ROBESON IN 'THE PROUD VALLEY'

Evening Star, Issue 23723, 2 November 1940, Page 5

ROBESON IN 'THE PROUD VALLEY'

With ‘The Proud Valley ’ CapadAssociated Talking Pictures have delivered a completely out-of-the-rut entertainment, something novel, arresting, and combining in its appeal tense drama, human domestic comedy, and glorious singing. The picture was directed by Pen Tennyson, and stars the world-famous basso Paul Robeson in a role which he declares is more human than any scx-een role he has had. The singer is heard in the solo ‘ Deep River,’ which he sings in memory of a Welsh comrade who has been killed, and also in association with the Rhondda Valley Choir. ‘ The Proud Valley ’ touches on the unemployment question in the Rhondda Valley, but does not stress its political angle, as did ‘ The Stars Look Down.’ It has a Welsh background, which has been so authentically presented that when the film was tried out in Wales itself it was hailed by an important Welsh paper, the ‘ South Wales Echo,’

as a film attaining a pinnacle rarely achieved by Hollywood. The film introduces Britain’s first wartime star discovery, 35-year-old Rachel Thomas, whom the ‘ Sunday Pictorial ’ (London) announced as a “ star you will rave about,” whilst the 1 Daily Herald ’ acclaimed her “ as the most important British screen discovery of the year.” ‘ The Proud Valley ’ has an inspiring and uplifting theme of the gallant fight of the Welsh miners, first of all for their own existence, and secondly for the national good when war is declared. Additional colonial interest in the film lies in the appearance of Janet Johnson, the young Adelaide actress, as the ingenue, and also the fact that the sound expert was Derick Williams, who visited Sydney in 1936 for the production of ‘ The Flying Doctor,’ Miss Johnson was screen tested by Miles Mander for the role eventually assigned Mary 5 Maguire,, and went to London about three years ago to try her luck in fresh fields. She has since appeared in several West End productions and several films. When war was declared three films were in course of production at Ealing studios, one of which was ‘ The Proud Valley,’ and this was the first film to be made almost entirely under war conditions. 4 The Proud Valley ’ is no layman’s view of the labouring conditions of the Welsh coal miners, but an authentic human document written by Jack Jones, himself an ex-miner and author of ‘ Rhondda Roundabout,’ which ran so successfully on the-London si age.

The juvenile lead is Simon Lack, a fair-haired young man whd is likely to come to the fore in films if the war will let him. He is a Scotsman, was destined for the Civil Service, but did amateur acting in his spare time, and eventually joined a repertory company in the North of England. The company came to the London suburbs, with Simon playing such leading parts as Danny in ‘ Night Must Fall,’ and the name part in ‘ Yoking Woodley.’ He was given a small' part in the Emlyn Williams film, ‘ They Drive By Night,’ and then Sam Wood chose him for the head hoy in ‘ Good-bye, Mr Chips ’ — the one who presented Chips with the biscuit barrel.

Thomas Mitchell, one of this year’s crop of academy award winners, who is playing a sober doctor for a change in Sol Lesser’s ‘ Our Town,’ has a fine recipe for living a peaceful, worry-free life. Mitchell claims he never opens mail—just lets it collect on a table in the hall. In that way lie never gets letters to upset him. Eventually, he says, some of the letterwriter.s look him up if their business is important enough. Ho has had a couple of calls recently from men from the income tax department. He thinks they have been writing to him but he isn’t sure.