Of Human Bondage

Amazon.com

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

Customer Reviews:

it was enough to make her WIPE HER MOUTH !!!.......2007-09-11

Bette Davis and Leslie Howard star in Of Human Bondage, the screen adaptation of a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. The plot moves along at a good pace and the acting is thoroughly convincing throughout. As others may have told you already, Bette Davis gives a spellbinding, exceptionally good performance as the immoral, petty, cruel and manipulative Mildred Rogers. This is one movie you HAVE to see!

The action starts when Philip Carey (Leslie Howard) returns to London from Paris after realizing that he is not meant to be an artist. Upon his return to his native London, he meets a waitress named Mildred Rogers (Bette Davis). Mildred is colder than ice toward Philip; but Philip has such a low self esteem because of his club foot that he actually believes that Mildred is the best woman he could ever get.

As time goes by Philip truly falls in love with Mildred despite the fact the she never warms up to him. Philip is also taken advantage of by one of his medical school buddies when his friend openly flirts with Mildred when the three of them go out to dinner. Just as Philip is finally about to ask Mildred to marry him, Mildred pulls the rug right out from under him by announcing to Philip that she is engaged to someone else.

Philip is crushed; and for a brief while finds a modicum of happiness with Norah, a much nicer, sophisticated woman and they begin to think of marriage. Just as this develops, Mildred pops back into Philip's life; and Philip impulsively breaks his engagement to Norah.

Of course, the plot thickens very well from here on in. How do Philip and Mildred get along THIS time--she's been rejected by the man she said would marry her. There's a baby, too--how will Philip handle that? Will Norah be able to understand that Philip wants to go back to Mildred? Will Philip be able to financially afford to help Mildred?

Unfortunately for Philip, the complete cycle eventually starts all over again and his new romance, this time with another young woman, is also endangered by his remarkably undying love for Mildred. What happens next could surprise you--will Mildred settle down and finally be the wife Philip has always wanted? Will Philip stay with Sally, his new girlfriend? Will Philip complete medical school after Mildred burns his inheritance money? That alone presents a huge financial problem for Philip.

Believe me, I know it may seem that I've given it all away--but I didn't! This is a great film with plenty more to the plot that will keep your attention very well. The DVD doesn't come with many extras; but with this film you don't need many extras. It stands on its own very well.

Of Human Bondage let Bette Davis prove that she was a great new Hollywood star. Davis uses her face, eyes and speech to convey so much that her performance becomes positively electric. Leslie Howard turns in a fine performance as Philip Carey; and look for good acting from Kay Johnson (Norah) and Frances Dee (Sally) as well.

I highly recommend this film for fans of Bette Davis; and people who enjoy classic movies will not be disappointed.

Of Human Bondage.......2007-04-14

The movie is great. I believe its pre code 1934 not sure what month it was made. This has always been one of my favorite films even as a child I enjoyed the acting and story without fully understanding the relationship between the lead characters.

Unfortunately the film, at least my copy of the DVD is not as good quality as I thought it would be. If they could digitally restore this film it would be even better to watch.

I think this is Bette Davis at her best as a young actress. Leslie Howard evokes a compassionate yet self pitying portrayal of a young man who follows his heart on a destructive path but he cannot let go. Bette is also a self destructive character in never being satisfied with what she has.

This is a must have for early hollywood movies.

Very Poor Quality .......2006-10-05

I can't believe a movie would be released in such poor condition. It looks like an old movie someone took themselves back in the 30's or 40's. The sound is awful and the film is full of cracks and spots, and is so dim, you can barely make it out. This film should be re-done and digitally mastered. It's probably a good film, and I bought it because I really love Bette Davis in most all of her early films, but though I have hundreds of DVD's, many of them old, I've never seen one in such terrible condition. Shame on Alpha Video.

Poor Quality of GREAT film!! .......2006-10-02

I LOVE this film -- but I cannot find it in a good remastered version! Can anyone tell me how or where they have obtained it in a quality remastered edition? I have seen an incredible version on TCM but have now bought this film on DVD three times only to be very disappointed. Douglas M. you say you have a very good remastered version - how or where did you find it? I would go on and on about this amazing film, but right now I just want to find a good copy for my collection! I would give this film a 5+ rating but since the DVD's I have are so bad I have to give the experience of watching it 3. Any help on my quest would be so appreciated!

Antique melodrama with ground breaking performance.......2006-05-13

"Of Human Bondage" is a long novel which is said to contain many biographical elements from the life of its author W Somerset Maugham. RKO filmed many such novels in the early to mid thirties. The films were always literate and slow moving and often directed by John Cromwell. This movie focuses on a section of the novel when the disabled Philip Carey falls in lust with the sluttish waitress Mildred Rogers. For those who have read and enjoyed the novel, the film captures it very well. For those who have not, the film will seem talky and turgid.

Leslie Howard is perfectly cast as Philip but Bette Davis wipes him off the celluloid as Mildred. In 1934, Davis's style, where she acts with every pore of her body, her stance, her eyes and even her inexpert Cockney accent were a revelation which shocked the critics and public. Nothing like this had even been seen before. For some of the audience at the time, the film was considered "dirty" because Davis's character was so repellant and Howard's obsession with her was masochistic.

Cromwell uses a plethora of close ups to study the faces of the cast and it is very effective. There is also a lovely Max Steiner theme which permeates the drama. The film also benefits from a first rate supporting cast. Kay Johnson creates a fully realised character in just a few scenes as a girl who falls for Howard in between his interludes with Davis. There is a memorable moment when she leans against a door and delivers a piece of dialogue which makes your heart bleed. The contrast to the raw Davis is very effective. The young Frances Dee, the girl with whom Howard ends the film, is also very effective and breathtakingly beautiful. The sets also capture the dreary atmosphere of grey England with small cluttered apartments and rain soaked weather.

The climax of the film is the diatribe which Davis delivers to Howard. It still resonates with the power which Davis generates. It is shocking and perverse, an extraordinary scene for 1934 Hollywood.

The DVD print I have has been digitally restored and is by far the best copy of the film I have ever seen and very good, given that the negative of the film has long been lost.

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Of Human Bondage
Starring: Bette Davis , Frances Dee , Alan Hale , Kay Johnson , and Reginald Owen
Director: John Cromwell
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00008K7AD
Release Date: 2006-02-13

Description

Philip Carey (Howard) is a decent, unassuming gentleman. Mildred Rogers (Davis) is a self-centered, Cockney waitress. Philip's obsessive love for her will undo his chances at happiness, unless he can escape their bond. Bette's breakout role.

Average customer rating:

Great movie, but loses a star or two due to the shabby DVD

Of Human Bondage (B&W)
Starring: Bette Davis , Frances Dee , Alan Hale , Kay Johnson , and Reginald Owen
Director: John Cromwell
Manufacturer: Westlake
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0009JQ376
Release Date: 2003-01-01

Product Description

Special Features-Biographies, filmographics-Photo Gallery-Interactive menus-Jump to Scene-Dolby Digital

Customer Reviews:

Great movie, but loses a star or two due to the shabby DVD.......2007-06-13

If you take into account when this film was made and that the film medium was still developing its language, you'll likely enjoy "Of Human Bondage". It's well acted and- with its wide array of "let's see what we can do" directorial tricks and flourishes- entertainingly told.

Leslie Howard gives a low-key, effective performance, but it's Bette Davis who really shines. Ms. Davis realized correctly that it should be somewhat confusing to the other characters- and to us- why Leslie Howard's Philip character is so taken with her character, so she grounds her character with a kind of plainness and commonality. But she also realizes that there should be SOMETHING that we as viewers can touch on, so we can at least somewhat understand what is going on inside Philip. So Ms. Davis peppers the plainness of her character with occasional glints of edge, ice, passion, etc., things that a man would notice and be moved by, both in a positive and negative manner. These little glints of uniqueness nicely build to an emotional explosion at the end, so the quiet waitress and schemer doesn't all of a sudden become the bitter harpy who is so memorable at the end. It's a really effective performance, taking into account the future progression of the character right from the beginning.

Now the bad news. This particular DVD of the Bette Davis/Leslie Howard "Of Human Bondage" (the DVD company is called "Westlake") delivers a truly sub-par copy of this historic movie. It's watchable, but- with its faded print and scratchy soundtrack- barely so. There are also several close-ups of written letters in the film, and good luck trying to read them off the faded image.

So that's it in a nutshell. Great movie, lousy DVD. If there's any justice, a better DVD of this movie exists somewhere out there, or at least is on the way.

Average customer rating:

best quality transfer i've found

Of Human Bondage/Blood on the Sun
Starring: DVD Cult 2 Movies Classics
Manufacturer: DVD Cult Classics
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ASIN: B0002Q9VAW
Release Date: 2004-07-27

Customer Reviews:

best quality transfer i've found.......2006-07-04

The double DVD "Of Human Bondage/Blood on the Sun" is the best quality transfer of the film "Of Human Bondage" that I have been able to find. It is extremely difficult to get information on the quality of DVD transfers for films which have passed into the public domain. I went through several other editions before finding this transfer. While there are a few places where frames have been lost, the picture and sound quality are superior. An excellent film which deserves Criterion treatment--and by the way, how about a Leslie Howard Collection on DVD? Where are "Outward Bound", "Berkeley Square", "It's Love I'm After", and "Pimpernel Smith", to name a few?

History's Mysteries - Human Bondage (History Channel)

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History's Mysteries - Human Bondage (History Channel)

Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000FKP0Y6
Release Date: 2006-05-02

Description

The heartbreaking story of Africans forcibly enslaved and shipped to America is a well-known tale; yet, it is just one tragic episode in the saga of world slavery. For nearly 6,000 years of recorded history, conquerors have imprisoned their enemies and forced them to act as laborers, warriors, and often sexual partners. It is a system that is responsible for the rise and fall of some of the world's greatest civilizations--and it's still going on today!

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Of Human Bondage/Eternally Yours
Starring: Bette Davis , Leslie Howard , Alan Hale Sr , David Niven , and Loretta Young
Manufacturer: CATCOM Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00078NAXY
Release Date: 2006-04-04

Product Description

Double feature as follows: 1. Of Human Bondage (1933) Betty Davis & Leslie Howard and 2. Eternally Yours (1939) Loretta Young & David Niven.

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Hollywood Classics 15 Dvd MegaPak!

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

This set includes: 1) And Then Tehre Were None, 2) Road to Bali, 3) At War With the Army, 4) His Girl Friday, 5) Private Buckaroo, 6) The Front Page, 7) The Inspector General, 8) The Little Shop of Horrors, 9) The Man From Utah, 10) The Birth of a Nation, 11) The Outlaw, 12) Of Human Bondage, 13) A Star Is Born, 14) Indiscreet, and 15) The Fly Deuces! Bonus features: biographies, trivia Q&A, animated chapter serach and more!

3 MOVIES IN 1 DVD: FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND (Starring Elizabeth TAYLOR), OF HUMAN BONDAGE (Starring Bette DAVIS), TULSA (Starring Susan HAYWARD)

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3 MOVIES IN 1 DVD: FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND (Starring Elizabeth TAYLOR), OF HUMAN BONDAGE (Starring Bette DAVIS), TULSA (Starring Susan HAYWARD)

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3 FULL-LENGTH MOVIES IN 1 DVD
Starring: ELIZABETH TAYLOR; BETTE DAVIS; SUSAN HAYWARD
MOVIES: FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND; OF HUMAN BONDAGE; TULSA
INTERACTIVE MENU, DIGITALLY MASTERED
DOLBY DIGITAL. MAKES A PERFECT GIFT!

ASIN: B000UDBXWG

Product Description

3 FULL-LENGTH MOVIES IN 1 DVD. MOVIE 1 - FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND (Starring ELIZABETH TAYLOR & SPENCER TRACY. In this hilariour sequel to Father of the Bride, newly married Kay Dunstan announces that shi is going to have a baby! Her father in the meantime comes to grips with being a grandfather! Wonderful performances! 82 MIN/1951/B&W; MOVIE 2: OF HUMAN BONDAGE (Starring BETTE DAVIS. A sensitive man falls in love with a waitress, who rejects him, runs off with a salesman and returns unmarried and pregnant. He gets her an aprtment and they become engaged only to be confronted with more problems. An emotional tear jerker! 83 min/1934/B&W; MOVIE 3: TULSA (Starring SUSAN HAYWARD & ROBERT PRESTON. It's Tulsa. Oklahoma at the beginning of the oil boom. A woman's rancher father is killed in a fight with the Tanner Oil Company. She plans revenge with the help of an oil expert and a childhood friend. Whe the oil and the money start gushing in Cherokee has new ideas about what to do with the land. 90 min/1949/B&W.

Pre-Code Hollywood - The Risque Years (Of Human Bondage / Millie / Kept Husbands)

Average customer rating:

Only one of the three films herein, objectively, could be characterized as well-done, pre-code, and worthy of watching.
Cool movies, but "Of Human Bondage" isn't pre-code
Dazzling Trip Into our Pre-Code Past!
For the Fans of Pre-Code Hollywood
An alright video

Pre-Code Hollywood - The Risque Years (Of Human Bondage / Millie / Kept Husbands)
Starring: Leslie Howard , Bette Davis , Frances Dee , Kay Johnson , and Reginald Denny
Director: John Cromwell , Lloyd Bacon , and John Francis Dillon
Manufacturer: ROAN
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ASIN: 6305436339
Release Date: 1999-10-26

Amazon.com

In the years before Hollywood submitted to the self-imposed censorship of the Production Code, filmmakers were free to use adultery, prohibition drinking, and sexual double standards to explore the moral complexity of the modern age. Of Human Bondage, John Cromwell's adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel, is the best-known but perhaps least interesting example in this triple-feature set. Leslie Howard stars as the sensitive would-be artist turned medical student who falls in love with a slutty waitress (Bette Davis, who steals the film with her cold-hearted manipulations and shrill cockney accent), allowing his desire for this vicious little tart to control and almost destroy his life. At a brief 80 minutes, the picture leaves little nourishment between the narrative peaks but is always well-acted and handsomely staged.

Stalwart Joel McCrea is the working-class engineer who marries a spoiled society girl in Kept Husbands. "Dad, I want him more than anything in the world. Can't I have him?" pleads kittenish Dorothy Mackaill, but the tug of war between his work and her play soon tears them apart. Though the plot is sometimes slow, sparkling society wit and humorous working-class platitudes (croaked out by an always entertaining Ned Sparks) add dimension to the familiar story.

Millie, the jewel of the collection, represents everything great about the pre-code era. Sweetly sexy Helen Twelvetrees is Millie, a small-town girl turned big-city woman disillusioned with love, but while she lets the good times roll she never sacrifices her ideals: "I pay my own way," she insists. When a former beau plots to seduce her 16-year-old daughter, however, the worn, sad woman becomes an avenging angel, ready to sacrifice all for the girl. Though highly melodramatic, with adultery and sex to spare, the film drives ahead with wild abandon, with the dynamic Millie centering the drama. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Only one of the three films herein, objectively, could be characterized as well-done, pre-code, and worthy of watching. .......2007-05-12

"Thank God for simple pleasures; a good appetite, roast beef, and beer." that's the moral of "Of Human Bondage." Too bad one has to whether 100+ minutes of one woman playing one man for a fool before the lesson is acknowledged. The Mildred character couldn't be more manipulative herein. Kudos to Bette Davis for the portrayal and Somerset Maugham for writing the book upon which this film is based. It's almost a truism that no film can best its novelistic heritage. One shouldn't be surprised by this. To squeze 300-400 pages of character development into 80-100 minutes of film is almost a task beyond the possible ("The Remains of the Day" comes to mind as both an exceptional book and film; and "Frankenstein" was a fabulous film, but only because it left out half the book).

Somerset Maugham's book "Of Human Bondage" is a ultimately positive parable of how a lack of self-worth sets one up for putting up with too much nonsense. "You're free," one tells Phillip. "Yes," he responds, "but suddenly, suddenly there is nowhere to go. I had to be free to realize that. I had to be free to understand that all those years that I dreamed of escape was because I was limping through life." But even then the character played ably by Leslie Howard betrays the notion that at the end he's not for embracing life's simple pleasures---that which makes life really enjoyable, but for settling for peace and tranquility---not one and the same thing. "I'll see the film because I'll never read the book" may seem logical, but is one that oughtn't be indulged in, I'd posit. If such is your predilection I'd say ignore the book as well as the film. Or see the film if such is your inclination, but certainly don't go out of your way to see it; and if you buy this 3 film set keep in mind that you won't wind up watching "Of Human Bondage" more than once.

Of the collection "Millie" works best as a film. Its story is told from the opposite viewpoint from"Of Human Bondage," by which I mean from the viewpoint of the woman who is endlessly courted by men. Where we see things through the eyes of the sap as played by Leslie Howard in "Of Human Bondage" as Bette Davis manipulates his feelings for her, in "Millie" we have a woman who plays independence in a different manner; not taking anything for anyone...until she winds up losing almost everything. "Millie" is a film that can be re-viewed, but that's not to say it is great cinema.

Then finally we have "Kept Husbands;" the plodding simple story of a rich man's daughter who decides she is going to lasso Joel McCrea's character within a month of meeting him. Soon he becomes a vice-president of 'daddy's' company and a "yes, dear" man to his pampered wife...until he declares that he just can't take it anymore and walks out. Then the wife tries to track him down at his mother's house. "Can you blame him? Who'd stand for being called a---" the spoiled wife bemoans to her mother-in-law . To which the mother-in-law responds: "All husbands are kept. Some of them are kept with money, but most of them with love, devotion, and sacrifice. Why, it's every woman's mission in life, keeping her husband." And having tried keeping him with money ultimately decides it's worth another attempt trying with love. Cheers

Cool movies, but "Of Human Bondage" isn't pre-code.......2006-08-13

The Production Code was official on July 1st, 1934. Of Human Bondage came out later that month.

Dazzling Trip Into our Pre-Code Past!.......2005-05-03

"Millie" and "Kept Husbands," both made in the very early 30s, are both a delight--a journey into America's past when movies were amazingly frank and frisky. "Millie" is the dramatic show-stopper with the legendary Helen Twelvetrees delivering a powerhouse performance. She's Millie, a weepy, naive young woman who marries a jerk and then she falls for another, bigger jerk. She has a baby who grows up to be a beautiful young woman. You watch Millie being used and dumped by more heels and she becomes increasingly bitter and gradually becomes an alcoholic. By this time, Millie has become a bitter, haggard woman who murders the sleazy heel who tries to seduce her daughter. In the courtroom scenes, Twelvetrees looks amazinly like Susan Hayward in her later years and the movie ends rather abruptly. But the scenes of Twelvetrees defending her daughter will stay in your mind, long after the movie has ended. "Kept Husbands,' is a risque, sophisticated drama, beautifully scripted and acted by Joel McCrae and Dorothy Mackail. Both are delightful as the beautiful young couple who marry for all the wrong reasons. Dorothy wants to "keep" her handsome architect all to herself and arranges a In-Name-Only high priced job with her father's construction empire. Joel is finally repulsed of being a kept husband and flees. The two stars are totally delightful. This is the first time I've seen Mackail and in some scenes, she looks exactly like Marion Davies, a close friend. You can't go wrong visiting the past in these two gems of a by-gone era where women were always beautifully gowned and everyone sat around having cocktails, flirting madly with each other and then slinking off into the boudoir.

For the Fans of Pre-Code Hollywood.......2000-10-09

It's refreshing to see some of the pre-code movies make it on to DVD. Granted, if you're looking for high quality sound and resolution, you may be sorely disappointed. "Of Human Bondage" (1934) is taken from W. Somerset Maugham's novel and is directed by John Cromwell. If you have never seen this movie, you have a treat in store for you. Watch as Bette Davis rockets into the spotlight with her immortal line to Leslie Howard "I'd like to kiss ya, but I just washed my hair." "Millie" (1931) is a the story of a romance that leads to murder. Starring Helen Twelvetrees and a very young Joan Blondell."Kept Husbands" (1931) had the ads that blazed "Every Inch a Man-Bought Body and Soul by His Wife!" Dorothy Mackaill and Joel McCrea star.They don't call these "The Risque Years" without good reason.

An alright video.......2000-07-11

This video is an "alright" compilation of three pre code films, the video quality is nothing to brag about, though understandable due to the age of the films and the wear on the source material. The sound is acceptable once again with relation to the age of the film. If you are a fan of these films this will probably be the best presentation of them available. If your not a particular fan and just looking for good movies to watch from the thirties I would probably recomend against this one.

Jane Eyre & Of Human Bondage (2 Feature Films)

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Jane Eyre & Of Human Bondage (2 Feature Films)

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ASIN: B000E7NY3O

Product Description

JANE EYRE-Solid high-profile adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte classic. OF HUMAN BONDAGE- Mildred repeatedly leaves Carey in distress but returns to him when she needs money.

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