#373: TENNYSON, Pen: The Proud Valley (1940) / HURWITZ, Leo and STRAND, Paul: Native Land (1942)

PAUL ROBESON: PORTRAITS OF THE ARTIST {Spine #369}

TENNYSON, Pen (United Kingdom)

The Proud Valley [1940]

HURWITZ, Leo and STRAND, Paul (United States)
Native Land [1942]

Spine #373
DVD

By the start of World War II, Robeson had given up his lucrative mainstream work to participate in more socially progressive film and stage productions. As David Goliath, in the popular British drama The Proud Valley, Robeson is the quintessential everyman, an American sailor who joins rank-and-rile Welsh miners organizing against the powers that be. Concurrently, Robeson committed his support to Leo Hurwitz and Paul Strand's political semidocumentary Native Land. With Robeson's narration and songs, this beautifully shot and edited film exposes violations of Americans' civil liberties and is a call to action for exploited workers around the country. Scarcely shown since its debut, Native Land represents Robeson's shift from narrative cinema to the leftist documentarites that would define the final chapter of his controversial film career.

The Proud Valley

77 minutes

Native Land

88 minutes

Black & White

Monaural

1:33:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2007

The Proud Valley

Director/Writers

Tennyson

Screenplay by Pen Tennyson, Jack Jones and Louis Golding.

Based on the story by Herbert Marshall and Alfredda Brilliant.

Tennyson was 28 when he directed The Proud Valley. He worked with Hitchcock, and died tragically in a plane crash a year after making this film.

The Film

A rare film from this time period which features such a strong Black role. Paul Robeson is magnificent -- as he is consistently in the eight films of this set.

After hitching a ride on a train, David Goliath (what a name!) (Robeson) ends up in a small Welch town (the movie was filmed in South Wales). He hears a choir rehearsing (of course) and joins in -- his deep bass voice booming up to where they are rehearsing -- and naturally, the leader, Dick Parry (Edward Chapman) has little trouble convincing David, and his magnificent voice, to stay with him and his family: wife (Rachel Thomas) and son, Emlyn (Simon Lack).

He overcomes some initial racism, and becomes a coal miner. The creators spin in a love story in the background, and some thrilling scenes deep in the mine -- and there is more: a march to London and back. Seeing some dedicated workers, up close and personal -- and listening to Paul Robeson sing. You can't ask for much more.

The Extras

The Booklet [for the whole four-volume set]

76-page booklet:

• A Modern Man, by Clement Alexander Price
• Cast and Credits
• About the Transfers

Price on The Proud Valley:

“The film contains severely problematic elements, most notably the sacrificial death Robeson enacts to save his white brethren.”

Commentary

None.

Native Land

Directors/Writers

Script by David Wolff, Leo Hurwitz and Paul Strand.

Hurwitz was 33 and Strand was 52 when they directed Native Land.

Hurwitz

Strand

The Film

Robeson narrates this documentary about America’s “struggle for liberty” as the opening intertitles proclaim:

Since the founding of our country the American people have had to fight for their freedom in every generation ... Native Land is a document of America’s struggle for liberty in recent years.

The images (photography by Strand) are gorgeous to look at. The editing is also tight as a drum. At one point in a montage about the coming of industry, the filmmakers film a huge log making its way down a slanted chute to a river in two cuts. This is MTV-style editing in 1942!

Marc Blitzstein’s score is ever-present, and occasionally intrusive. Nevertheless, the combination of music and image are truly magical throughout.

There are 12 main sections of the film:

1. The Forging of Liberty
2. Vigilante Violence
3. The Working Day
4. Labor Espionage
5. Union Upsurge
6. Repression
7. Anger
8. Brutality
9. Democracy in Action
10. Official violence: Republican Steel massacre
11. The Defense of Liberty
12. The Present Crisis

[xroads]

The Extras

The Booklet [for the whole four-volume set]

76-page booklet:

• The Search for an Achievable Utopia: Robeson and Documentary, by Clement Alexander Price
• Cast and Credits
• About the Transfers

Musser on Native Land:

“Scripting began in 1937, but the project would take almost five years to complete. Robeson and the filmmakers shared a commitment to film and radical politics. After accepting the task of narrator, Robeson took his responsibilities so seriously that he insisted on rehearing the narration for several weeks, to give in an impressive polish.”

Commentary

None.

Video interview

The Story of Native Land, a new video interview with cinematographer Tom Hurwitz, son of Native Land codirector Leo Hurwitz.

Radio interview

Pacifica Radio interview with Robeson from 1958.

Films Rating (0-60):

50

Extras Rating (0-40):

32

52 + 32 =

84

By Director

By Spine #