Of Human Bondage (1934)
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Of Human Bondage Movie Review
Of Human Bondage is a 1934 melodrama directed by John Cromwell and starring Bette Davis and Leslie Howard. It’s a solid and frequently effective, but forgettable flick.
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“Good riddance to bad rubbish“
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This is a standard 30s melodrama in every single aspect. It has a dangerous, crazy and horrible woman, and a problematic romantic relationship that dooms everyone in sight. Albeit some of the scenes here were admittedly very dramatic and interesting, most of the film was dated, dull and simply not as interesting when the protagonist wasn’t around.
Yes, Mildred Rogers is a very interesting central character. She steals the show from everyone else as she’s simply hugely memorable and entertaining even. This was Bette Davis’ first major role, a breakout one that really put her on the map, and it resulted in sort of an Oscar nomination for her. And I wholeheartedly agree with all of that as she’s amazing here – very demanding and so talented.
It was the first role that she played where she was a horrible woman, and that put a precedent for most of the other movies starring her. And she is always the best at such a role so this movie was important for showcasing that.
Leslie Howard is also reliably good as Phillip, although his character is more standard and forgettable. But the relationship between the two is very well developed, and ultimately emotionally rewarding and powerful even.
But Of Human Bondage simply struggled too much whenever the two weren’t on screen as all of the other characters are not only never as interesting, but they’re also frankly dull and they made the movie more boring and they blunted the whole experience.
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It’s a very short flick, but it feels longer owing to very poor, slow pacing and a bad structure to it. The direction from John Cromwell is also pretty weak. The dialogue is great though, and some conversations are certainly quite powerful and memorable. I just wanted a more polished look to it and better direction and pacing.
Of Human Bondage is at its best when dealing with its protagonist and her rocky central relationship. The dialogue is great and Bette Davis is fantastic in this breakout role for her which set the standard for all of the other performances that would follow. But the movie is otherwise dated, overly slow and frankly even dull in its supporting characters who are never as interesting as the main one is.
