Waterloo Bridge (1931)

Set in WWI London, a down on her luck American chorus girl (Mae Clarke) resorts to prostitution to support herself. When she meets an unsophisticated American soldier (Douglass Montgomery), who is unaware of her profession, they begin a romance. But she can't bring herself to tell him the truth. Based on a play by Robert E. Sherwood and directed by James Whale (FRANKENSTEIN). This is the first film version of the Sherwood play which would be remade in 1940 with Vivien Leigh and in 1956 with Leslie Caron. Since this was a pre-code film, Whale didn't have to dance around the fact that Clarke was a streetwalker. Clarke is enormously appealing and you're pushing for her to find happiness. Montgomery is a bit of a stiff but his performance grows on you until by the end of the film, you quite like him. The ending seems a bit forced (I liked the 1940 version's ending better) but this is a solid and often quite moving wartime romance. With a young Bette Davis, Doris Lloyd, Ethel Griffies and Enid Bennett.