The Proud Valley

Pen Tennyson's best remembered film of the three 1930s movies he made before being killed in action in the Second World War, ‘The Proud Valley' concerns a mining village in Wales which faces change on two fronts – first in finding a new singer for their choir (American bass-baritone Paul Robeson just happens to be passing through Wales looking for a place to work); and second in dealing with a major disaster in the mines.

While it may be stretching credibility to place Robeson in this setting, off the screen he developed a long-standing affinity with the people of Wales which lasted throughout his lifetime, and this was the one film he made of which he was truly proud. Whether singing ‘Deep River' with the choir, or working underground with his comrades from the village, he fits in just fine. There is a strong number of character actors in support. Little seen but unlike any other film, ‘The Proud Valley' is a fine testament both to British film-making and the huge community spirit of the Valleys.

"Why damn and blast it man, aren't we all black down in the pit?"

All of the essential elements of Paul Robeson are here - his deep baritone singing, a strong black character, and an homage to the working man. It takes place in the coal pits of a Welsh mining town, where Robeson shows up looking to work, and despite some initial resistance, fits right in. A disaster leads to many men dying, and worse yet, the mine to be closed, threatening the entire community.

Later, as some men toil outside the mine, sifting through an enormous slag heap for coal like ants, we get an exchange that reflects their frustration:

"Better dole money than no money at all." "This 'half a loaf's better than none' talk makes me sick." "Nearly a year since the explosion and we've been no more than numbers of the books of the labor exchange."

They decide to march to London to the mine company's headquarters, their letters of appeal to re-open the mine having fallen on deaf ears, but when they get there, they hear a newsboy yelling the latest story, that Hitler is menacing Europe. A series of headlines is then shown leading to "Hitler Marches Into Poland," and the story becomes less workers vs. Management, and more Britain vs. Germany. The workers volunteer to find an alternate route to the pit's coal reserves via a dangerous path, and management agrees for the good of the impending war effort.

This shift away from the concept of exploitation of workers in towns like this is somewhat unfortunate, but showing their bravery and the difficulty of the job is highly sympathetic, and the topicality of the Nazi threat adds an extra dimension to the film. It's fascinating that as blackouts went into effect in London towards the end of shooting, Robeson had to go the set before dawn, and return via an underground tunnel. There are also some dramatic scenes down in the pit that lead to a stirring conclusion.

It's a story that doesn't feel fully fleshed out and there is a hodgepodge of elements (including an extraneous love story), but because of Robeson, the working class theme, and its reflection of the country being on the cusp of war, it held my interest, and I think it's worth the 76 minutes.

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 released in Britain shortly after the outbreak of war, and it reflects that uncertain period. Coal was a national priority, yet the coal industry had a long legacy of unemployment and bitter labour disputes.

Consequently, Robeson, in the guise of a discharged American seaman, fetches up in a South wales mining village, where he is a valuable recruit to the local choir. Unfortunately, a disaster closes the mine, and a group of the miners (including Robeson, of course), march down to London to try and persuade the colliery bosses to let them find a way round the blocked section. As they march, a succession of newspaper posters chart the events leading to the outbreak of war.

This is an echo of the pre-war hunger marches - but in this situation, a clever narrative device is used, for no-one is to blame for them being out of work. As a result, the bosses and workers are later seen working together, trying to reopen a pit that is strategically valuable to the war effort.

Of course, the plan eventually boils down to detonating an explosive charge that is, in effect, a suicidal act. Robeson knocks out the miner who has drawn the short straw and sacrifices himself. Just as the soldier on the battlefield, the miner sometimes has to lay down his life for his friends. (Mining in wartime Britain was a reserved occupation.)

There is hardly any reference to colour prejudice in this film, and full use is made of Robeson's fine singing voice.

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.