Waterloo Bridge (1931) Review

Welp. I just got through watching Waterloo Bridge. Interesting movie. 

I can be quite a rambler when it comes to speaking and writing and I sometimes have a hard time organizing my thoughts--so with that said, I have to thank the administrator of Masters Film Review for his page on "Criteria for Film Reviews". I will be using the majority of his criteria from here on out to guide me through reviews! 

Okay, now let's begin...

********

Waterloo Bridge (1931) was adapted from the stageplay written by Robert E. Sherwood. After watching the film, I realize that I should read the play at some point in order to have a better understanding of the movie. 

SUMMARY

In World War I London, Myra (played by Mae Clarke) is an American out-of-work chorus girl making ends meet by picking up men on Waterloo Bridge. During a Zeppelin air raid she meets Roy (played by Douglass Montgomery, then known as Kent Douglass), a naive young American who enlisted in the Canadian army. They fall for each other, and he tricks Myra into visiting his family who live in a country estate outside London, where his step-father is a retired British Major. However Myra is reluctant to continue the relationship with Roy, because she has not told him about her past. [IMDb]

STORY

The story in this film was quite unbelievable, but at the same time--it was believable...

 The character of Roy falls in love with Myra in a matter of hours and goes as far as wanting to marry her. What makes it believable to me? Things like this actually do happen. I never say never. 

Plus, Roy eventually mentions (to his family) that he's only known her for some hours and then goes on to explain how people living in wartime--particularly soldiers--always seem to have a sense of urgency. 

No typical, Old-Hollywood "We're-in-love-but-we've-only-known-each-other-for-a-few-days-and-everyone--including my parents--are-completely-oblivious-to-that-fact"--kinda story here.

His awareness and admittance of his own silliness makes it easy for us to ride along with it. 

CHARACTERS/ACTING

Every character was very well written with the exception of the lead character, Myra.

Myra navigated us through the film, but the supporting characters were the ones who actually breathed life into into it. They literally served as life "support" for her. Of course, a character like Myra, needs a lot of support--she's broken--but we only get glimpses into why Myra is who she is. We barely rub the surface of her brokenness. She is made to be double-sided as opposed to multi-layered--and worst of all--once Myra speaks a little bit about her past, the story becomes: "Well, now that we finally got that out of the way, let's speed this up a bit so we can get to the end."

  

However, Mae Clarke put every bit of herself and her talent into this role--no doubt. The other actors were superb as well--Kent Douglass, the naive soldier boy; Ethel Griffies irked every nerve in my body as Mrs. Hobley, the Landlady; and the fresh-faced Bette Davis didn't disappoint in her minor role either (of course she didn't). 

However, the actors that stood out to me the most were: Doris Lloyd (as Myra's friend Kitty), Frederick Kerr (as Roy's step-father, Major Wetherby), and Enid Bennett (as Roy's mother, Mrs. Mary Cronin Wetherby). Lloyd's comedic timing was seamless and Kerr's portrayal of a hard-of-hearing, but always-certain old man kept me giggling. 

Bennett's portrayal of a loving, empathizing, and strong mother (and motherly figure to Myra) stood out the most to me. Her performance was touching, honest, and just downright beautiful. She "breathed" the most life into the film, in my opinion. 

DIRECTION

James Whale directed films such as Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Old, Dark House, The Invisible Man, and The Man in the Iron Mask--a lot of dark films--good ol' Universal "Horror/Sci-Fi" pictures. I can definitely see his affinity for dimness (not solely when it comes to lighting) in Waterloo Bridge. However, I don't think his style of directing neither gave nor took from the movie. 

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I wouldn't say that this movie "entertained" me, but it did keep my attention throughout--simply because I didn't want to miss important dialogue and plot points. The ending, however was insane and did leave me feeling a bit empty.

Waterloo Bridge (1931) is a good "Pre-Code Era" movie, but in my opinion--it's nothing more and nothing less. It wouldn't crack my "Top 100 Old Hollywood Films" list at all. 

I wouldn't discourage anyone from purchasing or borrowing it though.

I hope this review was helpful and a breeze to read! Feel free to leave comments! 

************

Next, I will be watching and reviewing Red-Headed Woman, starring Jean Harlow.

************

I do not own any of the photos in this post. In order to credit the sources in which I obtained the above photos, I added custom watermarks with their URLs. Photos without watermarks were obtained from Wikipedia. If the rightful owner(s) of any of these images wants them removed, please contact me and I will do so as soon as possible.--Adrienne