
Uneducated and poor, Libby lives a sheltered life in a broken down shack with her unloving parents. When a work crew of San Quentin convicts arrives to put in a new road, she takes an interest in Barry, a wild and uncontrollable young man. Despite the advances of upstanding engineer Jeff Barker, Libby opts for Barry and helps hide him when he escapes. However, with the posse hunting she can't hide him forever.... (Full plot summary below)
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Uneducated and poor, Libby lives a sheltered life in a broken down shack with her unloving parents. When a work crew of San Quentin convicts arrives to put in a new road, she takes an interest in Barry, a wild and uncontrollable young man. Despite the advances of upstanding engineer Jeff Barker, Libby opts for Barry and helps hide him when he escapes. However, with the posse hunting she can't hide him forever.
Leave your thoughts about Deep Valley.
| Ozus' World Movie ReviewsDennis SchwartzThe film comes to a boil with its very moving conclusion, after a very slow start. |
| TIME MagazineJames AgeeOn the whole, Deep Valley is reminiscent of many of the solemn little-theater plays of the early '20s: i.e., it is lost in mawkishness and pseudopoetic feeling masquerading as art. |
| User ReviewAntonius BAn awkward young woman (Ida Lupino) growing up in an isolated area between estranged parents unexpectedly finds love with a convict who has escaped a coastal road project (Dane Clark). The law is closing in, and to add to the drama, the woman has another suitor in the man who was engineering the effort (Wayne Morris). It's an atmospheric film noir, one where shadows and darkness emphasize a feeling of being trapped in a world with few choices, but ultimately it falls a bit short. I liked seeing Lupino, but her range is limited, and I don't think this was all that fine a performance from her. It's interesting to consider her as being in a prison of her own, and indeed she identifies with Clark for that reason, but the film gets predictable and melodramatic as it plays out. My favorite shot from director Jean Negulesco is at dusk, low angle, with the barn and plants in shadow and the mother (Fay Bainter) approaching. My favorite quote was from the mother, as she's adjusting one of her dresses for her daughter, and says, "All you young girls want everything lower in the front, and tighter in the back. What are you so proud of?" Unfortunately, there are just not enough of these moments to strongly recommend the film. It's not awful, but just average. |
| User ReviewGreg WWednesday, November 3, 2010 (1947) Deep Valley DRAMA Plot has escaped criminal Barry (Dane Clark), escaping to a small isolated farm and then building rapport and then to a relationship with Libby (Ida Lupino) which is something she doesn't get enough of from her bickering parents! I can tolerate these type of films except this one doesn't really go anywhere! 2/4 |