the story be somewhat stilted and what with the main character sudden reversal of fortune and but leslie howard and bette davis portrayal of philip carey and the naïve obsess lover and mildred rogers and the unworthy object of his affection and raise this film considerably above standard melodrama . sensitive and cultured philip and who for most of the picture be in bondage to first his infatuation and then his pity for mildred be not unlike a character howard be to play a few year later ashley wilkes and the southern gentleman too refine and decent to make it in the rough reconstruction era . philip in fact seem resign to disappointment even before mildred enters the picturehe doesn not even seem particularly surprise when his art teacher tell him he will never make it a a painter . it be perhaps this passivity and these lower expectation that make him put up with the selfish cockney waitress for as long a he do . although leslie howard be memorable and today of human bondage be mainly think of a a bette davis picture and perhaps because of the well know story of how she have to fight jack warner to get the part of mildred and and perhaps too because movie audience tend to prefer character with her sort of brash energy . mildred may have a grating voice and but she also have the ethereal beauty of a stained glass angel and make it somewhat understandable why philip let himself be string along for as long a he do . although man eat mildred may at time seem one dimensional and she do evoke sympathy in the viewer from time to time a when she become ill and belatedly realize that philip be the only decent man who ever care for her . one may also think she be on to something when she accuse philip of look down on her for not be fine enough . ( the scene in which philip and norah dismiss romance magazine a trash for kitchen maid seem to confirm this ) . most of the support character be also effective and particularly norah the sensible romance writer who love philip but know she can never compete with mildred and sally who have mildred beauty and norah decency and emerge a the deserve woman philip be reward with in the end . the only character i find hollow be sally eccentric and ale slurping aristocratic father who seem like a stock character from an early era . a classic that deserve it reputation .