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83 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Tragic Romance, March 18, 2003
When pressed to name her favorite of her own films, Vivien Leigh brushed aside both GONE WITH THE WIND and STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE in favor of this now little-known film based on a failed 1930s stage drama of the same name: WATERLOO BRIDGE, directed by Mervyn LeRoy. Leigh had good reason for her choice. Although she was dazzling as Scarlett O'Hara and elegantly depraved as Blanche DuBois, she was never as beautifully photographed as she was in this 1940 film. WATERLOO BRIDGE is perhaps best described as one of a number of films "with an English accent" that played to American sympathies for England in the years when England largely stood alone against Nazi Germany. The story itself has a wartime setting: beautiful ballerina Myra (Vivien Leigh) meets and falls passionately in love with officer Roy Cronin (Robert Taylor), only to be parted from him when he is called to duty during World War I. Alone and increasingly destitute, she learns that he has been killed in action--and so, broken hearted and unconcerned for herself, she drifts into prostitution, plying the world's oldest profession along Waterloo Bridge... until she experiences a horrific twist of fate. Although Robert Taylor is a bit miscast, Leigh carries the film with a truly remarkable performance. In the opening portion of the scene, she is at the height of her youthful beauty, and cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg makes the most of it; later, when experience has hardened her, she turns the graceful charm of her earlier scenes upside down to create the bitter, brassy tart that Myra has become. The cast also features an exceptional performance by Lucile Watson as Lady Margaret and notable turns by Maria Ouspenskaya, C. Aubrey Smith, and a host of others. Although less well known than such tragic romances as Garbo's CAMILLE, WATERLOO BRIDGE is easily the equal of such and considerably better than most. The romantic aura is powerful, the production values are meticulous, the direction, photography, and script are first rate. And at the center of it all we have perhaps the single most beautiful actress of her era, Vivien Leigh, in one of her finest performances. You'll need a box of tissues for this one; don't miss it.
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45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why hasn't the studio opted to release this on DVD???, August 9, 2005
Yes, it's advertised as available - but they're imports. Not to cast aspersions upon imports, but is it so difficult for whomever owns the copyright to produce this & add a few DVD extras? This is an amazing movie - Vivien Leigh is completely charming as Myra & gives a bravura performance. For any of the uninitiated, the story revolves around a ballerina & the serviceman she meets during a WWI air raid in a story where the Shakesperean axiom of true love & its propensity to run amok is thoroughly illustrated. Although not the all-time greatest movie ever made, it's a splendid gem from 1940s Holywood, replete with a bit of melodrama, a bit of unreality, a lot of pathos and humanity. "Waterloo Bridge" is a classic film which is due to the movie-loving public - particularly in its virgin black & white condition. PLEASE, Hollywood, make this movie available on DVD to the public!
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ANOTHER JEWEL IN VIVIEN'S CROWN., November 10, 2002
Vivien Leigh is magnificent as Myra, the young ballet dancer who falls in love with handsome Roy Cronin, a British army officer, who has been called to duty. They met on Waterloo Bridge during an air raid and commenced dancing at the Candlelight Club where they vowed to marry. When Myra believes Roy dead, she drifts into the seedy world of prostitution after she has been dismissed from the ballet school. The newspaper report of Cronin's death turns out to be erroneous, however: Roy and Myra accidentally meet....Leigh's performance is the core of the film: she's as brilliant as she is beautiful. Her metamorphasis from a delicate, virginal and romantic girl to a lost, pitiful and pessimistic woman (due to fateful circumstances) is a stunning account of her bravura acting ability: if Scarlett O'Hara won her an Oscar and made her a star, Myra solidy confirmed her undeniable talent. All the supporting performances are splendid: Lucile Watson as Roy's aristocratic mother, Virginia Field as Kitty, Myra's loyal roommate who visits Primrose Path, and the tyrannical ballet impresario as played by the great Maria Ouspenskaya. This was Robert Taylor's favourite film and his performance ranks with his best. Robert E. Sherwood's 1930 play was filmed priorly by Universal in 1931. Mae Clarke won kudos for her interpretation of Myra, Roy was played Douglass Montgomery and Bette Davis had a bit. Hopefully, it may make it to video someday. As with Taylor, this was Leigh's personal favourite of all her films.
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