I watched "Connecting Rooms" because it starred Bette Davis....more than enough reason to watch any film. However, I should point out that this is a rather obscure movie....and finding it was not easy. I was able to locate it on a Roku channel...finally!

The story is mostly centered around Wanda (Bette Davis) and James (Michael Redgrave),two residents at a rather tatty rooming house in London. It begins with James arriving at the place for the first time and he's in the room next to Wanda. At that time, Wanda is engaged in a very dysfunctional relationship with a young guy who is very manipulative and a user. But Wanda is so lonely that although she knows it, she also is STILL hoping that somehow she can develop a romance with him. As for James...he obviously has a secret and is very much to himself and difficult to get to know. Little does he know that Wanda also has a bit of a secret...though not nearly as creepy as his!

The acting is very good. As for the story, it leaves so many open ends and leaves the viewer questioning who the people really are...particularly James. Is he a nice guy or a despicable jerk? Watch the film...and find out for yourself.

By the way, in case you want to know, there's a decent amount of nudity in this film. No, you don't see Davis nor Redgrave naked (thank goodness)....but parents might want to know.

Was always interested in seeing Bette Davis and Michael Redgrave in late roles, being admirers of both. More so Davis than Redgrave, but it is as hard to forget Redgrave's performance in 'The Browning Version' as much as it is with Davis and 'All About Eve'. Really like melodramas when done well, whether in film, in television, in very old cartoons and on stage with plays and operas. Also saw it briefly compared to Terrence Rattigan's 'Separate Tables', love the play and Rattigan and the film version is excellent.

'Connecting Rooms' is very hard to find. Practically obscure even, though somehow did manage to see it online. That is a real shame, as, despite not being perfect by any stretch (with a couple of the potential traps that melodramas can have being fallen into),it is a long way from a bad film. Actually found 'Connecting Rooms' to be good, moving and very well acted, deserving of much more attention and exposure when far inferior films have a significant amount of marketing and also a wide audience.

Maybe 'Connecting Rooms' could have been opened up more as there is a staged play feel at times. Like in the pace, which could have been tighter and had less of the pauses that dulled the action somewhat.

Although the dialogue is mostly very well-written and thought-provoking, again it could have tightened up as there are parts that have a little too much talk. A touch too sappy occasionally too.

However, 'Connecting Rooms' is shot with the right amount of intimacy without being static, and the costumes and sets are not one's definition of big and grand but they are opulent and suit the intimacy and chamber-like mood of the piece very well. The music in my mind avoided over-scoring and being intrusive in placement. The dialogue has a lot of intelligence and pathos, the latter being executed in a way that mostly is not too sentimental and quite moving. The direction is never less than competent, even if there could have a little more flow between transitions. Liked the 'All About Eve' reference and it was interesting to see the hands of Amaryllis Fleming featured when Davis plays the cello (an instrument close to my heart, with it being my second instrument after voice).

The story absorbs and has enough moments where it is heart-wrenching. The characters intrigue and feel real. Kay Walsh is always reliable in her role and Alexis Kanner doesn't overplay his character's jealousy. Olga Georges-Picot is touching. It's the two leads that stand out though. It is great to see Redgrave reign in and be effectively subtle, and Davis often shows the beauty of acting where eyes and expressions without words are so telling and in such a gracefully dignified and moving way.

In summation, good film deserving of more exposure. 7/10

More than 25 years after her death, Bette Davis remains perhaps the greatest legend in the history of movies, but even a legend must have a period of adjustment. Her career took a slump after a series of "hag horrors" ("Baby Jane", "Sweet Charlotte", etc.) and the great Ms. Davis took pretty much everything she was offered just to keep working. Several of her films barely saw the light of day, and one of them is this interesting British drama where she plays a sort of earth mother, a kind, aging woman who lives in a boarding house and seems to be a confidante to everybody.

When the quiet Michael Redgrave moves into the room next to hers, they begin a friendship that helps them deal with their obvious loneliness. He's at first reluctant to let her in, but as he realizes what life without people is like, he makes her a special friend. However, a young man (Alexis Kanner) who lives in the building professes jealousy, claiming that Redgrave is only after her money. But clues are dropped which gives the indication that it is Kanner who the real gold digger is, referring to the much older Davis as "princess" even though he's seeing younger women without her knowledge and lying to her about his whereabouts.

"Without convictions, life is just a banana. Life is just a coffee grinder, and we're the coffee bean", is one of the pieces of advice Davis gives Kanner, and indeed, their relationship seems as strange as the literary quotes she drops. It's obvious that Davis's lovely character is suffering from desperate loneliness, and it's very parallel to her real life that she utilized as the title of one of her autobiographies, "The Lonely Life". Davis herself said in her old age that if she were to become involved with a man again, it would be a much younger one, and that is a very interesting comparison to her life here. Veteran British leading lady Kay Walsh is memorable as the owner of the building, while Olga Georges-Picot is lovely as the young lady Kanner is involved with whom he also betrays. It's just a shame that this really didn't see the light of day other than a few brief showings (most likely overseas and not in the states) and is a sweet artistic gem that deserves to be re-discovered.