Pen Tennyson's The Proud Valley (1940) is, overall, a pretty good film. The storyline is engaging, and rather realistic. The acting by the whole cast is very good but, of course, Paul Robeson delivered the most compelling performance. The cinematography is, perhaps, the strongest aspect of the film, especially the underground scenes in the coal mine.
The second half of the film is not as good as the first half. The second half becomes melodramatic, to a certain degree, including the parade that cheers on the workers' delegation heading for London, and the self sacrifice scene at the end, where David (Robeson) knocks out the young miner and essentially commits suicide by setting off an explosion that clears an opening for the other miners to escape, while he predictably dies in the blast. The second half definitely takes on aspects of a WWII British propaganda film, geared to inspire the UK home crowd by showing how much others are sacrificing for the war effort.
A rather negative aspect of the film for me is that the thick regional accent made understanding the dialogue almost impossible to understand at times.
I think that naming the main character David Goliath was way over the top, and even ridiculous, especially since no one in the film even mentioned that it is clearly a biblical reference.
Overall, it's was an enjoyable film viewing experience, a good example of an effective "storytelling" film, but I definitely wouldn't view it again.
The second half of the film is not as good as the first half. The second half becomes melodramatic, to a certain degree, including the parade that cheers on the workers' delegation heading for London, and the self sacrifice scene at the end, where David (Robeson) knocks out the young miner and essentially commits suicide by setting off an explosion that clears an opening for the other miners to escape, while he predictably dies in the blast. The second half definitely takes on aspects of a WWII British propaganda film, geared to inspire the UK home crowd by showing how much others are sacrificing for the war effort.
A rather negative aspect of the film for me is that the thick regional accent made understanding the dialogue almost impossible to understand at times.
I think that naming the main character David Goliath was way over the top, and even ridiculous, especially since no one in the film even mentioned that it is clearly a biblical reference.
Overall, it's was an enjoyable film viewing experience, a good example of an effective "storytelling" film, but I definitely wouldn't view it again.