marsha Hunt in one of her best performances and certainly worthy of a supporting Oscar nomination. By the way Greer did get a Best Actress nomination for this.

The distinguished Gladys Cooper plays the matriarch of the family and befriends Greer, leaving her share of the mill. Trouble brews among Greer's family when her father, played by another veteran, Lionel Barrymore, an embittered man having lost the use of his legs in an accident in the mill, stirs up violence that has tragic consequences.

Jessica Tandy also gives a dynamic performance as Peck's wife and look for a very young Dean Stockwell as their son. If you like big stars and excellent featured actors along with a compelling story, this is a film for you. Directed by Tay Garnett.

Very interesting and entertaining poor-girl meets rich-boy tale of romance between a wealthy Pittsburgh steel mill owner(Gregory Peck) and a beautiful housemaid(Greer Garson). This circa 1870 drama is directed by Tay Garnett and based on a Marcia Davenport novel. A star studded cast makes this a prominent classic. Joining Peck and Garson are Donald Crisp, Lionel Barrymore, Dan Duryea, Marsha Hunt, Marshall Thompson, Preston Foster, Jessica Tandy and Reginald Owen. This movie is deserving of your time. Wholesome and enjoyable watching.

This is a fine historical-era drama, about a Pennsylvania mill-town. In this absorbing drama, which is only one book of a monumental Catholic work by Marcia Davenport, Greer Garson plays a pretty and bright young woman who takes a job in the lavish home of a Pittsburgh steel magnate, played honestly and strongly veteran actor Donald Crisp. Gregory Peck plays one of his sons, the serious one, who is devoted to his father's mill and who works alongside some of the mill workers, including his friend Preston Foster. The father has two other sons--Dan Duryea, who is more desirous of having money rather than of working; and Marshall Thompson, who has turned to alcohol in his unhappiness...There is also a daughter played by the fine actress Marsha Hunt, perhaps one of her best performances. Gladys Cooper plays the matriarch of the family, who befriends Garson, and leaves her her shares in the mill. Garson's father, played with skill by Lionel Barrymore, is an embittered man, who lost the use of his legs in an accident in the mill, and did not want his daughter working for the owners. It is he who begets violence that has tragic consequences. Jessica Tandy plays Peck's wife, a bitter woman; Peck should have married Garsop all along, of course; but the climax of the film is the troubles at the steel mill that are started by the angry workers and the consequences on all concerned of this violent crisis action. There are many finely-developed characters in this long film, but I sense also a fair sense of fatality about the events, intended by the author, against which the attraction of persons, characters and dispositions of Peck and Garson are played, like two rays of sunlight illuminating a dark jungle's zone. Thiis attractive B/W production was directed by Tay Garnett. Marcia Davenport long novel was adapted to the screen by fine scenarist Sonya Levien and John Meehan. The cinematography for the film was the work of Joseph Ruttenberg and Herbert Stothart composed the dramatic score. When I say that the art direction was done by Cedric Gibbons with Paul Groesse, the set decorations by Edwin B. Willis and the costume designs by Irene, I have accounted for the film's very-opulent and vivid production values. In the cast apart from the principals already mentioned, one can see Barbara Everest, Geraldine Wall, Eveline Dockson, John Warburton, Rusell Hicks, Mary Lord, Arthur Shields, young Dean Stockwell, Maru Courier, Lumsden Hare, Connie Golchrist and Anna Q. Nilsson. This is always an attractive and a carefully-considered production, which occasionally seems to me to lack warmth; with a great script, everyone concerned could perhaps have produced a masterpiece. With the one they had, the talents involved produced a memorable adventure that rises on occasion to first-rate dramatic heights. Not to be missed, perhaps. I would love to see it redone, with another fine cast; more than melodrama, it has I believe as a writer, an important dramatic potential.