Fresh and Exciting

Excellent but underrated film

As Good As It Gets

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

... and I can hardly ever say that about precode films remade in the production code era.The original Waterloo Bridge starred Mae Clarke and was considered a pre-code, with more stark portrayal and language about the heroine's fate. Although this 1940 version was under the heavy hand of the censors, I still like it just as much as the original version. Basically we have a young woman who believes the man she loves is dead and has no way to survive but the world's oldest profession. It's not a fate she chooses, just one that she has to choose in order to eat. Yet society judges her although nobody gives her an alternative.Everyone remembers Vivien Leigh for "Gone with the Wind", but I think that this film and "That Hamilton Woman" are truly her best performances. The romance and chemistry between her and Robert Taylor is genuine, and just adds to the tragedy of the entire film, and then there's the final scene - which I can't tell you about without spoiling it for you. Just let me say that one piece of jewelry and one line spoken in remembrance makes the film complete.

Robert Taylor (Roy) asks his taxi driver to stop at Waterloo Bridge on his way to enlist for WW2. There, he pulls out a lucky charm and reminisces about his whirlwind romance with Vivien Leigh (Myra) during WW1. The bridge is significant as it is the location that they met during an air raid. It is also the location where tragedy struck… This is a romantic war story that does leave you with some memorable moments, eg, the singing of "Auld Lang Syne" as couples dance the Farewell Waltz. The orchestra plays and gradually extinguishes more and more candles until we are left with dark silhouettes dancing. There is no dialogue and the whole sequence is hauntingly romantic. The film is well directed, eg, the scene where Leigh waits for her encounter with Taylor's mother Lucile Watson ((Lady Margaret). She has a newspaper with an update of the names of those soldiers who have fallen. Dare she look? Vivien Leigh evolves from ballerina good girl to prostitute and it's unfortunate that shame plays such an important part in this film. I used to know someone who worked as a high-class escort girl, ie, prostitute, and she raked in the cash for doing very little. One of her customers liked to get all his Nazi memorabilia out including books and toy tanks and ask her to watch him while he masturbated over it. That was it - £500, thank you very much. Leigh could have made a financial killing in the wartime with customers like that.The supporting cast are all excellent with standout performances from ballet company director Maria Ouspenskaya (Madame Olga) and Vivien's friend Virginia Field (Kitty). I'm not sure that the story is entirely realistic as Robert Taylor wouldn't be smiling over his reminiscences. It feels like it's all water under the bridge to him. The film has a rather 'Anna Karenina' ending to proceedings.

This is what I call a "procrastination movie". In other words, it is a one of those "must see" films that your friends told you to see, and you wound up "putting it off" for a long period of time for one reason or another. When you finally took the time to see it ... you wind up "kicking" yourself for waiting for so long to see it. Dumb me! I did the same thing with films like "North By Northwest" and "Glory. Vivien Leigh plays Myra, a ballerina, who meets Captain Roy Cronin, Robert Taylor on Waterloo Bridge during an air raid in London. The two are forced by fate to share several hours together. Sound familiar? Kind of like Rhett Butler's fateful situation of sleeping on a couch and running into Scarlet O'Hara after a conversation with Leslie Howard. Yep! It's Gone With The Wind all over again .... two people madly in love finding themselves surrounded by the chaos of war as they suffer the trials and tribulations of separation and reunion placed by circumstance. It is also my understanding that Vivien Leigh had to agree by contract to make this film when she signed for the role of Scarlet O'Hara in "Gone With The Wind". What a great flick this is! There is no question in my mind that this is Robert Taylor's greatest performance, and Vivien Leigh's 2nd best performance. How could she or anyone possibly top her Scarlet O'Hara? How does it end? I'll never tell ... but I wills tell you this .... Maria Ouspenskaya, who plays Leigh's Balarina Mentor, makes Bette Davis and Joan Crawford look like Girl Scouts when it comes to playing a "queen bee".

Made in the heyday of the studio system and movie stars, Waterloo Bridge is one of those films that once seen, will remain forever unforgettable. It features the upbeat Robert Taylor and the incandescent Vivien Leigh. Forget the outdated elements of the plot: surrender yourself to the luminous on-screen presence of Vivien Leigh, and you will not be able to take your eyes off her. That face goes through a gamut of emotions, particularly in the restaurant scene when she waits for Lady Cronin alone at her table, as she slowly turns her attention to the newspaper. Robert Taylor is no slouch here, too. He shines in the opening scene of the film, as he stands on the bridge. Both actors are outstanding, and there is a palpable chemistry between them. Virginia Field, Maria Ouspenskaya, C. Aubrey Smith, and Lucile Watson complement the two stars in one of the most romantic films of all time.