A History of British Film
Early British Comedy
Early Hitchcock
Introduction to Humphrey Jennings
Humphrey Jennings and Third Cinema
The Stars Look Down / The Proud Valley – Conflict and Unity
The Renaissance of the 1980s
Film On Four

Relationships

Also in The Stars Look Down there is Davey’s relationship with Jenny. This is a marriage riddled with conflict. Conflicting aspirations were apparent before they were married. Davey’s class commitment clashes with Jenny’s view that she was born ‘to be a lady’. Jenny is completely unsupportive of her husband, and has no time for his family or the community. This conflict becomes physical when Davey hits her. In the end Jenny is adulterous and the marriage breaks down completely.

This state of affairs contrasts sharply with the relationship between Emlyn and Gwen in The Proud Valley. This relationship is as united as Davey and Jenny’s is divided. Even the threat of financial hardship is not enough to deter Gwen who states ‘it’s good enough for me’. The happiness of their union is implied the last time that we see them, standing together happily outside the reopened pit.