The Proud Valley

In reviewing the achievements of African-Americans on film in chronological order for Black History Month, we're now at 1940 with the entry of The Proud Valley, considered by star Paul Robeson as his favorite. In this one, he's an American named David Goliah coming to Wales to find a job. After hearing his voice from outside the window while conducting his chorus in rehearsal, Mr. Parry (Edward Chapman) manages to convince David to sing in his choir and gets him a job at the mines where he also works. His son, Emlyn (Simon Lack) also works there and is engaged to Gwen Owen (Janet Johnson). I'll stop there and mention that Robeson is in fine form musically especially when he sings "Deep River" that sends chills down the spine. Perhaps because of his color, his character is sometimes in the background but by the end he does become essential. So for him, I'd definitely recommend 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 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.

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.

This film was recently shown to a large and very appreciative audience of all ages and backgrounds at the Paul Robeson Film Festival, organised by The National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, a Department of The National Library of Wales (situated in the beautiful University town of Aberystwyth, on the mid-Wales coast).

It is full of wonderful, humane performances, has very exciting and exceptionally well-realized scenes of underground peril in the coal mines of South Wales (when we had such long-forgotten things as mines), and a social conscience clearly influenced by the Soviet workers' epics of the period. Add to the mix a degree of seriousness in the treatment of the lives and problems of working-class communities, and of the real-life Welsh experience, and also of the experience of blacks in the workplace, and one has an English-produced film probably unique in its period for the range of its sympathies. The coming war obviously put the English of the time on their honour!

Oh, yes - and the singing is very special, too!

Of course, worker-manager relations are idealised to a degree, but not so much as to suppress quite a number of uncomfortable truths, that must have had smug metropolitan audiences of the period squirming in their seats. Altogether, a much truer, and therefore finer, treatment of the Welsh mining experience than anything to be found in that overblown, overhyped confection, 'How green was my valley'.

Naturally, this excellent early Ealing feature is not generally available to the domestic market in Britain.

However, since we know the value of these things in Wales, I understand that our Sales Department at The National Library of Wales is usually able to supply individual video copies of the film! Interested parties should make enquires directly to that institution.

The Festival of films featuring Paul Robeson, of which the above is the first, continues in association with Aberystwyth Arts Centre Cinema until the 15th of July, 2003. The unreserved tickets are free. An interesting linked exhibition at The National Library of Wales, 'Let Paul Robeson Sing!', continues 'til the 25th of October 2003. The admission to this is also free.

I'm sure this information will be of interest to IMDB patrons.