Waterloo Bridge (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
'Waterloo Bridge', a pre-Code war melodrama directed by James Whale (of Frankenstein fame), has been made 3 times, including a remake in 1940 starring Vivian Leigh. That film & Leigh's performance is very good. But it paled this 1931 version. Myra Deauville (Mae Clarke) is a seductive American chorus girl who's unemployed in London when her show closes on New Year's Eve. A few yrs. pass & she's still not working at the start of WWI ... so she's forced to survive as a street prostitute. Working on the titular Waterloo Bridge during a Zeppelin air raid, she meets Roy Cronin (likeable Douglass Montgomery), a naive 19 yr. old who has joined the Royal Canadian forces. They go back to her dumpy apartment where she refuses his gift of $$ to pay her overdue rent; he's completely unaware of her 'profession' & invites her to his family's sprawling country estate, which she initially refuses.
But the next day, he tricks her into going & she meets his wealthy stepfather, Maj. Wetherby (Frederick Kerr), his regal American mother, Mary (Enid Bennett) & cheeky sister, Janet (Bette Davis, her 1st year being in films!). After Roy proposes, Myra tells his mom her 'profession' & departs without telling Roy. See, Myra is conflicted & tormented; she believes she is trash, whereas Roy's mother actually believes her to be good & kind {though, maybe not right for her son}. Roy is about to be shipped to the front in France & goes to her flat, where her nosy-body landlady tells him that she's a prostitute; but nonplussed, he pays her rent. Roy still wants to marry Myra & catches up with her at the infamous Waterloo Bridge & begs her to marry him. I will not divulge what happens next.
I was completely surprised by this film. James Whale's direction was great, delicately mixing realism & impressionism; Arthur Edeson's cinematography must also be commended. Many films from the early 1930s did not have a distinctly beautiful look or visual flair ... but this one did! The camera positions, movement, angles, soft focus-- it all aided the drama of the story. Even the way Whale/Edeson have the camera positioned on the characters (both indoors & outside) as they converse is unique. I don't know how to explain it but, believe me that the look & feel of this film is special {given the era it was made in}.
But what makes 'Waterloo Bridge' work best is Mae Clarke's striking performance as tragic heroine, Myra. Clarke is best known as the wife of Dr. Frankenstein in Whale's other famed work, & also for getting a face-full of grapefruit from James Cagney in Public Enemy. Look, that's 3 acclaimed performances from 1931 alone. How she didn't receive an Academy Award nomination that year is beyond me. Clarke plays Myra as tormented, embittered, but vulnerable; still hanging on to some hope in life. Aside from a melodramatic outburst late in the proceedings, she plays this type of role - in my mind - pretty perfectly. I also enjoyed the heartfelt chemistry btwn. Clarke & Montgomery; VERY realistic conversations & behaviors for a film from that time. Montgomery plays the handsome, but dumb blonde role quite endearingly. The trajectory of the story in 'Waterloo Bridge' prevents me from outright loving it. But it really is a minor masterpiece from the early 1930s.
But the next day, he tricks her into going & she meets his wealthy stepfather, Maj. Wetherby (Frederick Kerr), his regal American mother, Mary (Enid Bennett) & cheeky sister, Janet (Bette Davis, her 1st year being in films!). After Roy proposes, Myra tells his mom her 'profession' & departs without telling Roy. See, Myra is conflicted & tormented; she believes she is trash, whereas Roy's mother actually believes her to be good & kind {though, maybe not right for her son}. Roy is about to be shipped to the front in France & goes to her flat, where her nosy-body landlady tells him that she's a prostitute; but nonplussed, he pays her rent. Roy still wants to marry Myra & catches up with her at the infamous Waterloo Bridge & begs her to marry him. I will not divulge what happens next.
I was completely surprised by this film. James Whale's direction was great, delicately mixing realism & impressionism; Arthur Edeson's cinematography must also be commended. Many films from the early 1930s did not have a distinctly beautiful look or visual flair ... but this one did! The camera positions, movement, angles, soft focus-- it all aided the drama of the story. Even the way Whale/Edeson have the camera positioned on the characters (both indoors & outside) as they converse is unique. I don't know how to explain it but, believe me that the look & feel of this film is special {given the era it was made in}.
But what makes 'Waterloo Bridge' work best is Mae Clarke's striking performance as tragic heroine, Myra. Clarke is best known as the wife of Dr. Frankenstein in Whale's other famed work, & also for getting a face-full of grapefruit from James Cagney in Public Enemy. Look, that's 3 acclaimed performances from 1931 alone. How she didn't receive an Academy Award nomination that year is beyond me. Clarke plays Myra as tormented, embittered, but vulnerable; still hanging on to some hope in life. Aside from a melodramatic outburst late in the proceedings, she plays this type of role - in my mind - pretty perfectly. I also enjoyed the heartfelt chemistry btwn. Clarke & Montgomery; VERY realistic conversations & behaviors for a film from that time. Montgomery plays the handsome, but dumb blonde role quite endearingly. The trajectory of the story in 'Waterloo Bridge' prevents me from outright loving it. But it really is a minor masterpiece from the early 1930s.