Deep Valley

The new Pacific Coast highway is being built and a meadow is being sacrificed from Henry Hull's farm for the job though he got some good money for it. Looking at the place it's kind of depressing and hopefully he'll fix the place up.

It's probably most depressing for Ida Lupino in one of her best films Deep Valley. She's a shy withdrawn girl with a stammer and she doesn't have outlets for socialization. She lives on said farm with her parents Hull and Fay Bainter who is one of those women perpetually sick. With a road crew under the direction of engineer Wayne Morris all of them at the farm actually lighten up with the arrival of human contact.

The crew on the road is convict labor and one of them, Dane Clark is a person of violent temper which is why he's there on a manslaughter rap. He escapes during a landslide and the whole county under sheriff Willard Robertson is on the hunt.

The shy and and backward Lupino discovers Clark and befriends him. She just wants to see the world and Clark is really a tragic figure, as socially regressed as she except that his temper makes him lash out.

Though some of the character development of the supporting players isn't quite well rounded when director Jean Negulesco is concentrating on his stars Lupino and Clark he's got a winner in Deep Valley. Color cinematography might have really given this film a boost, especially the outdoor scenes. On the other the black and white does accent the tragic elements of the story so take your choice.

This is definitely one of Ida Lupino's five best roles. For her fans Deep Valley is a must.