Deep Valley

Libby Saul (Ida Lupino) was raised in the Deep Valley. Isolated on a farm with her bitter parents, her only friend a devoted dog, Libby knows loneliness too well. Then a crew of convicts arrives to build a road and Libby is fascinated by the strangers, especially a good-looking hothead named Barry (Dane Clark). When Barry escapes his work gang, Libby offers him shelter -- a gesture of kindness that awakens her timid soul. Lupino gives further proof of her remarkable dramatic range with a sensitive portrayal of an awkward, stuttering girl transformed by love. And director Jean Negulesco (Johnny Belinda), with a painterly appreciation of light and shadow, captures the wild beauty of the film's Big Sur locations.

• film
• noir