The clubfooted aspirant painter Philip Carey (Leslie Howard) is advised by an acquaintance to give-up his artistic ambition since he is a mediocre artist. He joins the medical school in London using his inheritance to pay the school and to have a comfortable life. When he meets the cold cockney waitress Mildred Rogers (Bette Davis) in a restaurant, the shy Philip has a crush on her but she rejects him. Philip stalks her and dates her; however the easy woman scorns him. When Philip proposes Mildred, she tells him that she is going to marry her lover Miller (Alan Hale), leaving the brokenhearted Philip obsessed for her. He tries to move on, dating the affectionate Norah (Kay Johnson) in an unrequited love. However, when Mildred returns alone and pregnant, Philip lodges them in his home. Sooner Mildred becomes lover of Philip's friend Reginald Denny (Harry Griffiths) and leaves Philip again. When Philip finds Mildred and her baby later abandoned on the street, he brings them home. Mildred unsuccessfully tries to seduce Philip but he loathes her; Mildred feels humiliated and wrecks his apartment and burns his savings, forcing Philip to quit the medical school. However his teacher offers to operate his feet first and Philip becomes a normal man. But he does not succeed to find a job and his life goes downhill fast until he meets a friend that helps him.
"Of Human Bondage" is an unpleasant romance about unrequited love, betrayal and sexual obsession. The restrictions of the moral code of the society in the 30's force the director and screenplay writer to be vague and open in many scenes, destroying the full understanding of the plot like, for example, the dialog between Sally and Philip in the last scene. I found a reasonable explanation in the IMDb Message Board from a user that read the novel. The good point is that there is no use of clichés and the story is not dated. I loved the performance of Bette Davis, but I am a great fan of this awesome actress therefore my opinion might be compromised. However, the nomination to the Oscar also corroborates with my comment. In Brazil, this movie was released on DVD by Continental Distributor. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Escravos do Desejo" ("Slaves of the Desire")
