I knew nothing of the background to The Proud Valley but the swerve towards propaganda at the end felt tacked on; as it transpired to be because war was declared whilst the film was being made. Until then the subversive aspects of the film were particularly interesting and I wasn’t surprised to learn that the scriptwriters Alfredda Brilliant and Herbert Marshall were members of the left-wing Unity Theatre. In addition, having a black hero (the incomparable Paul Robeson) nailed the film as progressive. Apparently Robeson was friends of the husband and wife writing team.
Although Robeson’s acting skills are limited he only has to sing eradicate any problems with his presence. He ends up in a Welsh mining village where, because of his singing voice, he is embraced by the choir. Racism, fortunately, isn’t ignored but the ‘problem’ of his colour for some characters is glossed over quickly. Instead, this man-mountain represents workers’ solidarity, particularly in the face of the mine’s owners who are happy not to reopen the pit after an accident. Such was the lot of the working person in those days . . . still is of course.
Originally the end featured the community reopening the pit on their own however the start of war meant the film became the first of Ealing Studio’s ‘war effort’ productions and the characters march to London to petition the bosses to open to help with the conflict. Benevolent ‘Sir John’ agrees to give it a go and all ends well; except Robeson’s character sacrifices himself when they are reopening the mine. ‘Bosses and workers’ pulling together was undoubtedly the propaganda message required at the time but it isn’t necessary today. So I wonder why scriptwriter Anthony McCarten felt he needed to add a fictional scene to Darkest Hour (UK-US 2017) where Churchill rode the London Underground to consult ‘the people’? Worse, ‘the people’ included an Afro-Caribbean man with whom he appears to bond through quoting Shakespeare, so eradicating Churchill’s racism!
I also wonder about the ‘necessity’ of David Goliath’s (Robeson) sacrifice. The romantic interest in the film, as it was unlikely there’d be the odd black woman lurking in the Valleys, is taken by white characters so there could be no happy romantic ending for David; indeed he sacrifices himself for the couple. It creates an emotional ending, but the celebrations for the pit reopening do follow hard behind his death in order to ensure the happy emotion. Couldn’t he have continued just as a member of the community or didn’t he belong after all?
Maybe I’m being over-critical, after all the film is progressive in many ways. As entertainment it struggles; Robeson sings little but there is some sparkling dialogue. It is, however, a testament to Robeson whose connection to Wales continued for many years after the film.
The Case for Global Film 
I haven’t seen this film for a long time but I’m surprised by your suggestion that Paul Robeson’s acting skills were limited. This was his eleventh film role, most of them in British productions and he had a distinguished stage career as well.
Your comment about how unlikely it would be to find a black woman in the valleys in the 1930s is interesting. The coal export business from Cardiff was declining rapidly by the end of the 1930s but there was a long-standing black community in Tiger Bay and it would have been possible to write a storyline with a partner for Robeson’s character. In two of his British films he was paired with the African-American singer Elisabeth Welch. I think it was possibly a deliberate decision by Ealing not to use Robeson in the same kind of role as in some of his previous films – but I don’t know if this was the case.
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I think the only other film I’ve seen Robeson in is ‘Hallelujah’ (1929) and I can’t remember how good he was in that but he is wooden in this. ‘Tiger Bay’ (1959) showed the black community but it would have required a trip to Cardiff to introduce such a character. The Valleys were constructed (and probably were) as ‘white’; too many black characters may have compromised this representation.
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This is worth a read: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jul/02/how-paul-robeson-found-political-voice-in-welsh-valleys Robeson’s connections with Wales and Welsh miners in particular was of great importance to him and to Welsh workers generally.
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