[color=#800000]JACK FAVELL[/color] wrote:Well, Maven, what did you think of Deep Valley? Luckily, Errol's up next, to take the sting out of watching Dane Clark.
I swear, if you don't like Dane in this movie, you won't like him in anything.
I don't know how it's possible, but I liked Deep Valley even better this time than the first time I watched it. This time it reminded more than a little of High Sierra, but I felt it was just as good as the Walsh movie, standing on it's own merits. It had the same feel to it, desperate, longing, filled with the sights and sounds of nature that Walsh was so good at portraying, and man's (or woman's) relationship with it. This one had the benefit of a great script and sincere direction and acting. A lovely, lovely film.
"I just had to have somebody. Somebody just once, who'd know what was inside me."
Well now.
He and Ida left me with a lump in my throat. I enjoyed
"Deep Valley." Enjoy is a funny word. My heart kept breaking throughout this Warner Bros. drama. Ida as Cinderella. I felt so bad for her. Unkempt, slavin' over ungrateful parents, being mocked b'cuz of her stuttering. Hull (as her dad) didn't look too kosher. I was afraid he'd be after her as well. (Whew! Boy was I relieved). And selfish ol' Fay Bainter upstairs. How'd Ida
get into this fix?! I was grateful for her little dog, and after her chores she was able to run free out in the woods where it was light and air. And freedom. (And no stage set either. They were
out there. She made me think a little of Esther Ralston in “To The Last Man.” I did
completely buy Ida as a mountain girl. What
did help a little was not starting my Lupino fest with
“The Man I Love.” Seeing her in the world of minks, martinis and nightclubs wouldn’t have been a great start. But you know what, it probably wouldn't have mattered, because Ida’s a chameleon. (I
am partial to the dolled up, brittle "Lana Carlson"-type Lupino. It saves wear and tear on my emotions).
I was kind of surprised the way Ida left her folks. It’s like she finally just made up her mind and walked out that door. (Good for her!) When she has her confrontation with her father and he slaps her, that tore it. And the landslide...I absolutely loved how the camera slowly dollied in on her, with the camera shaking. It was a glorious close-up, I thought. She goes to her own little hideaway and I was so happy for her freedom and independence. At least she was safe.
Her character saw something in convict Dane Clark from afar. Their paths cross upon his escape thanks to the landslide. It
was interesting to watch the change in both of them. In fact, Ida served as a catalyst for her maw and paw too. When they had to face the fact that they had to rely on each other, they tentatively came from behind their hate, to reach
towards each other. That surprised me as well. I could see Dane was in self-preservation mode through out. The dude couldn’t afford to relax one minute; and he learned to trust her...had to learn to put the gun down. One mistake cost him his whole life. I thought, maybe if he just did his time, and didn’t give anybody any lip, he’d be a’ight. But you could see that he wasn’t a man who could just
“take it.” He couldn’t get out of his own way. I also saw a man who was desperate for Ida. She was a life savior for him.
And he for her.
Her dream from afar is now up close and personal. She hides him out in the barn and I had the naughty thought that she kept him up their as some sort of boy toy. I wondered they didn’t high-tail it out of their lickety split as soon as night fell. Seems like he was up there for days. Guess they were waiting for the coast to be clear. When the jig is up, and Fay makes it up that ladder ( ?
? ) my heart sunk. Yeah...always wishing for a happy ending, that’s my problem. I think Dane lived a lifetime while he was with Ida...and in that moment as well. They both know Fay’s standing there, but Dane holds tightly to Ida’s arms and paints a picture of the future for her they won’t have. I think he knew the jig was up for good right then and there. He drives off, her after him, he forces her to let go...my throat was burning. No, he doesn’t make it. That hurt but I guess it’s the way it’s got to be. Poor guy. But he did find love. Ida got to see she was worth something to someone. And she matured as the picture went on...seemed more like the Lupino I know, but it was great that it was a little more than just not stuttering. Ida gives a great performance here. And Dane, in a word...wow.
Awwwwwwwright! How many times do I have to eat my words!!
You're right Moira. I didn't... Picasa, ey? You use a p.c. then, right? I have a MacBook Pro. I'd get the pictures from Google, then I'd import them into my Final Cut Pro editing program and put 'em on the Timeline. You did a good job. I love that Steiner song too. Nice.