Waterloo Bridge

Mae Clarke is a revelation as a prostitute in the original "Waterloo Bridge". The film was eclipsed by the 1940 remake starring Vivian Leigh and until recently this earlier version was unavailable. This pre-code version holds up beautifully and is better in many ways because of its frankness and because of Mae Clarke's ferocious performance. Kent Douglas plays the 19 year old soldier who falls in love with the prostitute, not realizing her true profession.The movie seems more realistic than the remake because, Douglas looks and acts like a callow 19 year old,and Clarke is very believable as the prostitute who tries to protect her soldier lover from the truth about herself. Neither Clarke nor Douglas became major stars and you can see that they lack the larger than life glamour of Vivian Leigh and Robert Taylor who starred in the remake.However, Clarke and Douglas add a touch of realism which was a hallmark of many of the pre-code movies and which wouldn't be found in American movies in abundance until the 1970's.

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.

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.

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'.

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.