Waterloo Bridge

The version of 'Waterloo Bridge' from 1940, with Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor, has always been a favourite, so I welcomed the chance to finally see the earlier take with Mae Clarke and Kent Douglass.

Similar in some ways to the remake, the 1931 version is a lot grittier and more direct. It is clear what Myra's job is right from the start, and Clarke looks the part. You never could really imagine Vivien Leigh street-walking.

As Roy the Canadian soldier home on leave, Kent Douglass is a little stiff and reserved, but he puts across well the desperation of a man in love, no matter what. It's an old story, but done well here.

Despite a few histrionics and a relatively short running time, this film is entertaining (an old woman loses potatoes in an air raid and won't move off the bridge without them), and poignant (Myra feels at home at last with Roy's country folks, but we know it won't last).

It can be found on the DVD set 'Forbidden Hollywood, volume 1'.

Mae Clarke does a remarkable job in the same year that James Cagney put a grapefruit in her face in "Public Enemy." Miss Clarke is quite effective as the heroine of "Waterloo Bridge."

As a prostitute working the streets of London during World War 1, Clarke gives a tour de force as a woman who can be loving one moment and difficult to handle in the next.

The story deals also with class warfare when during an air-raid, Clarke meets a wealthy Canadian serving in the British army. He falls for her and she loves him but she knows that their differences would prevent them from true happiness. Brought to his country estate, his kindly mother, played by a charming Enid Bennett, warns against such a liaison. Fred Kerr, as his step-father, provides comic relief as a deaf elderly British officer.

One weak link in this film is Kent Douglass, who portrays the young man. Naive and kind, the chemistry is really not there between himself and Miss Clarke. He is only effective briefly in a scene with veteran actress Ethel Griffies, who portrays a greedy, conniving landlady.

The film has worn well through the many years and is worth seeing due to Miss Clarke's excellent performance. Am sure that Vivien Leigh and Leslie Caron, who both starred in the remakes, learned a lot from Miss Clarke. Look for Bette Davis as Douglass's sister. This was her first film and it is interesting to see how she evolved into the great talent that she was.

Having seen Mae Clarke being carried away by Frankenstein and getting a grapefruit in the face by James Cagney, I had a clear image of her but not of her talent.

I agree with the other reviewers that this is one knock-out performance. At a time when many actors in early talkies were still being very stagey (with stilted manners and playing to the back row), Mae Clarke built a performance that was modern and genuine.

The whole production is good (especially Arthur Edeson's cinematography and James Whale's direction), but Clarke's acting is what I'll always remember.

Since the story is so well known by some of the very good reviewers here, I am merely adding my surprise at the discovery of the talent of Mae Clarke. I had no idea she had done this original version and according to the collected IMDb data, Ms. Clarke was just 20 years old when she worked on this excellent adaptation of the play. There is no need to compare her performance to Vivien Leigh's later remake, because that film had no real grit and Clarke's performance was one of the best I have ever seen from a performer despite her youth. The film was shot soon after talkies began and her screen presence and non theatrical emoting was astonishingly on target. The director, Whale, must have had a good rapport because her scenes with all of the players came off honest and not a bit dated. I can see that Davis would have liked to play the part as someone mentioned, but she could not have done a better job. I just discovered it on the Turner channel and became so engrossed in Clarke's performance, I called people to get a copy and watch this actress' work. Quite remarkable.

It's not often one sees a film of this era with as much straightforward, realistic acting and characterization. It's not perfect in that regard, of course, and there's still a bit of the silent era heavy makeup and staging, but the honest and unstylized delivery of actor after actor is astonishing.

Although Mae Clarke's performance as Myra is justifiably lauded, Kent Douglass's (his screen name here) clean, fluid, unexaggerated portray is a delight to watch (in spite of the aforementioned eye makeup). Both Frederick Kerr and Enid Bennett as Roy's step-father and mother are priceless. The scenes between Mary, Roy's mother, and Mae are especially satisfying for their unassuming honesty.