The Proud Valley

Don't get me wrong, I liked the film. The story, of an African-American who finds himself working in the pits in Wales, is perfectly passable, and was as leftwards as it was going to get to thread its way through the British film censors. But we know what we are going to watch this film for - to hear Paul Robeson sing.

During the 1980s, the British Bass, Robert Lloyd, listed his big four bass singers of all time. Robeson was among them. (The others were Fyodor Shalyapin, Cesare Siepi and Ezzio Pinza.) The BBC2 programme he did this for, also featured a few seconds of footage from proud valley.

The big scene comes just after his friend has been killed in a mining accident. The local Eisteddfod - a Welsh festival of music and poetry - takes place. Robeson gets up and sings "Deep River". I have heard Robeson's 78 rpm recording of this song. This version is nothing like it. It is magnificent. As Robeson performs, the shivers go up the spine and the tears come rolling down the cheeks. This is so good that only Paderewski's performance in "Moonlight Sonata" can be compared to it.

Because of this performance, no one who watches this film will be disappointed.

This film was shown to a group of Turkish students recently with a surprising result.. they loved it! Robeson suffered all through his career from dud scripts. He was usually cast as an African chief in low budget British made films, in this film he plays the part of a coal miner in Wales. Songs include "Deep River" and "Land Of My Fathers". Robeson was accepted more in England than he was in the USA probably because of his political beliefs. Communist or not he had a great voice and this film shows that given a half decent script he was a good actor. Buy it while you can, these Gems tend to go out of print very quickly never to be seen again for years.

Paul Robeson has been drafted in to add his rich bass-baritone dulcets to the gorgeous sounds of a Welsh male voice choir in this otherwise rather formulaic story. He is "David" who works down a Welsh pit that is struggling to pay it's way. When a disaster strikes, the community all but grinds to an halt. No money, no jobs, no prospects - so he and a few of his cohorts decide to walk the 200-miles to London where they hope to implore the mine's owner "Sir John" (Ronald Ward) to let them try another, much riskier, route to a possible ten thousand tons of coal. It's the singing that sets this apart - and the ensemble songs at that. From Mendelssohn to traditional and rousing themes, the audio sometimes makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. There are some underplayed political under-tones, and one or two racial ones too at the beginning, but for the most part this is a testament to community strength, loyalty and determination that is worth a watch.

I caught this 1930's curiosity on an outlying PBS channel at 2 a.m.— thank goodness for recorders, otherwise 5 people probably saw it at that hour. In all my years of old movie watching, I don't recall Proud Valley being shown in big market LA. My point is that for decades Robeson's few films were withheld for political reasons, and when finally released, had become dated curiosity pieces with graveyard show times. Too bad, because Robeson is a cultural treasure whose misfortune was to ally with one of the most aggressive anti-racist forces of his time, the American communist party. Whatever the wisdom of that move, given the circumstances, it was an understandable alliance, at least in my little book.

Robeson's name may be above the title, but he really shares the starring role with the Welsh mining community he becomes a part of. I expect that's one reason this was his favorite film. He really has only one spotlight vocal, but it's a show-stopper, a terrifically moving version of the old spiritual Deep River. Otherwise, he blends into an ensemble cast, even though his sheer presence remains commanding throughout.

It's a good story, about a community surviving the shutdown of its central coal mining industry. There are echoes of leftist styles here, particularly in the mobilized-crowd scenes with their banners, etc. Nonetheless, as another reviewer astutely points out, labor issues are folded into the larger war effort that was then breaking out (late 1939) along the Polish corridor. In fact, by the look of the latter sequences, I wouldn't be surprised if some re- editing and re-shooting were involved to keep abreast of fast moving global events.

There are several arresting scenes. The set for the Robeson solo with the huge choral backdrop remains impressive even by today's standards and accentuates this, the film's emotional centerpiece. Another eye-catcher is the unemployed men picking over the mountainous slag heap like starving birds amid growing desperation. Also, the collapsing mine tunnel looks almost too real to be a "special effect", and I'm still wondering how they did it in those days before blue screens and digitalized computers.

Anyway, here's hoping Turner Classic Movies finally decides to show a Robeson film, especially this one, at a decent hour, so a broader American public can catch up with a cultural treasure long denied them. Too bad, the great actor-singer-athlete had to go to Europe to find the kind of dignified roles he was so beautifully suited for.

This is a very good film that gives a rare glimpse of Welsh life that has long since passed. The film begins in Wales just before WWII and a wandering American (Paul Robeson) wanders into town. Despite being a black man, almost everyone accepts him and he is soon a valued member of the community. He also is an important part of the local choral group--something VERY important in this culture. In fact, throughout the film is lots of lovely Welsh singing--and it's perhaps the best part of the movie. But, it's also a great portrait of a way of life that has passed--the grim life of a coal miner. Their struggle is chronicled in this film--with strikes, mining disasters and the like.

This sort of plot is not at all surprising for Robeson, as he was a committed life-long socialist--with some communist sympathies. This is NOT meant as a criticism--just explaining his affinity towards the downtrodden and labor unions (which were important in providing a safe working environment for the miners). But I love that the film is not preachy about--it just shows their difficulties as well as their work ethic, values, belief in God and strong wills. A wonderful film and a nice film to see in a double-feature with "How Green Was My Valley"--which as a Hollywood and highly romanticized view of these people.

All in all, one of Robeson's best films because he plays not a black man but a man--and a heck of a man at that.