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:

Fox purchased the screen rights to the novel in March 1945 for $250,000 plus 20% of the net profits. To avoid another $50,000 specified in the contract if the principle photography was not started by 2 February 1946, producer Darryl F. Zanuck provided for location shooting in the mountains around Denver, Colorado (the Himalayas in the film) in August 1945. The cast had not yet been set, so the character of Larry was played by a double and seen only in long-shot. Zanuck hoped to get 'Tyrone Power (I)' to star and delayed casting until Power was released from military service in Januay 1946.

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:

Frère Jacques

Brilliantly cinematic adaptation in the grand Hollywood style

I discovered this movie only recently and have watched it three times in the last two months. It's the kind of movie that rewards repeated viewings. The story, as others have commented, is moving and inspiring and way ahead of its time, dealing as it does with topics (the philosophical/spiritual quest for meaning in life, alcoholism, psychic healing, class divisions, post-war trauma, greed vs. self sacrifice) that one would expect in a movie taking place in the nineteen sixties rather than one taking place immediately following World War I. It offers the pleasure of Hollywood glamour of a very high order with one spectacular set-piece after another. Over and over, one is amazed at the staging of scenes set at balls, restaurants, night-clubs, Paris streets, factories, etc. Many jaw-dropping, pre-steadycam long takes involve the choreography of dozens of elements, e.g. one long take outside a Paris railway station, or another crane shot in a Paris night club as the camera searches the crowd for the protagonists. Everyone involved with the film seems to be working at his or her peak, from director Goulding to composer Alfred Newman, to all the perfectly cast actors. The screenplay is filled with brilliant cinematic story-telling devices (ironic voice-overs, montage sequences, foreshadowings, symbolism (the use of water and the ocean in so many scenes)that keep a long and complex story moving so smoothly that the two-hour-plus running time is hardly noticed at all. The cinematography by someone named Arthur Miller is gorgeous with lighting effects and moving camerawork that rank in the pantheon of Hollywood's visual creations. This is a great film.