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.

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.

"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.