Distilling Somerset Maugham's sprawling novel into an 83-minute film is just one of the achievements of John Cromwell's monochrome melodrama. Its imaginative depiction of obsession and the exceptional performance of Bette Davis rank high among the others.
Revelling in an amorality that would soon be outlawed, a pre-fame Davis is chillingly callous as the waitress who destroys the life of medical student Leslie Howard.