Production
The first screen adaptation, filmed in 1934, made a star of Bette Davis who, frustrated with the unsubstantial roles she was being assigned at Warner Bros., had campaigned long and hard for Jack L. Warner to release her to RKO to make the movie.
In 1944, hoping he could do for another of his contract players what the first film had done for Davis, Warner decided to give the part of Mildred to Eleanor Parker, at the time better known for sweet young lady roles. Director Goulding, unconvinced she could handle it, tested Parker twice before he decided she could pull it off. To prepare, Parker studied the Cockney dialect with character actress Doris Lloyd, who had a small supporting role in the film. She perfected it so well British extras thought she was one of them.
In order to explain the non-English accent of Philip Carey, portrayed by Paul Henreid, reference was made to his Austrian mother. Henreid was actually too old for the role and was fitted with a blond wig to disguise his age.
The film was completed in 1944 but, following a disastrous preview screening, was shelved for two years. After edits that lost Parker some of her best moments (a death scene showing her ravaged by illness was considered too grim for audiences and cut) and severely reduced Alexis Smith's performance from a lead to a supporting character, it was released to mostly poor reviews and largely ignored by the moviegoing public.
Read more about this topic: Of Human Bondage (1946 Film)
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