The Razor's Edge (1946)

Director:

Edmund Goulding

Writers:

Lamar Trotti (screenplay)
W. Somerset Maugham (novel)

Release Date:

December 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Hunger no love . . . woman . . . or wealth could satisfy!

Plot:

A adventuresome young man goes off to find himself and loses his socialite fiancée in the process. But when he returns 10 years later, she will stop at nothing to get him back, even though she is already married.

Plot Keywords:

Will | Engagement | India | Uncle | Nightclub

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Tyrone Power	...	Larry Darrell
Gene Tierney	...	Isabel Bradley
John Payne	...	Gray Maturin
Anne Baxter	...	Sophie MacDonald
Clifton Webb	...	Elliott Templeton
Herbert Marshall	...	W. Somerset Maugham
Lucile Watson	...	Louisa Bradley
Frank Latimore	...	Bob MacDonald
Elsa Lanchester	...	Miss Keith
Fritz Kortner	...	Kosti
John Wengraf	...	Joseph - Gray & Isabel's Butler
Cecil Humphreys	...	Holy Man
Harry Pilcer	...	Specialty Dancer
Cobina Wright Sr.	...	Princess Novemali

Also Known As:

W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

145 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #11498) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Denver, Colorado, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Christopher Isherwood and Henry Channon are considered by many Maugham biographers to be the inspiration for the characters of Larry Darrell and Elliott Templeton.

Quotes:

Elliott Templeton: The enjoyment of art is the only remaining ecstasy that's neither immoral nor illegal.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 20th Century-Fox: The First 50 Years (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

a coming of age film

This film, and the book on which it is based, made strong impressions on me in my youth, but even more so now that I am past middle age. A magnificent cast - Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, John Payne, Herbert Marshall, help to tell the story of a man who walks "in another man's shoes" -- and totally to his own drummer -- after the first world war. In his quest for spirituality and goodness, he is at odds with the materialism and obsession around him. The different layers of "The Razor's Edge" demand attention: Larry's physical desire for Isabel, a woman it turns out he doesn't even know; Isabel's cold-heartedness and desire to possess Larry; and Larry's search for the meaning of life, while the people he loves disintegrate around him from lack of values or hope. These are all seen through the eyes of Somerset Maugham, played by Marshall. Larry's final confrontation scene with Isabel (Tierney) about Sophie (Baxter) is bone-chilling -- Power, who had a tendency to be sometimes stiff and a bit removed from his material, uses that flaw to excellent advantage as Larry Darrell. It's not a showy role, but he's wonderful, and he's reading of poetry in Sophie's room is unforgettable.

Highly recommended.