We loved Somerset Maughan's "The Razor's Edge", as well as the rest of his literary production. In the 1946 film version of the novel, Mr. Maughan was asked to help Lamar Trotti with the adaptation, which can be
considered contains the essence of the book. Darryl F. Zanuck entrusted the direction to Edmund Goulding who made the version of "The Razor's Edge" a favorite of the movie going public.
As a big spectacle, "The Razor's Edge" had a lot going for it. It was Tyrone Power's first starring role after he came home from WWII. Mr. Power was one of the most handsome actors in Hollywood, then and now. His looks were a distraction, as shown in here. The basic flaw with the movie is the character of Larry Darrell, who in the novel is presented in a better view. We don't believe for a moment that this man was interested in nothing else but in his looks and the superficiality of being in the high circles of society of those years.
The trip of enlightenment to India in search for the truth, is basically poorly handled. The mountain sets look cheap and unrealistic and doesn't add anything to the movie, at all. We don't believe for a moment that Larry has gone to work in such menial jobs, and the end where he is seen as deck hand in his trip back to America is also completely mishandled. Perhaps with another actor the figure of Larry would have come out stronger and in a more positive way, the way Mr. Maughan drew him in the novel.
The rest of the players are wonderful. Clifton Webb, above all, is an elegant Elliott Templeton, the witty society figure that is obviously gay, but knows a thing, or two, about his enemies. Elliott is always ahead of the game, which in a way, doesn't explain well how he becomes so sick and dies in no time, but again, this is only a minor observation which had to be arranged within the almost two and a half hours of the film.
Gene Tierney was a ravishing Isabel Bradley, a woman who wanted it all and thought she could have her cake and eat it as well. She refused to marry Larry because his income was a paltry three thousand dollars a year. Horror of horrors, how would she buy her Oleg Cassinis shmattes with that amount? She lets Larry go, but when he meets him again in Paris, she wants him back. Ms. Tierney made a great portrait of this woman with an evil streak in her character.
Anne Baxter made a great impression as Sophie. Ms. Baxter was an excellent actress who gets under the skin of her character and runs away with it. The fact that Sophie is a prostitute is handled the Hollywood way, not dwelling on it, as the studio people want to keep the status quo of a woman who is seen in an Apache dive in the Paris of those years before the war.
The rest of the cast is splendid. Herbert Marshall plays the author himself, Somerset Maughan, the man who is the connection among all the characters and situations. Lucile Watson makes another elegant society woman in the film, something she knew how to play well. Elsa Lanchester, that delightful actress, is only seen for a moment, but she is absolutely perfect as the flighty secretary to the princess that has slighted Elliott Templeton. John Payne plays his part a bit on the wooden side, but as a society man, what else could he do?
The music by Alfred Newman is an asset throughout the film. Mr. Newman always knew what fitted best. The music fits well the proceedings. Best of all the scene at the low class bar where "Mamselle" is heard in the background.
While Edmound Goulding's "The Razor's Edge" is flawed, it still packs a tremendous impact, which we have to recognize it wasn't as great on this, the second viewing of the film. Yet, the film will satisfy.
The Razor's Edge (1946) DVDRip XviD Wolfman.avi
