In a London tea shop, young medical student Paul Henreid (as Philip Carey) meets ill-tempered waitress Eleanor Parker (as Mildred Rogers). Lacking in love due to his club-foot (defined online as, "a deformed foot that is twisted so that the sole cannot be placed flat on the ground"), Mr. Henreid is smitten with Ms. Parker. He wins a date, but is stood up on the second. Parker dumps Henreid for a more handsome man. The situation repeats and we wonder if and when Henreid will learn his lesson and hook up with beautiful writer Alexis Smith (as Nora Nesbitt) or pretty 16-year-old Janis Paige (as Sally Athelny)...
The black-and-white photography, by Peverell Marley, is the film's main strength...
This re-make of the more famous "Of Human Bondage" (1934) gets off to a bumpy start with a scene involving Henreid and Ms. Smith. Someone should have noticed Smith copying the phrasing of Bette Davis - for example, accenting the last word of sentences. After about 30 minutes, Smith does a Joan Crawford impression. This makes is more difficult for Parker. She's too perfect and proper-looking for the role, anyway. The story (or, this part of Somerset Maugham's larger novel) would work well (better) with Henreid's character aged - unfortunately, this alteration was not made; instead, his youth is firmly noted.
***** Of Human Bondage (7/5/46) Edmund Goulding ~ Paul Henreid, Eleanor Parker, Alexis Smith, Edmund Gwenn
The black-and-white photography, by Peverell Marley, is the film's main strength...
This re-make of the more famous "Of Human Bondage" (1934) gets off to a bumpy start with a scene involving Henreid and Ms. Smith. Someone should have noticed Smith copying the phrasing of Bette Davis - for example, accenting the last word of sentences. After about 30 minutes, Smith does a Joan Crawford impression. This makes is more difficult for Parker. She's too perfect and proper-looking for the role, anyway. The story (or, this part of Somerset Maugham's larger novel) would work well (better) with Henreid's character aged - unfortunately, this alteration was not made; instead, his youth is firmly noted.
***** Of Human Bondage (7/5/46) Edmund Goulding ~ Paul Henreid, Eleanor Parker, Alexis Smith, Edmund Gwenn