Deep Valley (1947)

Director:

Jean Negulesco

Writers:

Stephen Morehouse Avery (writer)
Dan Totheroh (novel)

Release Date:

30 July 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Uneducated and poor, Libby lives a sheltered life in a broken down shack with her unloving parents....

Plot Keywords:

Man Hunt | Fugitive | Love | Stuttering | Based On Novel

Cast

Ida Lupino	...	Libby Saul
Dane Clark	...	Barry Burnette
Wayne Morris	...	Jeff Barker
Fay Bainter	...	Ellie Saul
Henry Hull	...	Cliff Saul
Willard Robertson	...	Sheriff Akers

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #12010, General Audience)

Filming Locations:

Barlett's Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Lupino Showcase

A down-trodden girl, a mutt dog, and a criminal fugitive on the run. Sounds a lot like 1941's High Sierra, even down to lead actress Ida Lupino. But it doesn't matter that these elements got recycled, because Deep Valley is a really watchable 90 minutes of Hollywood melodrama. Sure, it's hokey at times, especially the weepy ending that's squeezed for all its worth. But the movie is also a testimonial to the demandingly high standards of Hollywood studio production-- scope out the great farm house that almost looks like Katrina hit it, and the road project that looks so real, I expect it was. There's also the exquisite b&w photography from cameraman Ted Mc Cord, along with expert direction from studio ace Jean Negulesco. But most of all, it's the absolutely luminous performance from Lupino in the central role. Was there anyone ever better at playing soulful parts. Here, her stuttering, long-suffering farm girl whose only joy is her dog and the great outdoors, is enough to move the Rock of Gibraltar, and is surely Oscar-worthy. Speaking of the outdoors, it's also a measure of the film's underlying romanticism that the lovers seek refuge in the liberating openness of nature, and away from the blessings of civilization. For each has been brutalized by societal forces larger than themselves. Dane Clark is very good too, even if he never got past second fiddle to John Garfield-- then too, his strictly blue-collar personality was a poor fit for the upwardly mobile 1950's, and by that white-collar decade, he was gone. Anyhow, this super-slick film again demonstrates how wonderfully vital B-pictures of the studio era could be, and is well worth a look see.