The valley of passions

This is the story of a family from Mississippi, a family whose pioneer men and women carved their extensive plantations out of the wilderness. By 1860, their pleasant valley had almost become a state within a state, whose people were very willing to risk their lives rather than acknowledge the authority of any conscience other than their own. These were the famous Dabneys of Levington.

Universal filmed parts of "The Valley of Passion" in the Great Smoky Mountains and the Blue Mountains near Asheville, NC. The special effects department at Universal constructed an artificial oak tree in California, as there were no real white oaks near Ashton that met the film's requirements, and then shipped it to the filming location in North Carolina. To match the outdoor shots with those on the Universal backlot, twenty barrels of red clay from North Carolina were also shipped to the studio in California. During the production of the film, actress and singer Julie London eloped with Jack Webb, who later became known as the star producer of the radio and television series Dragnet. The two were married until 1954. London later appeared in the NBC television series "Emergency," which Webb produced from 1972 to 1977. According to HR News, Universal borrowed London from Sol Lesser's company and Van Heflin from M-G-M for the film.