Valley of Song
1953 film by Gilbert Gunn
Valley of Song (U.S.: Men Are Children Twice ) is a 1953 British second feature ('B') comedy drama film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring Mervyn Johns, Clifford Evans, Maureen Swanson and the London Welsh Association Choral Society. It was written by Phil Park and Cliff Gordon based on Gordon's 1946 BBC radio play ''Choir Practice''. It marked the film debut of actress Rachel Roberts.
Plot
Fierce rivalries flare to the surface in a small Welsh town, consisting mostly of the Davies and the Lloyds, over a coveted role in the local choir. Finally, the rival contraltos agree to share the part.
Cast
Mervyn Johns as Minister Griffiths
Clifford Evans as Geraint Llewellyn
Maureen Swanson as Olwen Davies
John Fraser as Cliff Lloyd
Rachel Thomas as Mrs. Lloyd
Betty Cooper as Mrs. Davies
Rachel Roberts as Bessie Lewis
Hugh Pryse as Lloyd, undertaker
Edward Evans as Davies
Kenneth Williams as Lloyd the Haulage
Alun Owen as Pritchard
Ronald Lewis as uncredited role
Desmond Llewelyn as Lloyd the schoolmaster
Production
Filmed on location in Carmarthenshire in 1952, as well as at Elstree Studios, Valley of Song marks the first film appearance of Rachel Roberts and the first film credit of Kenneth Williams, both of whom worked together in Swansea repertory theatre in 1950 under the directorship of Clifford Evans, who also stars in the film. It was an early lead role for Maureen Swanson.
Release
After the initial trade screening to cinema bookers on 26 February 1953, Valley of Song had four simultaneous World premieres in Wales, opening at cinemas in Cardiff, Newport, Merthyr Tydfil, and Swansea, all on 13 April 1953.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Valley of Song” as 1953 film by Gilbert Gunn. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1953 film by Gilbert Gunn. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7912338. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1953, 1946, 1952 and 1950.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Valley of Song” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.