To me, this movie is perfection.

One of my all time favorites.

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This movie is as fascinating as it is timeless. The movie itself motivated me to buy and read W. Somerset Maugham's novel from beginning to end.Both this 1934 original and the 1946 remake with Eleanor Parker are treasures, and while the remake was essentially a reproduction of the earlier version, that makes it no less intriguing for me.While this original (and the 1946 remake) primarily encapsulate Philip's eventful and traumatic encounter with Mildred Rogers, this episode only comprises about 40 percent of the pages of Maugham's 1915 masterpiece. The episode, however, effects Philip to the very end.The screenplay was adopted from the book with some modifications for a happier ending, while being very faithful to the essence of Maugham's dynamic characters, taking many of Mildred's cockney'd lines ("I don't mind") verbatim. In the movie versions Philip's clubfoot is healed through surgery, but in Maugham's novel he seems to bear the handicap to the end, although an operation to correct it was attempted without apparent success.You can't leave this movie (or the book) unchanged, and I am grateful to have experienced it. As for Mildred, we have in life met her, all of us. And perhaps - in one way or another - we are all Philip.

There are a Number of Memorable Things in this Pre-Coder. The Most Obvious Example is Bette Davis Star Turning Performance. The "soon to be forbidden" Subjects like Out of Wedlock Pregnancies, Obvious Prostitutes, Promiscuity, and Such. Extensive Use of Surreal Wipes, Double Exposures, and Other Photographic Tricks that Manage to Move Along the Depressing Nature of the Films Protagonist and the Mostly Stilted and Oddly Staccato Line Deliveries. Leslie Howard's Self Loathing Never Ends Until the End and it can be quite a Burden that Tends to make the Film Experience Frustrating at Times. It has been Reported that when the Scene Arrives where He Looks at Bette Davis and Proclaims "You disgust me!", Cheers Erupted from Audiences in Theatres Across America.It is No Wonder. Davis' Character Mildred is so Loathsome, Selfish and Sadistic that an Ounce of Sympathy is Forever Absent. The Performance is Remarkable and Garnered Davis a "write in" Oscar Nomination. But the Howard Character is a Masochistic, Self-Pitying, Bore and his Acting Consists of Not Much More than Staring at the Floor (or is it his foot?) and Books, as well as Into Deep Space.

Of Human Bondage is one of these old movies that fell into the public domain by lack of copyright renewal, therefore it is widely available and when I saw that it had both Bette Davis - who I enjoyed in All About Eve (1950) and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) with her characteristic gaze; and Leslie Howard who was in Gone with the Wind (1939) but also in the lesser known The Petrified Forest (1936), a friend and supporter of Humphrey Bogart he helped him rise to fame.In the film, Philip Carey is a young English man living in Paris hoping to become a painter. One night a man who he asked for advice tells Philip that he is talentless and needs to find another meaning to his life. Philip decides to become a doctor, however, a club foot severely impends on his self-esteem and confidence . When Philip goes to a café and sees the young flirtatious Mildred with another patron, he falls in love immediately. Mildred turns out to be really cold towards Philip and only uses him to go to the theater when it pleases her, while still seeing the man of the restaurant. Nonetheless, Philip decides to ask her to marry him but Mildred prevents it by saying she is already getting married. A few months later, Philip finds himself in a similar situation where a woman, Norah, loves him but he doesn't love her back. When Mildred reappears, broke, pregnant and alone, Philip can't help it and helps her, leaving Norah pondering about what happened to him. Philip and Mildred are unable to live together yet their paths will cross many times and again.The best thing in the movie has to be Bette Davis' performance of the cold and cynical Mildred. She is despicably perfect in her vanity. The main issue I had with the film is probably a very personal one, but it's the fact that a man falls desperately in love with a woman. I don't believe in such a thing. Now, I do believe a woman can take advantage of a man in this very same way, but Philip felt too at loss with his own feelings that I found it hard to believe--especially because of the fact that while Mildred is absent from Philip's life, he gladly partake in another woman's life, with or without shared feelings that remains to be seen.The dialogues are very clever, particularly the discourse which inspired the movie title about human bondage. I wish there were more to be analyzed from the line of work of Philip who goes from painting nude women to medical student to business man without particular choices, as if on railtracks. What pleased me the most was the character of Mildred, it was powerful and weak at the same time. A thin line that makes characters real.I liked: Strong female lead. Cyclic. Pride and vanity - a downfall.I disliked: Filming letters is annoying for the plot, I sometimes couldn't decipher them. The role of the child. Last scene with blocked out sound.73/100 Not your typical romance, fortunately carried out by two grand actors of the 30's.Read more reviews at: www.theordinaryreview.blogspot.com

A must watch film, I genuinely loved it. Easy to watch and get drawn into, not that dated at all, and a good story we can all relate to.Lots of reviews here waxing lyrical about Bette Davis' bawdy performance, and in general I go along with them, bar her pitiful attempt at a cockney accent.Its worse than Dick van Dykes (Mary Poppins) and I never thought I'd say that about anyone. Dick had a naiive comedic consistency in his americanised version. Bette is all over the place, mainly sounding like a posh girl pretending badly to be cockney and throwing in intonations I've never heard anyone speak. Very false and messed up, and irritating - but that is what she's portraying too, so it kinda works. She was either sheltered and made no attempt to get out and hear how people speak or she wouldn't have dared do what she did, or else she has no accent skills.Beyond the accent, yes, Bette makes the film funky and fun. The other actresses I think perform better, are more convincing character wise. Kay Johnson (Norah) is stiff upper lip British and understated, a mirror to Leslie Howards character, though lighter. Frances Dee (Sally) plays a young girl who accepts her place with a charm and a wisdom beyond her years - and is the heavenly beauty of the film.Watch, enjoy, and indulge in reminiscences of the unrequited loves in your life.