Waterloo Bridge

Released May 17, 1940

1h 43m

Romance

List

83%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

88%

Audience Score

2,500+ Ratings

At the onset of World War I, British officer Roy Cronin (Robert Taylor) and ballerina Myra (Vivien Leigh) meet and fall in love. As fate would have it, Cronin is called to active duty shortly thereafter. When Cronin's departure coincides with a performance, Myra chooses to skip the ballet to see her love leave. As a result, she is dismissed from the ballet and struggles to make ends meet -- and when she reads of Cronin's misreported death, Myra hits rock bottom, resorting to prostitution.

Read More

Read Less

Prime Video

Rent Waterloo Bridge on Prime Video, or buy it on Prime Video.

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Let there be no doubt about it. Vivien Leigh is as fine an actress as we have on the screen today. Maybe even the finest, and that's a lot to say.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 25, 2006

Full Review

George Orwell

Time and Tide

This romantic tear-jerker -- for one can hardly call it a tragedy -- is saved from degenerating into sheer idiocy by competent all-round acting.

Oct 2, 2023

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 4/5

Jul 3, 2005

Full Review

Carol Cling

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Rated: 3/5

Aug 22, 2003

Full Review

Bob Bloom

Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

A glossy MGM weeper. A chick flick from the golden era.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 3, 2002

Full Review

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Glossy, sanitized remake of the brilliant 1931 James Whale film

Rated: 3/5

Jul 30, 2002

Full Review

Read all reviews

Russ

Miss Leigh is a treat for the human eye, and Mr. Taylor is the handsome officer. It's melodramatic - IOW a Chick Flick. Would be interesting to see how this stacks up against the pre-Code original from 1931, as this one awkwardly tip-toes around Myra and Kitty's practice of the "oldest profession."

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/07/24

Full Review

Franky L

This is a very well made and acted WWI movie starring Vivian Leigh as a ballet dancer who falls in live on the brink of the war with a British Army Captian. Through turn of events, he is sent to the front before they are married. She receives news of his death, and becomes a lady of the night in order to support herself after loosing her position with the ballet company. Of course he's not dead, and they are briefly reunited until she and her shame cause her to leave. The ending is sad as she takes her life to avoid her hurt and shame.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/24

Full Review

Steve D

Besides Leigh it is just cheep melodrama.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/13/24

Full Review

kevin w

Vivian Leigh's next effort after GWTW is a straight-up chick flick on steroids (and very nearly an ad for Uber delivered Häagen Dazs) as she plays a ballerina who meets boy (Robert Taylor, one-note as the cliché perfect match ~ he always thinks of her, he never makes a mistake), loses boy, then gets boy again. It's heavily bolstered by music playing softly in the background, music as familiar to you as the holiday songbook repertoire. And you know where the story's going a long time before the train arrives at the station, but Leigh gives such a nuanced performance that you stick around to watch her work it. Good stuff.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

thomas w

I'd never seen Waterloo Bridge before. I'd read a thumbnail synopsis and thought it sounded like "a woman's movie." But I gave it a shot. And I got caught up in it. It's a compelling, story; a British officer remembering the beautiful girl he'd fallen in love with while on leave before heading back to the front during WW I. But would my attention have been so fixed if, say, Bette Davis had starred? I dunno about you, but it was Vivien Leigh that kept my eyes glued to the screen. Her performance was flawless. But it was that face that kept me transfixed and enthralled. I preducted that the last scene would feature her character, Myra, coming to meet the now older officer; to pick up her husband after another posting overseas. Was I right? Watch it and see.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Show how much attitudes have changed... or perhaps haven't.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Mervyn LeRoy

Director

Vivien Leigh

Myra

Robert Taylor

Roy Cronin

Lucile Watson

Lady Margaret Cronin

C. Aubrey Smith

The Duke

Maria Ouspenskaya

Madame Olga Kirowa

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

100%

65%

Three Comrades

78%

54%

Romeo and Juliet

100%

82%

The Clock

88%

84%

Camille

70%

70%

The Barretts of Wimpole Street

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

At the onset of World War I, British officer Roy Cronin (Robert Taylor) and ballerina Myra (Vivien Leigh) meet and fall in love. As fate would have it, Cronin is called to active duty shortly thereafter. When Cronin's departure coincides with a performance, Myra chooses to skip the ballet to see her love leave. As a result, she is dismissed from the ballet and struggles to make ends meet -- and when she reads of Cronin's misreported death, Myra hits rock bottom, resorting to prostitution.

Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Screenwriter: S.N. Behrman, Hans Rameau, George Froeschel
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 17, 1940, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 22, 2016
Runtime: 1h 43m

Most Popular at Home Now