Main Cast: Kim Novak, Laurence Harvey, Robert Morley, Siobhan McKenna, Roger Livesey
Release Year: 1964
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 100 minutes
Plot
This third screen adaptation of Somerset Maugham's novel about the destructiveness of sexual obsession stars Laurence Harvey as Philip Carey, a club-footed artist who after two unsuccessful years in Paris decides to pursue a career in medicine instead. During his medical studies he falls in love with a waitress, Mildred Rogers (Kim Novak), who takes advantage of his attraction to her. When Mildred leaves him to marry another man, Philip falls in love with a writer (Siobhan McKenna), who encourages him to complete his studies. Under her tutelage, Philip excels in medical school. But when Mildred returns, pregnant and abandoned by her husband, Philip takes her in and cares for her, breaking off with the kind-hearted writer. Staying with Philip at his flat, Mildred has an affair with his best friend. Confronting her with her indiscretions, Mildred tells Philip how repulsed she is by his club foot and walks out on him. Philip once again throws himself into his studies, passing his examinations and taking an internship at a London hospital. There he hears Mildred has become a cheap prostitute. Philip travels to the brothel where she is living in poverty with her child and takes her under his wing once again. As before, Mildred walks out on Philip, trashing his apartment and taking to the streets. When Philip comes upon her again, he finds that her child has died and she is suffering from the advanced stages of syphilis. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
By the time this remake rolled around, Of Human Bondage was pretty familiar stuff -- if not because of the previous two filmed versions, then because this kind of sexual obsession story had been the basis of other films as well. This Bondage doesn't work very well, largely because the elements simply aren't right. Bryan Forbes' screenplay misses the mark, the direction is unconvincing, and the leads are miscast. However, the miscasting in one of the cases is rather fascinating. As the manipulative slattern, Kim Novak is far too kittenish and sympathetic (and boasts a truly appalling accent). She certainly has the looks that make one believe a man would sell his soul for her, but she can't commit to the baseness of the character. And yet, despite these flaws, she offers moments of rare insight into the character. She's clearly attempting to explore the contradictions in and depth of the role. She doesn't succeed in reconciling those contradictions into a credible person, or in delving quite deep enough on a consistent basis, but she has moments that are very striking. The same cannot be said of Laurence Harvey, who conveys the character's anger well but comes across as flat and boring when attempting to mine the tenderness and sensitivity that is crucial to the film's success. His superficial performance matches the writing and the direction. The strength of the basic story, and Novak's intriguing performance, make the film watchable -- but not the compelling experience it should have been. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Jack Hedley - Griffiths; Ronald Lacey - Matthews; Anthony Booth - Martin; Brenda Fricker; Anna Manahan - Waitress; Leo McCabe - Elderly Man in Railway Carriage; Nanette Newman - Sally Athelny; John Sutton - Kingsford; Olive White - Griffith's Girlfriend; Bryan Forbes; Blanaid Irvine - Distinguished Girl; Helen Robinson - Manager-Cashier; David Morris - Young Philip Carey; Danny O'Shea - Headwaiter; May Cluskey - Sister; Martin Crosbie; Brendan Mathews - Technician; Eamonn Morrisey - Bespectacled Student; Cecil Nash - Father of Boy with Clubfoot; Jacqueline Taylor - Cook/Woman Patient
After two unsuccessful years pursuing an art career in Paris, clubfooted Philip Carey decides to study medicine. He meets and falls in love with Mildred Rogers, a low-class waitress who takes advantage of his feelings for her.
When she leaves him to marry another man, Philip falls in love with Nora Nesbitt, a writer who encourages him to complete his studies. Mildred returns, pregnant and abandoned by her husband, and Philip takes her in and cares for her, ending his relationship with Nora.
While staying with Philip, Mildred has an affair with his best friend Griffiths, and when Philip confronts her, she tells Philip she's repulsed by him and walks out.
After earning his degree, Philip becomes an intern at a London hospital. He learns Mildred is working as a prostitute and seeks her out at the brothel where she's living with her ailing child.
He takes the two under his wing, but once again Mildred leaves him. When he finally finds her in a clinic for the indigent, he discovers her child has died and Mildred, in the advanced stages of syphilis, dies in her spurned lover's arms.
Production notes
Henry Hathaway began as director but bowed out shortly after production began. Screenwriter Brian Forbes then briefly tackled the job of directing before the assignment fell to Ken Hughes.[1]
A.H. Weiler of the New York Times called the film a "surface, stoic old-fashioned tale" and added, "The pitiful meagerness of heartfelt dialogue, direction and acting, so essential in transporting Maugham's three-dimensional figures from book to screen, is noticeable almost from the start of this largely unemotional drama. These are not classically tortured people who emerge whole and alive on film but are, instead, artificially quaint Edwardians who are simply play acting and speaking lines that seem alien to them and the viewer . . . Laurence Harvey and Kim Novak . . . seem painfully miscast. Mr. Harvey's portrayal is, at best, a succession of basically vacuous, woebegone attitudes. He appears to be more distracted than heartsick or emotionally undone. One wonders what he ever saw, aside from an occasional physical view, in Miss Novak's conception of the ill-fated, blonde Cockney whose East End accent and actions are often a laughable parody of the real articles . . . Most of the time, this pallid drama constitutes bondage for a discerning observer."[2]
Time said, "As portrayed by actress Novak, Mildred giggles a lot and speaks cockney like a girl who learned the sound of Bow bells from somewhere in South Chicago."[3]
TV Guide says, "As the doomed pair, Novak and Harvey are passable but little more than that. Harvey looks too old for the role and fails to give his character much life, while Novak, although making a valiant attempt, never conveys enough passion to make her role believable. Further denying any dramatic potential is Forbes' unispired adaptation of Maugham's novel. Rather than probe the psychological makeup of the characters, the script consistently focuses on superficial motivations with all the emotional intensity of a high-school drama-society production."[4]
