Sin of Esther Waters

Released in the USA in an edited version titled “The Sin of Esther Waters,” this is the original un-cut UK version featuring Dirk Bogarde in his first starring role, playing a roguish character in this bodice-ripper set in Victorian England. The film also perfectly recreates details of the horse racing scene at the Derby. Esther Waters (Kathleen Ryan) is a young woman living in 1880. Brought up by a puritanical mother, she leaves to become a servant in an aristocratic household. There she falls in love with the footman, William Latch (Bogarde), who seduces and then abandons her. Pregnant and alone, she returns to London to find her mother dead. With no one but herself for comfort she struggles to survive. A tale of the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity.