It's an iconic moment, mesmerizing and magnificent, but the movie as a whole can't live up to it. Davis' unbridled, often manic energy fuels the film, yet when she's off screen, there's little wind pushing the picture's sails. Director John Cromwell is perhaps the first director to recognize the power and magnetism of those Bette Davis eyes, and he marvelously showcases them in a few gorgeous close-ups, but the rest of his treatment of the material is uninspired. Though the essence of Maugham's story still resonates (and anyone who's ever been involved in an unhealthy relationship can surely relate to it), Davis is the reason to watch 'Of Human Bondage,' despite the fact even her work is wildly inconsistent. Maugham had a stammer (instead of a club foot), lost his parents early in life, and was sent to live with his aunt and uncle. He studied medicine and his tastes in literature coincide with those of the main character in this book. Although Maugham was never an artist, he was interested in painting. He possessed in his private collection works by four painters mentioned in the book: Pissarro, Sisley, Monet, and Renoir. In The Summing Up, he discloses that he read Ruskin and became acquainted with many pieces of European art. Many of his other works are focused on this topic: The Moon and Sixpence (the main character has some resemblance to Paul Gauguin). Maugham wrote an article for Life magazine titled "Painting I Have Liked". Of Human Bondage is, probably, the most vivid instance of Maugham's inclination towards arts. According to Stanley Archer, more than 30 artists are named in the book, ten famous paintings are mentioned by name and many others are referred to. Over half of the 33 artists named in the novel were painters whose careers developed primarily in the 19th century. Of these, 13 are French, five English, and one, Whistler, is American. Eleven were alive at the time in which the plot of the novel is unfolding and five – Carolus-Duran, Degas, Monet, Raffaëlli, and Renoir – were alive when Of Human Bondage was published in 1915. [4] In other media [ edit ] Film [ edit ] Nervous about audience reaction to her performance, Davis opted not to attend a preview of the film in Santa Barbara, although her mother Ruth and husband Harmon O. Nelson went. Ruth later related, "For one hour and a half of horrible realism, we sat riveted without speaking a word, with only a fleeting glance now and then at each other. We left the theater in absolute silence. Neither of us knew what to think, for we felt the picture would make or break her, but would the public like the unpleasant story as well as the people at the preview seemed to?" Upon arriving home, her husband told Davis he thought her performance, while "painfully sincere", might harm her career. [3] Of Human Bondageis one of the most famous and intimate novels of Somerset Maugham, and tells us about the main character’s path of life filled with difficult trials. Early in childhood having become an orphan, he was deprived of parents’ care and kindness. His dream to become a painter never came true and love for a narrow-minded and wanton woman brought only sufferings and disappointments. But Philip endured everything that fate had in store for him with fortitude, and managed to find his own place in life.

The author describes in detail every failure and disappointment that Philip endured, and what impact these struggles by trials and mistakes had on establishing of his own philosophy, which fitted his own nature and helped him to become free from others’ opinions and ambitions. What Philip came to through his experience in accounting and in attempts to become a painter, was that a person should get rid of prejudices, and thus there is nothing what a man can do wrong. Through Philip, Maugham broaches the question of his own loss of religious faith. Young Philip hears that if one prays fervently enough, all one’s prayers will be answered. When he puts this guarantee to the test by praying as fervently as he can that his club foot will be made whole, his prayers are not answered. This disappointment unleashes a doubt that finally causes Philip to reject the religion in which he has been reared.

Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times said the Maugham novel "has come through the operation of being transferred to the screen in an unexpectedly healthy fashion. It may not possess any great dramatic strength, but the very lifelike quality of the story and the marked authenticity of its atmosphere cause the spectators to hang on every word uttered by the interesting group of characters." He thought Leslie Howard's portrayal "excels any performance he has given before the camera. No more expert illustration of getting under the skin of the character has been done in motion pictures", and he described Bette Davis as "enormously effective". [12] Also that year, a reviewer in Life magazine called Bette Davis's performance the greatest ever recorded on screen by an actress.

Original pre-print materials are not known to survive, but the film was preserved by the Library of Congress from archival 35mm elements and this version was released on US DVD and Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in 2013. This is the second film version of Somerset Maugham's classic novel. The first was the 1934 film adaptation, starring Leslie Howard and Bette Davis, [2] [3] and the third was the 1964 film adaptation, starring Laurence Harvey and Kim Novak.

As time progresses, a letter is sent to Philip which informs him that his uncle has died, leaving a small inheritance. With the inheritance money, Philip is able to return to medical school and pass his examinations to become a physician. a b c d e Davis, Bette, A Lonely Life. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons 1962. ISBN 0-425-12350-2, pp. 173–76, 179–80

To explain the non-English accent of Philip Carey, portrayed by Paul Henreid, reference was made to his Austrian mother. Henreid was actually too old for the role and was fitted with a blond wig to disguise his age.Philip Carey’s story, with certain artistic alterations, is Maugham’s own story. The novel opens when the young Philip is informed of his mother’s death. The boy went to his mother’s closet, just as young Willie did, and wrapped his arms around as many of her dresses as possible, burying his face in them, inhaling the lingering vestiges of his mother’s perfume. Like Maugham, Philip is soon sent to England to live with his uncle, a vicar, and his Aunt Louisa. Philip differs from Willie in that he has a club foot, but this touch is simply a substitution for Willie’s affliction: stuttering. The young Maugham stuttered badly, particularly after the death of his parents, and suffered from this problem throughout his life. As Philip was abused by the students and masters of the school he attended at Tercanberry, so was Maugham ridiculed for his stuttering by his masters and fellow students at King’s School. Philip's intention is to marry Mildred after her child is born, but a bored and restless Mildred is an uninterested mother, and she hands the baby's care to a nurse. Maugham brings a lot of issues in his novel concerning every single aspect of human lives. Among these are the dangerous games people are playing, the place of cruelty and compassion, and how people create their own bondages in and their tries to become free. In this novel Maugham shows himself more than a writer; we see how deeply he reaches the psychological and philosophical aspects of human nature. Philip, an impoverished, clubfooted, failed artist, is attending medical school in London, using a trust set up for him by a wealthy uncle for tuition. When he initially meets Mildred, she pays scant attention to him and he finds her common and crass, but his wounded pride spurs him to return to the restaurant where she works, hoping to spark her interest. He invites her to accompany him to the theatre and, because she has nothing else to do, Mildred accepts. Philip spends what little money he has on her before she breaks a date with him and an ugly argument ensues. When he discovers she apparently has run off to marry one of her regular customers, Miller, he initially is happy to be free from his emotional bondage to her. a b c d e f g Stine, Whitney, and Davis, Bette, Mother Goddam: The Story of the Career of Bette Davis. New York: Hawthorn Books 1974; ISBN 0-8015-5184-6, pp. 41–42, 50–51, 57–63, 68