This is the film that started it all. Hollywood's version of Somerset Maugham's tragic tale which features an electrifying performance by Bette Davis. A little over-the-top by some standards, but given the stylized acting of the early sound era, and her desire to be noticed, it makes perfect sense. Thanks to wonderful performances by the leads, this version of Maugham's story is certainly the finest.

Leslie Howard plays Philip Carey, a Club-footed artist, who studies painting in Paris. He realizes that his work will never be more than second-rate, so he returns to England and begins to study medicine. Davis is Mildred, a blond tart whom he meets in the restaurant where she works as a waitress. She manipulates his affection almost blatantly, for her own selfish gain. She later breaks off the relationship to marry Emil Miller (Allan Hale) and Philip takes solace with the sympathetic Norah (Johnson). Still, Philip can only think of Mildred.





He takes her in when she returns pregnant and abandoned by Emil, but she runs away again, this time with Philip's friend Harry (Denny). And yet she returns one last time. He finally shows Mildred that he can't be played for the fool any longer, and she quite simply goes ballistic. Just to see that scene alone is worth the price of the movie rental. Davis gyrates, yowls, and practically foams at the mouth....In short, she's magnificent.

"You dirty swine! I never cared for you, not one bit. I was always making a fool of ya. Ya bored me stiff, I hated ya. It made me sick when I had to let ya kiss me. I only did it because ya begged me, ya hounded me and drove me crazy! And after ya kissed me, I always used to wipe my mouth! Wipe my mouth!!"

Davis was languishing in unimportant roles at Warners, and got the part by lobbying Jack Warner to loan her to RKO. No other leading ladies of the era would touch the part of the sluttish Mildred, as Mildred was a horrible creature who they feared would be much too unsympathetic, and might garner them a negative image from their public. These women were tied to the Studio-based image machine, and weren't willing to take that kind of risk. Davis, on the other hand, was not afraid to take chances for the sake of the her craft.





Bette knew a good part when she saw it, and was probably glad to get it. She threw herself into the role. Striving for a look of realism that was definitely lacking at the time, she even supervised her own makeup so that it would convey Mildred's decline from syphilis. She was very vocal regarding her disappointment that she failed to receive an Oscar nomination as Best Actress. Her performance in this film was just a glimpse of what was to come.