Of Human Bondage [1934]

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Philip provides a flat for her, arranges to take care of her financially, and breaks off his relationship with Norah. Norah and Philip admit how interpersonal relationships may amount to bondage (Philip was bound to Mildred, as Norah was to Philip, and as Mildred was to Emil). It was a long way before Philip came up with such a conclusion, and the experience of a love for a selfish and vulgar woman, called Mildred, was the last point of his attempts to become free. His obsession with this girl can be viewed as desperate and unconscious attempt for happiness. Philip by his nature was very sensitive, but he always tried not to show his vulnerability. Mildred had no moral values and her primary interest was money and prosperity, she took advantage of Philip’s soft heart and generosity. Mildred even let herself use and hurt Philip, but he continued making efforts to win her favor and her heart. This love affair was not destined to have a happy end, but a miserable one. What he realized from this relationship was that happiness cannot be measurement of freedom, or rather the pursuit of happiness. Philip finally found peace when he stopped to look for it, and let things go their way.

Of Human Bondage 1946". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System ( Time Warner) . Retrieved 15 August 2016. Vieira, Mark A., Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1999; ISBN 0-8109-4475-8, pg. 175 Davis designed her own make-up for the scenes depicting the final stages of Mildred's illness, changed from syphilis to tuberculosis to satisfy the demands of the Hays Code, [9] which, under Joseph Breen, was beginning to expand and rigidly enforce an all-encompassing Production Code. On July 1, 1934, three days after the film was released, the upgraded system of censorship was formally announced. Although her nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress was considered a sure thing by many, [ who?] she was ignored in favor of Grace Moore for One Night of Love, Norma Shearer for The Barretts of Wimpole Street, and eventual winner Claudette Colbert for It Happened One Night. Angry voters ignored the nominees on their ballots and wrote in Davis's name, [3] and it was later announced that she had come in third, after Colbert and Shearer. Price Waterhouse was hired to count the votes and initiated the custom of keeping the results a secret the following year, [5] [7] when Davis was named Best Actress for Dangerous. Entertainment Weekly called Davis's Oscar snub one of the worst ever. [11] Reception [ edit ]It’s therefore completely fair that Of Human Bondage has become synonymous with Bette Davis’ career trajectory and remains mostly discussed in those terms… However, for our purposes, it’s also a Pre-Coder, a film from the era’s midnight — premiering in late June 1934 and released commercially in July, the same month that the notorious Production Code would be formally, officially, and uncompromisingly implemented. To say that this picture got in under the wire is an understatement, although the growing tension within the industry regarding censorship had already necessitated some changes to Maugham’s original story — specifically, the Mildred character’s final affliction is not syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease procured from a lowly stint as a prostitute, but tuberculous, a disease that anyone out in the cold, dusty streets might get… Nevertheless, this is a definite Pre-Code film, and one look at the 1940s remake proves just how beholden its predecessor is to the qualities of this notorious era, for although both decades’ takes on the story are very similar, the later adaptation focuses on the tragic, bleak atmosphere of the setting to compensate for something that it was unable to replicate from the earlier iteration: the raw, primal sexual energy that pulsates through the premise. The rest, as they say, is history, and Davis' career would soon soar to enviable and dizzying heights. Were it not for the watershed role of Mildred, however, who knows what the Davis legacy would be. Though dated and a bit stylized, 'Of Human Bondage' defines the Davis persona - a ballsy broad unafraid of risk, passionate about her craft, intolerant of incompetence, and fiercely, unashamedly driven. It may not be a great film, but it allows us to witness the birth of a great actress, and for that reason alone, it will never be obsolete. At a dinner party celebrating their engagement, one of Philip's medical student friends, Harry Griffiths, flirts with Mildred, who somewhat reciprocates. After Philip confronts Mildred, she runs off with Griffiths to Paris. A second time, Philip again finds some comfort in his studies, and with Sally Athelny, the tender-hearted daughter of one of his elderly patients in a charity hospital. The Athelny family is caring and affectionate, and they take Philip into their home.

Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times said the Maugham novel "has come through the operation of being transferred to the screen in an unexpectedly healthy fashion. It may not possess any great dramatic strength, but the very lifelike quality of the story and the marked authenticity of its atmosphere cause the spectators to hang on every word uttered by the interesting group of characters." He thought Leslie Howard's portrayal "excels any performance he has given before the camera. No more expert illustration of getting under the skin of the character has been done in motion pictures", and he described Bette Davis as "enormously effective". [12] Also that year, a reviewer in Life magazine called Bette Davis's performance the greatest ever recorded on screen by an actress. What is really significant in Of Human Bondage is that it touches almost all the complexities of human life: these are upbringing and education issues, place of religion and morality, difficulties in finding an occupation, and the obstacles which are faced when having some inability. One of the last is Philip’s clubfoot, which prevented him to become a military man or a sportsman. Finally, especially prominent is the theme of love, which usually is the reason of all the troubles. The meaning of life always has been a question of all the times, and it might never be answered, but it must not become a reason not to try. Update this section! In Paris, Philip attends art classes and makes new friends, including Fanny Price, a poor and determined but talentless art student and a loner. Fanny Price falls in love with Philip, but he does not know and has no such feelings for her. She subsequently commits suicide. The author describes in detail every failure and disappointment that Philip endured, and what impact these struggles by trials and mistakes had on establishing of his own philosophy, which fitted his own nature and helped him to become free from others’ opinions and ambitions. What Philip came to through his experience in accounting and in attempts to become a painter, was that a person should get rid of prejudices, and thus there is nothing what a man can do wrong. A medical student falls prey to a sluttish waitress. Starring Leslie Howard and Bette Davis. Screenplay by Lester Cohen. Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Directed by John Cromwell. Produced and distributed by RKO.

The book begins with the death of Helen Carey, the beloved mother of nine-year-old Philip Carey. Philip has a club foot and his father had died a few months earlier. Now orphaned, he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle, Louisa and William Carey. Davis, however, failed to earn a Best Actress nomination for an Academy Award with only three nominees ( Claudette Colbert, Norma Shearer, and Grace Moore) making the final cut. A loud faction heralding Davis's performance ended up with the Academy allowing "write in" votes in addition to the official nominees that year. Colbert, starring in three major films that year, nevertheless easily won the award for It Happened One Night (she also starred in two additional Best Picture nominees, Imitation of Life and Cleopatra) with Shearer coming in second. The non-nominated Davis came in third and reportedly the also non-nominated Myrna Loy came in to finish the top five for her performance in The Thin Man. Philip Carey’s story, with certain artistic alterations, is Maugham’s own story. The novel opens when the young Philip is informed of his mother’s death. The boy went to his mother’s closet, just as young Willie did, and wrapped his arms around as many of her dresses as possible, burying his face in them, inhaling the lingering vestiges of his mother’s perfume. Like Maugham, Philip is soon sent to England to live with his uncle, a vicar, and his Aunt Louisa. Philip differs from Willie in that he has a club foot, but this touch is simply a substitution for Willie’s affliction: stuttering. The young Maugham stuttered badly, particularly after the death of his parents, and suffered from this problem throughout his life. As Philip was abused by the students and masters of the school he attended at Tercanberry, so was Maugham ridiculed for his stuttering by his masters and fellow students at King’s School.