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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:VHS Tape
W. Somerset Maugham's novel "Of Human Bondage" receives an excellent adaptation to the screen in this 1934 film directed by John Cromwell. Leslie Howard plays sensitive, club-footed Philip Carey, the second-rate artist who turns to the study of medicine, even though he is older than his classmates. Philip becomes tragically obsessed with Mildred Rogers (Bette Davis), an illiterate waitress in a tearoom near the medical school. Although Mildred insults him for being a cripple, Philip spurns an offer of romance from Nora (Kay Johnson), an attractive woman who writes romance novels under a male pseudonym. When Philips agrees to marry Mildred when she shows up pregnant and jilted by her salesman boyfriend (Alan Hale), she runs off with another med student (Reginald Denny) at their engagement party. A friendly patient (Reginald Owen) invites Philip home to meet his sensitive daughter Sally (Frances Dee). But Mildred returns again, this time with a baby, and Philip is too weak to refuse her. The result are disastrous consequences for them both.
Maugham's semi-autobiographical novel was published in 1915 and is considered his masterwork. By Hollywood standards, this film adaptation is remarkably faithful, not to mention literate and intelligent, so a lot of the credit has to go to Lester Cohen for the screenplay. Howard handles the role of the sensitive Philip well, but it is Davis who turned a lot of heads for the first time with her performance as the tawdry little waitress (Life magazine called it "Probably the best performance ever recorded on the screen by a U.S. actress"). Certainly this is the role that made Warner Brothers take a serious look at the young actress. What is remarkable is how much of this emotionally shattering tale is packed into 83 minutes of running time.
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Of Human Bondage, based on the novel by Somerset Maugham, is a powerful but melancholy film that I find strangely mesmerizing. Leslie Howard stars as Philip Carey, an introverted, artistic man who comes to London to study medicine after abandoning his dreams of becoming an artist in Paris. Carey was born with a club foot, and we watch rather mortified as one of his instructors makes him show his foot to the class, revealing the embarrassment that he normally keeps contained on the outside. One day in a nearby café, Carey sees waitress Mildred Rogers (played fabulously by Bette Davis), a rather ill-natured, brazenly taciturn waitress. Her attitude is rather rude and certainly strange and cold, but Carey is immediately fascinated by her. After inexplicably falling in love with Mildred, he succeeds in winning a few dates with her, putting up with her mind games, deception, and seeming lack of humanity. She is frustratingly noncommittal in everything he asks her, replying "I don't mind" to virtually all of his questions and allowing him almost no emotional contact with her at all. He finally resolves to ask her to marry him, but she shocks him by declaring her impending nuptials to another man. Carey's depression grows, and his grades in medical school suffer horribly. In time, he finds a young woman who is a bit matronly but genuinely cares for him. Then Mildred shows up again, pregnant and alone. He takes care of her with money he doesn't really have only to see her leave again with another man. This trend continues throughout the story. Whenever Carey finds happiness within his grasp, Mildred shows up unannounced, and he finds himself powerless to save himself from her debilitating influence on him.
Carey and Mildred are complicated creatures.
... Read more ›13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The WHE edition of this film uses a very old print and the quality isn't the best, however it is still watchable. If you are a film fanatic you may want to put your pennies towards the more expensive version, but if you like me are just curious to see this 1934 Bette Davis' movie that made her a star, then I would recommend a purchase. Leslie Howard as the weak Phillip is excellent as always, but Bette shows just how much of an actress she was in playing the tormenting and doomed Mildred. I would have given this more stars if it hadn't been for the print.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By jules
Format:DVD
Very young Bette in this dvd, not seen in shops, thank you Amazon for all the Bette Davis films i have been able to purchase from you and not from shops.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Sam
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The recording on this DVD seems very poor, hazy and juddery like watching an early silent movie. I've seen this film on TV and it wasn't like this. I enjoyed the film itself. Bette's cockney accent is very bizarre, but she's otherwise great as usual. The DVD itself is sub-standard, but cost less than £3 at the time so I don't feel ripped off, but the Bette Davis box sets I've bought from Amazon (100th Anniversary Collection and the Bette Davis Collection) are fantastic and I would recommend them first, by a million miles.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I do love Bette Davis, I think she just exudes glamour and nostalgia from my favourite decade, the 30s. However, (not going into the quality of the actual DVD because it's awful and crackles constantly)the film appears to lack something. I will not agree with people who say that because films are not blockbusters or are maybe sold a bit cheaper they are automatically awful because I have seem many fantastic films that are hardly known. However even though the pairing of Davis and Howard would appear flawless, the acting is surprisingly static and the actors do not actually seem to mesh well, seeming to perform individually rather than together when they are in the same scenes. I liked the story,but I'm sorry to say the acting was not up to much and therfore I cannot rate this highly.
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3.3 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tragic destructive romance from 1930s
Somerset Maugham's original Edwardian novel is quite thick and very rich, so the film, by necessity, is an abbreviation. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Arachne202
3.0 out of 5 stars
Of Human bondage
Film missed out completely Peters childhood and as this defined his life I felt it was essential to the story. Well acted but ending deviated from book ending too much.
Published 2 months ago by Ann Leeuwerke
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent
Five stars says it all so there should be no need for cutomers to write anything more. It is pointless.
Published 3 months ago by O. J. Phillips
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good to see
It was a good, well acted film which I was fascinated to see as I was, at the time, reading a biography of Bette Davis. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Julie Bennett
4.0 out of 5 stars
Early Miss Davis
I have read all the various reviews,and most mention the quality of picture,,this film is 80yrs old what do you expect full hd with surround sound,,people please!!! Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jeffrey James
3.0 out of 5 stars
Woeful miscasting of Bette Davis
A potentially great adaptation of the W Somerset Maugham novel ruined by the strange casting of Bette Davis as a supposedly alluring Cockney waitress. Read more
Published 5 months ago by JOHN GREEN
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
Very good product and service. Good timing just what I wanted. Timely. Good packaging. Very good product and service. Great
Published 6 months ago by Mr JD Meagan
3.0 out of 5 stars
Such Bad Quality
I bought this to see Bette Davis in her first major role. The quality of the film is so bad; it's like watching an old silent film. I guess this is how it was originally filmed. Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2011 by Flyte
5.0 out of 5 stars
Movie was good but not the DVD sent to me
The movie, "Of Human Bondage" is great..I had seen it before..a better version..the one I had was a terrible copy.. Read more
Published on 12 Sep 2010 by Rosalyn H. Martty
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bette DAVIS
This must be the worst Bette Davis film ever! I'm afraid it's in the dustbin!
Published on 7 Aug 2010 by P. Leason
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