Of Human Bondage (1934)

Directed by John Cromwell. Starring Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Frances Dee, Reginald Denny, Kay Johnson, Reginald Owen, Alan Hale, Reginald Sheffield.

W. Somerset Maugham’s semi-autobiographical drama of delicate, clubfooted medical student Howard and his infatuation for shrewish hussy Davis. Sensitive treatment of material that emerges as a cautionary tale, as absorbing as it is frustrating to witness. Bette’s star-making turn seizes attention whenever she’s onscreen, though she’s not shy when it comes to overacting, and her Cockney accent has more than just a few rough patches; gentlemanly Howard shrinks in her presence (but that’s the point), only blooming in the company of requisite good girl Dee. Screenplay adaptation by Lester Cohen; music by Max Steiner.

78/100