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Having been born with a club foot, Philip (Leslie Howard) is a man to whom actual happiness has remained elusive, so much so that he has grown accustomed to accept defeat - so when he lives the life of a painter in Paris and one well-meaning art expert (Adrian Rosley) tells him he lacks talent and should do something else, he packs his bags and moves to London to study medicine. Once there, he falls in love with a fresh waitress, Mildred (Bette Davis). She keeps him at arm's length, but always lets on she might be interested and is glad to let him take her out, even if she makes no secret out of going out with another, older and richer, guy, Miller (Alan Hale) out on the side. But on the day Philip proposes to her, Mildred breaks up with him, claiming she has been asked by Miller to marry her first. Philip is hearbroken - but soon finds solace with Norah (Kay Johnson), a woman that really cares for him. It could be perfect, if it wasn't for Mildred, who comes back into Philip's life one day and claims Miller has divorced her after finding out she's expecting his baby. Philip breaks up with Norah and lets Mildred back into his life, even though he finds out she was never actually married to Miller, merely his mistress. But he pays for an apartment for her, is there at the birth of her daughter, and tries everything in his power to make her happy. She repays him by starting an affair with his best friend Griffiths (Reginald Denny), and when Philip finds out, she breaks up with him to go to Paris with Griffiths - but Griffiths soon grows wary of her and drops her like a hot potato. In the meantime, Philip has made friends with one of the patients of the hospital he's interning at, Athelny (Reginald Owen), and Athelny has a lovely daughter, Sally (Frances Dee), who's clearly interested in him, and he too is charmed by her. But then he learns that Mildred's in dire straits, and he feels compelled to come to her rescue, and he lets her and the baby move in with him, but refuses to get emotionally attached to her again (at least on the outside) - which eventually drives Mildred so furious that she thrashes his apartment, burns all his stocks and bonds that so far gave him a healthy income, and leaves with the baby. Without income, Philip can no longer afford to study, but as a parting gift, his tutor at the university (Desmond Roberts) performs surgery to cure his club foot and thus remove what Philip has always considered the biggest impediment to his happiness. But despite being club-footed no more, Philip finds it near impossible to find work, and without money he's soon evicted from his apartment as well, and for a time struggles to make ends meet - until he runs into Sally again, and she and her dad almost force him to move in with them, and Athelny also gives Philip a job in his boots store. Once more, Mildred crosses Philip's path, and by now she seems on her wit's end, with her health failing and the baby having died a year ago. Philip gives her enough money to make it through the week, maybe more, but other than that tries to keep his distance. This is when an inheritance gives him his independence back, but being his own man again, what will he do?

A rather powerful drama that sure enough shows his age when it comes to directorial choices, and some of the dialogue seems rather contrived. But that said, Leslie Howard's anaemic performance, contrasted by Bette Davis at her best going through all the motions alone is already worth your time, while the character-driven plot strikes a chord that's timeless, so despite the film clearly being a product of its time, the story rings true even today.

For those inclined, also check out the video review of Of Human Bondage I did with filmmaker Sean Weathers, with the movie in its entirety playing afterwards.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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