This Mervyn LeRoy film stars Robert Taylor and Vivian Leigh as star-crossed lovers torn apart by WWI. They meet on Waterloo Bridge, in London, during an air raid, and engage in a passionate whirl wind love affair before being separated – Taylor’s a Captain in the army and must go to the front and Leigh is a ballet dancer ready to leave her career to marry him.
The opening romance is beautiful, especially the scene in which Leigh and Taylor share a dance as candles lit around them are put out for the night. It’s a nice, quiet little scene that creates a tenderness between the characters that is all the more tragic since we already know from the opening featuring an older Taylor reminiscing that things are probably not going to turn out all right.
Spoiler alert: Leigh is mistakenly informed that Taylor has been killed in action, and unable to make ends meet, she turns to prostitution in order to survive. Of course Taylor turns back up and is thrilled to find Leigh, who feels like she needs to keep her secret for fear of losing Taylor.
This is where the movie runs into some potential issues. If you view it a certain way it becomes a morality tale in which fate punishes Leigh for her transgressions. But, if you just view it matter of factly as a story of two individual characters, you can understand their motivations, especially for the early 20th century setting.
This was Leigh’s first movie after GONE WITH THE WIND and her performance here, although not as remembered, is just as great as her more famous turn as Scarlett. Taylor is also great, in what I’ve read was his favorite role, able to do something a little more complex than his usual matinee idol turns.
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