This is the best of the filmed versions of this story. There isn't a lot of plot in this gritty, earthy early talkie but there is an astonishingly powerful tour de force performance by Mae Clarke. I had always admired her fragile beauty and strong second lead performances in many films over the years but I'd never seen this one in which she plays a prostitute or "party girl" as they used to call them in the early sound films, a girl who is forced into prostitution in London after her show closes and she cannot get decent work. There's a blitz going on and zeppelins are reigning bombs down onto London streets and people must take shelter underground. Life is extremely difficult but onto the scene comes American Douglass Montgomery whose family, wealthy as can be, live outside of London on a marvelous estate and his sister turns out to be none other than Bette Davis. Will the family accept her? Will she tell them she is a street walker? The drama unfolds and gradually grips you fully if you like pre-code movies. Montgomery and Clarke as the young lovers have a real chemistry between them. Clarke's performance totally inhabits her space as she handles objects, uses her entire body in her performance and shows a remarkable range of emotion that seems to ripple through her entire body. I had the feeling that the actress was almost possessed by the spirit of her character. At times quiet and introspective,she then her emotions rush to the forefront and in one near final scene she belts out her anguish with astonishing power and range that blew me away. I take this to be one of the great acting performances in the history of movies and it is absolutely THE most underappreciated Academy Award quality performance ever given. You may not agree but over the last 46 years I've been teaching film history at the university level and I'd stake my reputation that for its period of time there isn't anything quite like it. It is whole decades ahead of its time. You may marvel as I did at how modern her acting is and not stilted or theatrical as her contemporaries such as Bette Davis come across now. It is a performance that one would marvel at if given today. And yet her projection is also worthy of a great stage performance as well, for this is also after all basically a filmed play. James Whale is always a fascinating director. What he coaxed out of Mae Clarke in this film is something for the ages and any acting student can learn a lot about how to move about a room, use your hands, modulate your voice and use every part of your body to create a real character. It is all the more extraordinary that Whale did this in just a few weeks and with a shoestring budget. After the film I just sat for a while in rapt amazement, so grateful that this performance has been captured on film and I had the privilege to watch it. In a word, wow!.

Two Americans fall in love in WWI London in this first film adaptation of the play by Robert Sherwood. Mae Clarke plays a chorus girl who turns to prostitution when she's unable to find work. During an air raid, she meets soldier Douglass Montgomery and the two take a liking to each other. She agonizes over whether or not to pursue the relationship with the innocent young man who has no idea what she does for a living.A wonderful Pre-Code tearjerker with Mae Clarke giving her finest performance (from any movie of hers I've seen, at least). Wonderful direction from James Whale, as well. He certainly made good use of the limited budget Universal gave him. Love the sets, especially the apartment building rooftop and the bridge. Whale and Clarke would reunite that same year on a little movie you might've heard of called Frankenstein. The actor who played Baron Frankenstein in that picture, Frederick Kerr, also appears in this one. Leading man Douglass Montgomery (billed here as Kent Douglass) is largely forgotten today but does a fantastic job in a role he reportedly struggled with so much Whale had to shut down production for three days. You wouldn't know it from watching, though, as his acting is so natural and believable. The biggest name in the cast, Bette Davis, appears in a small role as Montgomery's sister. This was just her third movie.This was remade a couple of times, most notably at MGM in 1940 with Robert Taylor and Vivien Leigh. That version is more famous than this one and I enjoy it a lot. Both are great films for very different reasons. The remake is a glossy tragic romance and this one's more gritty and character driven. The romance in this one is, in some ways, more believable than in the later film. I also enjoy the ending to this one more. Both movies end sadly but this one isn't quite as contrived. This is a real winner with some wonderful acting and directing. If you've seen the Taylor/Leigh film, you should give this one a look. It's very interesting to see the same story told in two different but effective ways.

I wasn't prepared for how radically different this first film version of Waterloo Bridge was from the MGM version in 1940 that starred Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor. For one thing this was before the Code was in place and we could be a lot more frank.This version was a lot less romantic. Mae Clarke was an unapologetic street walker. She started out as an American chorus girl stranded in London during World War I when a lot of the theater closed. Now she's got to do what a girl's got to do to pay the rent. She picks up a most innocent Douglass Montgomery on Waterloo Bridge and it's his innocence that gets to her.Without going into detail she takes a stab at happiness, but after meeting his family she sees that she can never fit in. And if you've seen the more popular Leigh/Taylor version as Paul Harvey used to say you know the rest of the story.Waterloo Bridge was originally on Broadway in 1930 and ran for 64 performances, closed no doubt due to the Depression as many shows were. It starred Glenn Hunter and June Walker and I daresay this is probably close to the original stage version that Robert Sherwood wrote if not an exact transfer.Bette Davis had a small supporting role as Montgomery's sister in this film. Certainly Davis would have been outstanding in the lead, but I have no complaints with what Mae Clarke did with the role. Also outstanding is Ethel Griffies as Clarke's mercenary and realistic landlady who has no qualms about gentleman callers.If you like the classic MGM version, this original screen version from Universal is worth a look to contrast.

I'm pretty certain James Whale is one of my favorite directors. Potential pulp trash like "Frankenstein", "Bride of Frankenstein", and "The Old Dark House" were elevated to near-masterpieces (and in the case of the latter, a true masterpiece in my humble estimation) thanks to brilliant screenplays and Whale's wonderful, tasteful direction and sensibilities. "The Invisible Man" is still one of the best science fiction films ever made, and quite possibly the best Wells adaptation around, with the possible exception of "Island of Lost Souls". "Remember Last Night?" is a daring, hilarious, fascinating slice of unexpected social satire in the guise of a mystery-comedy, and remains woefully under-seen."Waterloo Bridge" is yet another immensely satisfying Whale film, and while (this being his second film) his technique is not at the same level as some of his later films, the film is still directed tastefully and often creatively, and is very well-shot as well. This was a pre-code film and hence I imagine is less sanitized than the 1940 Vivien Leigh/Robert Taylor version of the story. Mae Clarke is absolutely incredible here as a chorus girl-turned-prostitute who meets a naive 19 year old Canadian in wartime London. The writing is fantastic and the film, while melodramatic, is also subtle and tasteful in many regards. The humor (which is present in nearly all Whale films) is a lot of fun, and doesn't clash with the otherwise serious tone of the film."Waterloo Bridge" avoids the pitfalls of many melodramas by remaining a very human story about love at its core. The ending is really over-the-top, perhaps even a bit laughable, but it doesn't ruin what came before: a really great pre-code melodrama, and another exceptional film directed by James Whale. It's a good production (although the Waterloo Bridge set is not very convincing now, of course) with excellent direction, good cinematography, great writing, and a wonderful cast, especially the two leads Mae Clarke and Douglass Montgomery, but also the wonderful character actor Frederick Kerr in a smaller, more humorous role.