User Reviews

Among titles that have been included in Fox's Studio Line classic DVD series, Edmund Goulding's "The Razor's Edge" is a leviathan of powerhouse entertainment. At 146 minutes it's certainly one of the longest films Fox ever made – especially during its golden period. Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham, the film stars then reigning heartthrob, Tyrone Power as wealthy Chicago playboy, Larry Darrell. Without much cause, except that he's bored with life in general, Larry breaks his engagement to Isabel Bradley (Gene Tierney) in favor of becoming a world traveler. Eventually, his trips abroad lead to India, to the very seat of spiritual enlightenment under the tutelage of a guru.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, the impatient Isabel decides to marry Gray Maturin (John Payne). After the stock market crashes, Isabel leaves Gray to go continent tripping with her social climbing, egotistical Uncle Elliot Templeton (Clifton Webb – at his usual acerbic best). Eventually, all this intercontinental head bumping leads straight to a reunion of sorts for all concerned; one that is made bittersweet when it is discovered that an old family friend, Sophie Macdonald (Ann Baxter), after having lost both her husband and child in a terrible accident, has succumbed to a life of spousal abuse and drug use. Having awakened his moral center, Larry makes a vein attempt to reform Sophie. But Isobel's jealous need to have Larry all to herself – even though his interest in her has never been rekindled – leads to a bitter and tragic end.

Goulding's direction on this magnum opus of a motion picture is slick, stylish and polished. Around every turn he imbues the staging of events with an overall sense of foreboding tragedy that, like the final flowering of the old south in Gone With The Wind, simply reeks of a time far removed from the currency of life in which his characters ultimately find themselves living. Only the central, world-weary performance of Tyrone Power seems to hit the high notes acting wise. For the rest, but especially with Gene Tierney, the cast seem to be going through the motions – albeit with considerable flair and panache as is befitting classically trained actors from Hollywood's golden age. There is also something to be said for Herbert Marshall's characterization of the author, Somerset Maugham. Though probably inaccurate to history, it is nevertheless one of the great bits of character acting ever put on film.

Fox's DVD is exceptional. The picture is sharp and nicely balanced. But an audio commentary is all one gets to augment the experience - a shame!

William Somerset Maugham was one of England's greatest popular novelists in the 20th Century. He's still among the most read of the 20th Century novelists, with Orwell, Woolf, Greene, Waugh, Amis, and many others. But he is not considered (outside of his OF HUMAN BONDAGE) a very deep novelist. His best work illustrates personality or areas of life, like the world of English letters (in CAKES AND ALE). When he tried to be "deep" he had mixed results. His best known misfire on this was his attempt to discuss religious spirituality in THE RAZOR'S EDGE. Written after World War I, he was trying to discuss how a survivor of the killing fields of France goes into the East (i.e. Asia) to recover the needed religious basis for his life that the senseless slaughter in Europe destroyed. As a counterpoint to this search by the hero Larry Darrell, we are shown the shallow, materialistic lives of Larry's lover Isabel, and her socialite uncle Elliott.

Basically, Elliott (who never thought highly of Larry even before this search for spiritual purity) encourages Isabel to dump Larry and marry stock broker Gray Manturin (John Payne). She does this, especially when she finds that Larry is more interested in his spiritual quest than in her. The marriage does produce one child, but it is not a very close one. As for Elliott, he moves to France, and hobnobs with the ultra-snob set on the Riviera in the 1920s. He shows great concern about his clothing (does the sash of his robe properly sway as he moves or does it bobble?). He is into enjoying the finer things in life, like Polish liquors. And Larry? He finds contentment after going to India and finding inner wisdom.

So who turns out to be the happier? Maugham is good enough a writer to make the personalities of his characters interesting. Elliott (played deliciously by Clifton Webb as the ultimate snob) is made to look shallow and ridiculous and "bitchy" but relatively harmless. Isabel is far worse. Larry's attempts to help his old friend Sophie (Anne Baxter) who is a recovering alcoholic after tragedy. He announces they will be marrying. Isabel (Gene Tierney) sets up Sophie's low esteem and then allows her to get drunk - which leads to a second tragedy).

At the end, Isabel is resigned to remain married to Gary, although she may begin an affair with neighbor Somerset Maugham (Herbert Marshall). Elliott gets the highest recognition of his lifetime before he leaves the scene. And Larry - he's determined to continue his life of good deeds from now on.

As you can see, the real issues of religious revivalism and spirituality are barely touched. Larry finds a secret - and he is a changed man. But so what! We don't know what the secret is. I doubt if Maugham did.

Tyrone Power had been begging Darryl Zanuch for more meaty acting roles - less adventure parts. He did not realize that his acting skills in adventure films like JESSIE JAMES and THE BLACK SWAN were quite good ones, and that those roles were more realistic than this. But he acquits himself well, despite the real emptiness of the character. The real characters who bring the story to life are Webb's, Tierney's, Baxter's (an Oscar winning performance), and Elsa Lanchester in a nice cameo. This is the best version of THE RAZOR'S EDGE...but that does not say too much.

The Razor's Edge (1946) was directed by Edmund Goulding. The film is based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham.

Tyrone Power portrays Larry Darrell, an American pilot who rejects the upper-class life expected of him. Instead, he leaves for India to find the meaning of life. Gene Tierney plays Isabel Bradley, the woman who loves him.

The talented cast also includes John Payne, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, and Herbert Marshall--all stars in their own right. (Baxter won an Oscar for her work.)

This movie has a strong IMDb rating of 7.4, and it was nominated for three more Oscars. OK--people thought and think that it was a good movie. A very knowledgeable friend told me that she thought it was a good movie.

I thought it wasn't a good movie. For me, Darrell's rejection of conventional life isn't replaced by anything more than his temporary acceptance of a life of self-denial. And where does this all lead him--to a place where he gets a "real" job rather than work in finance.

In my opinion, you don't have to live alone in a cabin in the Himalayas before you decide you don't want to work in finance. We don't get a suggestion that he will organize a union at his job or help the poor people of India or the U. S. He will get a job. So much for transcendent meaning in his life.

I rated the movie a 6.0--a minority view, but what's the point of writing reviews if you don't set down your honest opinion for others to see?

This is a BIG Hollywood PRODUCTION. It must be Big because it deals with Big Ideas. And it's long too, very long. And it has 20th-Century Foxes most scintillating troopers doing their things. Also it must be big because, if I remember, there was a monstrous billboard advertising it over one of the theaters near Times Square. "The Razor's Edge," proclaimed the billboard -- in Big Letters. Starting next week: The Second Coming.

Actually it's kind of an interesting story, full of romance, intrigues, slight conflicts -- all very dignified and full of civility, as Somerset Maugham's works tended to be. He was always understated in a British manner. When he was in the fullness of his years he gave a presentation on aging. "There are many advantages to being old," he said from the stage, and then stopped. There was a long pause. Too long. The stooped old Maugham stood still at the platform until the audience began to cough and squirm. Finally he spoke up: "I'm just trying to remember what they are." I don't think I want to try outlining the plot because it would begin to sound a little like a Russian novel. Basically, Tyrone Power returns from World War One. (Kids: That was the one before World War Two. PS: We won.) He's seen a lot of death and he asks his fiancée, Gene Tierney, out loud, "What's it all about?" It's always a poor idea to ask a question like this but in Power's case his search for an answer leads him to India, and although he loses his fiancée he gains a mystic experience.

The rest of the movie, which is to say most of it, is taken up with a gaggle of Americans in Paris and other parts of France. They keep bumping into one another. Let's see. There is Tierney, of course. She's a materialist and after Power takes off she marries the rich, blandly handsome, slightly weak John Payne. She never stops loving Power in her own bitchy way. Then there is Anne Baxter, whom Power has known since childhood as a true innocent. A car accident kills her husband and children and she becomes a drunk and a whore in some gin mill where Apache dancers perform. Then there is Clifton Webb as the rich, snooty, but not inhuman uncle of Tierney. Finally there is Herbert Marshall, playing Maugham himself, who drifts in and out of the narrative as a sort of sympathetic flaneur.

Over a span of more than ten years, a couple of the characters die, some "find themselves," others are disappointed and guilt ridden, and Power carries on secure in his knowledge of self -- a good, kind man.

Frankly I didn't notice much difference between pre- and post-epiphany Power, except that after he felt God in a Himalayan sunrise he stopped asking what it was all about. I've always had trouble with mystic experiences, though I studied Eastern psychology and meditation in graduate school. I've experienced what might be called "awe" but never when I sought it and never in the presence of other people. But maybe it IS all an illusion and some cosmic force is behind it all. I once observed what was undoubtedly a UFO that defied the kind of physical laws we take for granted. My mind remains open, and I'll give Tyrone Power his mystic experience, though I wish the rest of his life hadn't led him into such difficulties. He never does explain exactly how his experience improved his life or, indeed, changed it in any way. Possibly the experience itself is indescribably and transcends language.

The performances are all about what we'd expect from a cast of seasoned professionals. Anne Baxter, in particular, must have been a brave young lady because make up and wardrobe have turned her into a dumpy sloven. That takes guts. It may be the role into which Gene Tierney put most effort. It's a variation on her murderous narcissist in "Leave Her to Heaven," but more candid, more defiantly selfish. Clifton Webb was an aristocratic flit in "Laura," two years earlier, but here he seems to come brazenly out of the closet and it's amusing as hell.

It's a masterpiece of middlebrow movie making. It ought to set most of us thinking. Here's one of the things we might wind up ruminating. In praise of the new Power, Herbert Marshall says something like, "He's a good man -- kind, gentle, forgiving." Is that today's idea of a good man?

SPOILER ALERT.....SPOILER ALERT

Make no mistake, this was one of 20th Century Fox's big productions. The $1.2 million budget led to gross rentals of $5 million. The scenes here are lush, although it's a shame they didn't spend just a little more money to film it is color. Fox purchased the film rights from Somerset Maugham for $50,000 plus a percent of the net profit. It appears to have been a fairly lavish production. The musical score in part by Alfred Newman, is quite impressive, and was the original source of the song "Mam'selle". The film runs long (145 minutes), but it needed to, and I give credit to 20th Century Fox for allowing it to.

I am updating this review to reflect my recent Blu Ray replacement of the original DVD. The first question that comes up is whether or not the Blu Ray is a significant improvement over the DVD. An improvement in this case, yes, quite good, although at points the film's score seemed just a tad harsh. At any rate, it is a good transfer and looks good on widescreen high-def television.

Somerset Maugham (played here by Herbert Marshall) narrates the film, and drifts in and out of the story at opportune moments, much as he had in 1942's "The Moon and Sixpence". As the film begins, we see Tyrone Power romancing Gene Tierney. But, Powers also wants to explore the meaning of life and travel the world...but Tierney simply wants a proper and wealthy marriage. The fiancés separate and Tierney marries John Payne, a millionaire. Mutual friend Sophie Nelson (Anne Baxter) marries happily, but her husband and child are killed in a car accident. Power eventually travels to India where he seeks a deeper understanding of life from a mystic and time in the Himalayas, where he becomes enlightened. Power returns to France and becomes friends again with Maugham and Baxter and her husband. An alcoholic Baxter shows up, Power decides to marry her, but Tierney's scheming results in the death of Baxter. All this comes out at the end of the movie, when Power leaves for America, never to again see his circle of friends.

It's an especially strong performance by Tyrone Power here. He's at his young (32) handsome best here, but what's most impressive is that this is one of his most impressive acting performances. His character wants to know what life is all about because of an incident that occurred during WWI; it seems cliché now, but it makes sense here...and frankly, always will. It's interesting here how through some vignettes they pack a good sense of Power's character traveling in Europe...and it's hardly the life that Tierney's uncle (Clifton Webb) intended in his scheming.

Gene Tierney comes off as being a very unsympathetic character...but that was the role. Early in the film she stresses her desire that her intended (Power) be ambitious, and while she feels strongly about it, rather than seem unreasonable, she seems logical. At this point, it's simply a question of 2 people whose attitude toward life are simply too different to enter into a marriage. And so she marries another -- John Payne. Later she learns that Anne Baxter will marry Tyrone Power, and she leads the recovering alcoholic woman into a drunk resulting in suicide. That's when you realize that Tierney's character is evil. But of course, she has her comeuppance at the end of the film.

John Payne and Anne Baxter played their roles very well, and Baxter even won the supporting Oscar for it...although I didn't feel she was that special here. Payne was always a rather pleasant B actor. Baxter here plays a pathetic woman who is handed some tragic events in life and can't handle it. She becomes a slut in a Paris bar...which I found rather far fetched. And then the bombshell -- Power is going to marry Baxter, and, though married herself, Tierney is livid. Sophie totally falls off the wagon and ends up murdered.

Herbert Marshall is excellent as Maugham, although his role is sparse in the first half of the film.

Clifton Webb, nominated for best supporting actor Oscar here, is superb, and perhaps never did he play his foppish character quite so well as in this film. Webb's character's demise in the film is a classic.

Also worth watching -- mostly early in the film -- is Lucile Watson as Tierney's mother...a wonderful character actress.

Fritz Kortner, a Viennese actor, has a nice smaller role as a European miner/unfrocked priest with a fair amount of wisdom whose talk leads Tyrone Power's character to India. Cecil Humphreys has an interesting role as the holy man in India; again, a rather small part. Elsa Lanchester has a small, but delightful part near the end of the film.

Perhaps the biggest fault of the film is the small amount of time spent on Power's character's time in the Indian mountains where he became enlightened. What did he learn there? How did he learn it. It's given short shrift, and as such, I felt as though an important piece of the character's enlightenment was missing.

This is on my DVD shelf! And should be on yours. I have given the film an "8", albeit a weak one, because I was disappointed in the segment in India. This film is good enough that it inspired me to seek Maugham's novel, but I was dissatisfied for the same reason with the novel.