The Valley Of Decision (1945)

Set in late 19th century Pittsburgh, a young Irish lass (Greer Garson) from a mill working family enters service as a maid in the wealthy household of the mill's owner (Donald Crisp) where she falls in love with the son (Gregory Peck) but class distinctions as well as political (whether the mill will be unionized) and personal, her father (Lionel Barrymore) blames the mill owner for the loss of his legs and his bitterness promises to destroy them. Based on the novel by Marcia Davenport and directed by Tay Garnett (THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE). I love this film. It's a good, solid piece of old fashioned storytelling, the kind of film which it is often lamented, "they don't make 'em like that anymore." The movie plays out like a juicy best seller (which it was) that you can't put down and while it doesn't contribute much if anything to the "art" of cinema, it's a satisfying watch. Normally, Garson's prissy persona can be hard to take but she's spot on as a strong willed colleen and received an Oscar nomination for her work here. Other strong performances include Gladys Cooper as the family matriarch, Jessica Tandy as the manipulative maiden out to sink her claws into Peck, Marsha Hunt as the social climbing daughter, Dan Duryea as the spendthrift son, Marshall Thompson as the alcoholic son whose drunkenness inadvertently causes bloodshed and Preston Foster as Garson's unionizing suitor. The beauty of an Oscar nominated score is by the underrated Herbert Stothart.