Thank God I’ve Never Seen It
Mildred Rogers in the 1934 version of Somerset Maugham’s “Of Human Bondage” was Bette Davis‘s breakthrough role, the one in which she declared, fiercely, that she had arrived. She always felt that her Oscar the following year for “Dangerous” was really in recompense for “Bondage,” and I suspect she’s right. “Of Human Bondage” was remade in 1964 starring Kim Novak (who is still whinnying with us) and I’m glad to say I’ve never seen it. I do, however, get a kick out of the poster. There’s a third version of the book, released in 1946 and starring Eleanor Parker. How is it? Let’s just say that Parker wasn’t quite up to the level she achieved four years later in Dee Sushi’s favorite movie, the incomparable “Caged.”
