Director Jean Negulesco always worked well with actresses and had a pretty eye for story detail, yet his visual flair never compensated for his narrative structure, which was shaky and lacking both suspense and (when needed) a touch of light relief. The intensity of his films usually slipped right through his hands, which is why "Deep Valley" is only good up to a point. Ida Lupino stars as a backwoods farm girl who falls in love for the first time with convict Dane Clark, who just escaped from a work camp. Handsome, well-written drama combines adventure and romance, though Lupino is ultimately too refined and intelligent to be convincing as a stutter-prone illiterate. Her performance improves as the picture continues, but Clark has the opposite problem: he strains too hard for effect, though his inadequacy is nearly poignant. Negulesco, true to form, smoothly transports the viewer back to another time and place, but the picture is so tremulous it tends to fade in the memory. **1/2 from ****
Review of Deep Valley
