A ROMANCE OF HAPPY VALLEY
starring Lillian Gish and Robert Harron
PHOTOPLAY JOURNAL
December, 1918
And David W. Griffith, the Wizard-in-Chief of the Realm of Film, comes along with one of the most remarkable photoplays of all times, "A Romance of Happy Valley," really a page from the book of life, and yet not entirely what might be described as typical of the screen!
No one can gainsay the assertion of Paramount that this is a superb piece of cinema craftsmanship, and few critics will want to draw fine lines of distinction between the refreshingly new and the unavoidably hackneyed features of a work which, in the main, is D.W. Griffith pretty much at his best. Seldom has a direct appeal to the heart been so effective in motion pictures as it is in this late triumph. Surrounding and entwining homespun humanity, the story of simple power is a classic, vivid in it action, laughable in its details, and tense in effect. It sort of climbs up and kisses you good-morning and good-night all at once. You are stirred, you are amused, and you love your fellow-man better as a result of seeing "A Romance of Happy Valley," and you will be rejuvenated upon seeing life lived in calico gowns and patched breeches. And, then, such a happy denouement! Gosh! You "wanta sorta" cheer, while a couple of tears bedim your eyes. By all means, you "wanta" see this one.
Video source: Foothill, Critic's Choice