![\"Of](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/melodramaresearchgroup\/files\/2013\/10\/Of-Human-Bondage-eyes.jpg\")
<\/a>her eyes to express these contradictory aspects of Mildred\u2019s character.\u00a0 Occasionally Mildred with her head tipped down, steadily and flirtatiously looked up at Philip across the top of her champagne glass (see picture on right).\u00a0 More often though, she flicked her eyes away from him, either quickly or slowly, to signal her disagreement with him or to reveal that she was mulling over an offer he had made.<\/p>\n\n What made it unforgettable is that as Mildred is shouting angrily with mad, staring eyes, she is also smiling, or perhaps more correctly, grimacing. She clearly relishes having the opportunity to express her true feelings to Philip. This was compared to other moments in Davis films when her characters\u2019 real self is unleashed, for example In This Our Life <\/i>(1942, John Huston).<\/p>\n Davis\u2019 other \u2018big\u2019 scene revealed more of Mildred\u2019s vindictiveness. This is very possibly even worse than her spontaneous reaction to Philip\u2019s comment as she has had time to consider her actions.\u00a0 She gleefully rampages through Philip\u2019s apartment, destroying the works of art which mean the most to him, but which she has declared she finds vulgar.The music which accompanies the following scene is revealing. Mildred coolly picks up \u2018baby\u2019 from her cot in preparation of them both leaving Philip\u2019s apartment.\u00a0 There is a \u2018frowsy\u2019, almost comedic, quality to the music. While the audience has never entertained the same illusions about Mildred as Philip has, it\u00a0suggests that after her tirade and the following rampage the film is now signalling through music that her real nature is indeed shabby. It was mentioned that apparently after the first screening of the film, some of its music was changed as it was considered too comedic in places.<\/p>\n Our focus on performance, and in particular specific moments of heighted emotion and gesture was related to some of the discussion we engaged in at our previous screening sessions. Of special interest, and worthy of further consideration, is how these instances are juxtaposed with elements of restraint.<\/p>\n Some of the film\u2019s more avant garde touches were also discussed. We noted the straight-to-camera acting of Davis and Howard in particular, during which eyelines did not match and the 180 degree rule was violated. The film\u2019s ending which shows Philip and Sally crossing a busy street was deemed particularly odd. We presume that Philip is telling Sally of Mildred\u2019s death, and the fact he is now free, but the unnecessarily loud traffic noise drowns out the dialogue. There did not seem to be any real reason for this, especially as we had already seen Davis at her most unglamorous as the dying Mildred was collected from her room and taken to hospital.<\/p>\n There was also a dreamlike quality to much of the film, not just during the projection of \n This highlights further melodrama and British social realism\u2019s connections, mentioned in last term\u2019s discussion on Love on the Dole<\/em> (1941).<\/p>\n TV adaptations were made in a 1949 episode of Studio One<\/i> starring Charlton Heston and Felicia Montealegre (watch the whole episode here:http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=klGfU5VKGAc<\/a>) \u00a0and as part of \u00a0Somerset Maugham TV Theatre \u00a0in 1952.\u00a0 Cloris Leachman appeared as Mildred.<\/p>\n Discussion ended with brief mention of\u00a0the critical evaluation of Maugham as a novelist. Many thanks to Ann-Marie for choosing such a wonderful film which certainly gave us plenty to chew over\u2026<\/p>\n As ever, do log in to comment, or email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk<\/a> to add your thoughts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Posted by Sarah Our first post-screening discussion after the lengthy Summer Break was lively, and encompassed several areas relating to melodrama, this specific film and Bette Davis. It included comment on: Bette Davis\u2019 performance; the film as an adaptation of … Continue reading <\/a>Despite the fact that throughout the film Davis employed theatrics, and could hardly be described as restrained, her two big scenes were stunningly effective. In Mildred\u2019s tirade against Philip, which we discussed at length, Davis ratcheted her performance up a gear. There is constant movement in this scene. Both by Davis, who turns to and away from the camera whilst striding away from it,\u00a0 and by the camera itself which follows Davis at some speed. Extra impetus was added by the fact that the scene was fairly quiet up to this point.\u00a0 It was also the first time we saw Mildred really furious. This was prompted by Philip\u2019s comment that Mildred disgusts him. This, in turn, was in response to her attempt to seduce him. After repeating Philip\u2019s words with her voice and body shaking with disbelief and anger, the scene reaches its climax as Davis performs a violent gesture. She tells Philip that every time he has kissed her she wiped her mouth. Mildred clearly thinks this is a useful phrase to torment Philip with, and she repeats it, at<\/a> increased volume. Davis also emphasises the point by ferociously rubbing her arm across her heavily lipsticked mouth.\u00a0 It is notable that while the gesture is arguably one of the film\u2019s most memorable moments, partly due to Davis\u2019 heightened performance, it does not appear in the novel.<\/p>\n<\/a>As with some of our previous discussions, we spoke about the suffering woman. While the film showcased Davis\u2019 performance, it was perhaps less about Mildred\u2019s suffering than Philip\u2019s.\u00a0 This is similar to the source novel.\u00a0 Much of its 700 pages detailed Philip\u2019s childhood, his time spend living abroad, his medical training and his later search for employment. Unsurprisingly the 83 minute film dispensed with much of the novel\u2019s plot. The fact it chose to focus on Philip and Mildred as its main characters was testament to the pernicious effect Mildred had on Philip and clearly related to Hollywood\u2019s privileging of the romantic couple.<\/p>\n<\/a>Philip\u2019s other romantic relationships <\/a>(with Norah, played by Kay Johnson, left, and Sally, played by Frances Dee, right) were given little screen time, not really enough to compete with Mildred\u2019s central position. The female characters and performances other than Mildred\/Davis were very restrained.\u00a0 Other characters (such as Dr Jacobs, the medical student Griffiths and especially the flamboyant Athelny) were sketched more broadly. We thought these characterisations probably lacked depth because they were given very little time to make their impression. It is perhaps also telling that these are all played by male actors \u2013 Desmond Roberts, Reginald Denny and Reginald Owen respectively. While the performance styles differ to the lesser female characters, they also supply contrast to Davis and Howard\u2019s more nuanced portrayals.<\/p>\n<\/a>Philip\u2019s dreams. The latter afforded a greater opportunity for Davis to display her acting skills as in these Mildred is far more responsive to Philip, especially facially. In his dreams Philip imagines Mildred speaking with Received Pronunciation. As the \u2018real\u2019 Mildred, Davis shows Mildred\u2019s doomed attempts to achieve this accent. This is revealing of Philip\u2019s prejudices and it is also notable that in the dream sequences his physical disability has disappeared. This split between reality and dream also effectively highlights the unusual\u00a0 social realism of the film and Hollywood\u2019s usual focus on the glamour of coupledom and romance.<\/p>\n<\/a>We wondered about later versions of the story. In 1946 Paul Henreid (Davis\u2019 co-star in Now Voyager<\/i> 1942 and Deception<\/i> 1946) and Eleanor Parker starred in a Hollywood remake directed by Edmund Goulding (who often collaborated with Davis). \u00a0Kim Novak and Laurence Harvey starred in the 1964 UK film (see a clip of Mildred\u2019s death scene: http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=N8iVYV93BYw<\/a>). Interestingly this was written by Bryan Forbes and partly directed by him (uncredited) alongside the UK\u2019s Ken Hughes and Hollywood\u2019s Henry Hathaway. Forbes is known for his kitchen sink drama The L Shaped Room<\/i> in 1962.<\/p>\n<\/a>We also discussed Howard and Davis\u2019 other films together. They appeared in The Petrified Forest<\/i> (1936) and It\u2019s Love I\u2019m After<\/i> (1937) \u2013 both directed by Archie Mayo.\u00a0 While the former could also be described as a melodrama, a gangster melodrama, the latter is a light romantic comedy in which Howard and Davis play a bickering couple. Performance is central to this film too, however as their characters are actors. (Do take a quick look on www.youtube.com<\/a>\u00a0for clips and trailers.)<\/p>\n<\/a>He is considered by some to be trashy, and this complements Mildred\u2019s character in Of Human Bondage. <\/i>Unusually for a male author can be considered middlebrow. We will look into this more next week when we screen Rain<\/i> (1932) which is a screen translation of his 1921 short story. <\/i><\/p>\n