Old Films: ‘The Affairs of Cellini’ and ‘On Human Bondage’ (1934)

 

photo edited by Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/ Review

It is a great feeling to watch some movies gain after a couple of months I did not quite have time for that. After having just reviewed It Happened One Night that got four Academy Awards in 1935 for the Best Actress, Best Actor, Director and the Best Picture, I have just watched other two movies of the 1934 nominated to an Academy Award: The Affairs of Cellini and On Human Bondage.

TheAffairs of Cellini (1934)

Contance Bennett, Frederic March, Frank Morgan

Director: Gregory La Cava

The plot is placed in the city of Florence when ‘a Medici is on the throne – the blood stained crown rests on the head of Alessandro, Duke of Florence.’ Benvenutto Cellini is a romantic goldsmith, who reads poems to women from a beautifully carved little book and they all have a crash on him. He is convicted to death by hanging, but given his speech versatility he escapes death every time, because somehow, in his case, ‘justice was tempered by … wisdom’, as the Duchess suggested. J The whole story is a developing romance between one of Cellini’s girlfriends and the Duke of Florence, and between Cellini and the Duchess of Florence, who had a crush on him, too. For the sensational role he made in the role of Alessandro, the Duke of Florence, Frank Morgan was nominated to the Best Actor Academy Award in 1935.

On Human Bondage (1934)

Bette Davis, Leslie Howard

Director: John Cromwell

Based on a novel by W. Somerset Mangham

The movie starts in Paris with Philip (Leslie Howard) – son of a doctor in London – tries his talent as a painter, but he fails. He returns to London where he retakes his medical studies and starts a toxic love relationship with an arrogant and cold waitress Mildred Rogers (Bette Davis) that makes him fail as a student, makes him jobless and homeless. Everytime he meets another girl, Mildred appears and he breaks up with the others accepting Mildred Rogers until the moment of the truth that is well shaped in the context of the movie. Bette Davis made a sensational role for which she got nominated at the Best Actress Academy Awards in 1935.

            I particularly loved the way the director chose to present the story as a cyclical story: the movie starts and ends with the same footage; he chose to represent the ups and downs of Philip’s social status pointing on his shoes – that were either shining or broken; the time passage I have seen it represented using the calendar symbol in other movies of the those times. Philip meets a good and encouraging girl, Sally, that he meets Sundays and then the other days of the week, too. And this is represented using the calendar symbol, also useful to make the viewer understand the number of Sundays he needed to start a relationship with Sally. Many! As for Mildred it was enough a knock at his door. Sensational technique to point on the contrast! First and foremost, I loved the way the director, John Cromwell, decided to make the action move – through newspaper announcements (a similar symbol used by Frank Capra in It Happened One Night).It was marvelous to read the job advertisements of 1934! J

‘Architect, West London, wants a capable Junior Assistant.’

‘Junior (male) required for the switchboard.’

‘Manager – well established firm in the London area requires the services of a manager for….’ and here follows a looong description.

When is the last time you read such announcements in a newspaper? For a very long time, I only read in newspapers announcements for concierge, hairdressers, tailors, welders, locksmiths, etc. – jobs I am under-qualified for. And I agree that I am under-qualified! Still, people get employed. Where did they read the announcements for the jobs they got??? Another method I learned in my job seeking process is for an announcement to be published, but the job is already taken – unfortunately, the widest spread employment method I have met I many European countries. Then, the paradox of the paradoxes, the people who got jobs that are not in the same newspapers we all read, they have also the nerve to accuse the unemployed that we do not work. I beg your pardon?! But Philip gets a temporary job in a shoe store with the help of Sally’s father and he becomes a doctor after graduating the Medical School in London.

The movies ‘The Affairs of Cellini’ and ‘On Human Bondage’ are both black & white movies, on a high quality upload on YouTube, both with a happy end. Enjoy the movies!