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Of Human Bondage

6.8

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Remake:

Of Human Bondage

Original title

Of Human Bondage

Year

1934

Running time

83 min.

Country

United States

Director

John Cromwell

Screenwriter

Lester Cohen. Novel: William Somerset Maugham

Cast

Music

Max Steiner

Cinematography

Henry Gerrard (B&W)

Producer

RKO Radio Pictures

Genre

Drama. Romance | Romantic Drama

Movie Groups

W. Somerset Maugham Adaptations

Synopsis

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 (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 (From amazon.com)

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Awards: 1934: Academy Awards: Nominated to Best Actress in a Leading Role (Bette Davis)

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Of Human Bondage

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