THE NARROW VALLEY-1921
Starring: Alma Taylor, George Dewhurst, James Carew, Hugh Clifton, Gwynne Herbert, Lottie Blackford, Nessie Blackford and Gordon Holloway.
Produced and directed by Cecil M. Hepworth. Written by George Dewhurst.
Synopsis: The story of a small valley community that is home to some very narrow minded people. Those who wish to leave it can do by catching a train that regularly hurries from the narrow valley. A draper’s maid marries a poacher’s son when the village watch committee tries to expel her.
Described as a pictorially beautiful romantic melodrama, with a strong story of English country life, set amid the grandeur of the Sussex Downs and the glory of the Surrey hills and valleys.
Victoria, maid of all work in the house of Eli Jones, draper, and churchwarden, falls in love with Jerry Hawkins, who, with his father, represents the “undesirable” element in the village of Little Weevil. Money is missed from Eli’s till, and Victoria is suspected. Eli’s son, the real culprit, is discovered in time to clear her, but she is told that she must give up Jerry (her meetings having been reported to the self-appointed “Watch Committee” of the place) or leave Little Weevil. The two go off together, to the horror of the self-righteous, after a brush with gamekeepers has delayed Jerry and forced Victoria into apparent submission. (Kinematograph Weekly)
Contemporary reviews emphasised its atmosphere and its appeal as an English rural drama. Kinematograph Weekly called it a pleasant though a decidedly leisurely story. It is in no sense strong fare, but there is a refreshing leaven of humour in the presentation, and the rural backgrounds are picturesque and well photographed.
As for the acting, Picture Show reported that Alma Taylor scores a big triumph in her subtle characterisation of Victoria, the little maid-of-all-work in the Eli Jones household. George Dewhurst is all that can be desired as Victoria’s strong rugged lover. Gwynne Herbert gives a clever study of Ursula Jones; and James Carew as Councillor Eli Jones, the proprietor of the Emporium and leader of the elect of Little Weevil, is perfect in his role of the cold, calculating hypocrite whose attentions are divided between God and mammon.
It was based on an original story by George Dewhurst, the film’s star, who often contributed to Hepworth’s productions and also directed. Another long-term collaborator was cameraman Geoffrey Faithfull. He had a stock company which included Chrissie White, Henry Edwards and Alma Taylor.
There is very little information regarding this film in existence, it is thought to have been destroyed along with most of the films and negatives in the Hepworth company archives in 1924 after the company had closed. The only additional information we have is that the film was distributed by Hepworth and was released at a trade show in June 1921, this was originally intended for May but a coal strike delayed it, the theatrical release was then in August 1921. The duration was measured not in time but in length, this title was 1,645 meters.
Researched from:
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0232163/technical?ref_=tt_dt_spec
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Narrow_Valley
BFI: http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6b142d89
This silent film is on the BFI 75 most wanted list, as of August 2010 it was missing from the nation archive.
Details here: http://old.bfi.org.uk/nationalarchive/news/mostwanted/narrow-valley.html
Stills from this picture are now available to purchase as large format prints using the link below.
http://www.vintagenegatives.com/hepworth-the-narrow-valley
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