Of Human Bondage

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A Handful of Dust (100%)

Plot: The interior life of a natural-born introvert is a tricky thing to convey in any story medium, but perhaps nowhere more than in feature films. Fortunately for this 1934 version of Of Human Bondage<...( read more read more... )/I> (the first of three), the introverted young doctor at the center of the story is played by Leslie Howard, who makes a slack spirit and puppet-of-destiny ennui look like a GQ ad from the age of Romanticism. Howard's character, well liked by peers and facing a promising future, becomes a slave to self-destructive impulse when he grows obsessed with a mercurial, promiscuous waitress (Bette Davis). She stands him up, she lets him down, she sleeps around--basically doing anything she can think of to humiliate the plaintive, puppyish Howard. The good doctor's prospects soon sink... and then sink again and again every time she reappears, usually in dire circumstances, after prolonged absences. Much of Howard's performance borders on monotony, but how many ways can an actor show what it's like to lean against desks and ponder the enigma of himself? At least he looks classy while doing so. Meanwhile, Davis's electric performance, one of her best, gives director John Cromwell's slow pacing a shot in the arm. The supporting cast is very good: Alan Hale, Frances Dee, and Cromwell's then-wife, Kay Johnson, do a fine job helping to fill in the silences. Adapted from the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. --Tom Keogh

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  • kdsantos
    kdsantos
    4.5 Stars
    MCT:
    April 25, 2008
    Yes, it was predictable, it kept going around in circles, I felt sorry for Philip and I hated Mildred, but all these somehow make me love the movie more. Excellent use of technology, it got annoying at times with the transitioning from one scene to another, but it did make the movie flow. Bette Davis was so beautiful in this, I can understand why Philip kept coming back...
  • cinnamontree
    cinnamontree
    3.0 Stars
    MCT:
    February 2, 2008
    Bette Davis is some interesting actress, I want to see more of her movies. The character's nastiness just jumps out of the screen while the doctor is more subtle and quiet. Not the most impressing movie as a whole, though.
  • littlesheep28
    littlesheep28
    4.0 Stars
    MCT:
    January 30, 2008
    One of W. Somerset Maugham's best. Since I haven't read the book, I could not compare the film adaptation to the book, but I thought at parts, the plot might've moved too fast. Overall thought, I have to say the characters were well-developed. Expected story with a unexpected(or expected..hard to say) ending, and seems like most W. Somerset Maugham's works have the female character as the protagonist, but this story focused on Howard's character...still very good. And I have to give credit to Bette Davis, her character was SUCK A BITCH! lol
  • wishingprincess
    wishingprincess
    3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    December 19, 2007
    You can't help but feel sorry for the poor guy. Bette Davis's character was so horrid to the man character.
  • jennalynde
    jennalynde
    4.5 Stars
    MCT:
    July 18, 2007
    Bette Davis is so young and beautiful in this movie of Sommerest Maugum's sad story. It's worth the time to see it.

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