The Razor's Edge
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Movie Reviews of The Razor's Edge
Movie Review: "There lived in this age a very remarkable creature."
Summary: 4 Stars
W. Somerset Maugham's brilliant novel, "The Razor's Edge," was first brought to the big screen via this 1946 adaptation. Tyrone Power stars as the idealistic Larry Darrell, with Gene Tierney taking a turn as his sometime girlfriend, Isabel Bradley. As the film opens, Larry and Isabel are engaged and madly in love, but Larry's plan to "loaf" and discover himself soon breaks them apart. Of course, this split is helped along by her family, particularly her snooty Uncle Elliot (Clifton Webb). However, all participants involved find themselves meeting again and again over the years - sometimes in unlikely places.
"The Razor's Edge" has many undeniably good qualities. First, it's just a gorgeous looking movie, with a multitude of amazing sets; the movie deservedly received an Oscar nomination for art direction. In addition, the direction by Edmund Goulding ("Grand Hotel") is good, and the story zips along nicely despite its length. Ultimately, the movie was rewarded with an Oscar nomination for best picture.
Unfortunately, the casting is questionable and the acting often less than stellar. Tyrone Power has the requisite blandness to play Larry, but he sometimes actually exhibits a bit too much edge. Larry is supposed to be naïve: the paragon of goodness. However, Powers can't quite pull off this difficult task and become the "remarkable creature" about which Maugham wrote. Anne Baxter won an Oscar for her supporting role as the alcoholic Sophie, but she actually comes off worst of all. She simply does not possess the range needed to portray Sophie, as is painfully clear in the Paris nightclub scenes. Clifton Webb also received an Oscar nomination for supporting actor. He's appropriately bitchy, but his performance is over-the-top in his critical final scenes, draining much of the pathos from the finale.
The script by Lamar Trotti ("The Ox-Bow Incident") is quite faithful to the novel, which is unusual for a book with such a complicated storyline. Unfortunately, in including so much of the basic plot, the soul of the book has somehow been diluted. The book tackles issues of philosophy and life, but the movie focuses a bit too much on the surface, resulting in a soap opera rather than a soul-searching treatise that the book manages to be. Of course, criticizing a movie because it doesn't live up to its source material is not completely fair. In addition, overall "The Razor's Edge" is a fine movie that is likely to be enjoyed by many audiences, whether they have read the book or not. Despite its flaws, "The Razor's Edge" is solid 1940s filmmaking. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: Don't cut yourself on the edge of your seat
Summary: 4 Stars
Larry Darrell (Tyrone Power) is back from WWII with an insatiable desire to see the world, in search of himself and the meaning of life. Isabel Bradley (Gene Tierney) wants to marry, have children and build on the capitalistic advantages of post-war industry in the U.S. Like oil and water, the two ideas don't mix so Larry becomes an international "loafer" and to the delight of Isabel's self-absorbed uncle Elliot Templeton (Clifton Webb), she marries millionaire Gray Maturin (John Payne). It seems like a short and tidy story but this two-and-a-half hour epic had a 4-million dollar budget for 89 sets, 136 supporting actors and 16,000 extras.
In the beginning Isabel is meek and compassionate. As time progresses she becomes firm and decisive. But watch out when her possessiveness sees the light of day. Dock your boats; lock up the booze; hide anything remotely dangerous. Gene Tierney is in the house!
Some fault the performance of Tyrone Power. Like Glen Ford, James Stewart or Gregory Peck, Power is no character actor. What you see is the real him, even if it appears a bit melodramatic from his broadway background. The most dramatic role I've seen Power in is WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION. Though THE RAZOR'S EDGE requires less range of emotion, Power is quite similar.
THE RAZOR'S EDGE delivers the requisite intrigue to earn an Academy Award Oscar for Best Actress in a supporting role, two Golden Globes, and several nominations. There are times when Larry Darrell's indifference is irritating but that's why Isabel thought she dumped him. Despite some slow spots THE RAZOR'S EDGE includes enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Movie quote: "The enjoyment of art is the only remaining ecstasy that's neither immoral nor illegal."
Movie Review: Somerset Maugham's "THE RAZOR'S EDGE"
Summary: 4 Stars
Tyrone Power ("The Mark of Zorro" (1940) stars as Larry Darrell, a WWI veteran who finds he cannot settle back into the world of high society after his life was spared and other men's were not. Larry leaves his debutante fiancée, Isabel Bradley (played by the beautiful Gene Tierney, "Laura,"(1944) "Leave Her To Heaven"(1945) in search of inner peace and the true meaning of his life.
Complicated at times, however, Clifton Webb, ("Laura"(1944) "Titanic"(1953) as Elliot Templeton, Isabel's wealthy, social climbing uncle, gives a fine performance with comic flair. Herbert Marshall ("The Letter" (1940) "Phantom of the Opera" (1962) narrates, as well as stars as the famed author, Somerset Maugham, who observes the unfolding drama surrounding him. John Payne ("Miracle on 34th Street" (1947) stars as Larry's rival for Isabel, and Anne Baxter ("All About Eve"(1950) puts in an Academy Award winning performance as Sophie, the once happily married friend of Isabel, but as the movie progresses, becomes a depressed, widowed alcoholic. Filmed in glorious b&w, the dvd transfer is flawless, and the sound is clear and crisp.
Special features include commentary / Somerset Maugham's book honored on a Fox Movie Tone News reel / "Along Broadway" showing the film's premier and the famous people who attended, including film stars Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, and Clifton Webb / Lionel Barrymore presenting the Academy Award for best supporting actress to Anne Baxter.
"The Razor's Edge" is an enjoyable film and was nominated for the 1946 Academy Award for Best Picture. Fans of classic cinema will want to check this one out and classic movie dvd collectors will want to add it to their libraries.
Movie Review: It's not Casablanca, but if you are studying film, it offers easy contrasts
Summary: 4 Stars
It's a B&W period piece film made after WWII about WWI (just as M*A*S*H was after Vietnam), but it's based on a 2nd tier of great literature The Razor's Edge. See also a remake by of all people the former comedian Bill Murray (former as in before his remake) The Razor's Edge. Some people might regard the acting as a little stuffy, and the kinds of people they are portraying (upper class) as stuffy; look past that. Also look past the English actors made up to look like Indians (the subcontinent). This was the kind of film making done in that era. This contrasts with earlier musicals or even dramas like Bogart's. It's not a great film, but for its time, it tries to open the eyes of Larry Darrow. As all the principals who made the film has all passed on, the extra audio track has 2 reviewers comment on the good and bad points of the film as well as some history around the film. It's a good period film in its way, and I have to say that it and a number of other films (e.g., the King Solomon's Mines film to the Indiana Jones films) gave me a finer appreciation not only to the evolution of film making but also acting.
Movie Review: Lavish But Remarkably Superficial
Summary: 3 Stars
The author of numerous novels, plays, and short stories, W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was considered among the world's great authors during his lifetime, and although his reputation has faded over the years his work continues to command critical respect and a large reading public. Published in 1944, THE RAZOR'S EDGE is the tale of a World War I veteran whose search for spiritual enlightment flies in the face of shallow western values. It was Maugham's last major novel--and it was immensely popular. Given that the novel's conflicts are internalized spiritual and philosophical issues, it was also an extremely odd choice for a film version--but Darryl F. Zannuck of 20th Century Fox fell in love with the book and snapped up the screen rights shortly after publication.
According to film lore, THE RAZOR'S EDGE was to be directed by the legendary George Cukor from a screenplay by Maugham himself--and it does seem that Maugham wrote an adaptation. When the film went into production, however, Cukor was replaced by Edmund Goulding, a director less known for artistic touch than a workman-like manner, and the Maugham script was replaced with one by Lamar Trotti, the author of such memorable screenplays as THE OXBOW INCIDENT. Tyrone Power, recently returned from military service during World War II, was cast as the spiritually conflicted Larry Darrell; Gene Tierney, one of the great beauties of her era, was cast as socialite Isabell Bradley. The supporting cast was particularly notable, including Herbert Marshall, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, Lucille Watson, and Elsa Lanchester. Both budget and shooting schedule were lavish, and when the film debuted in 1946 it was greatly admired by public and critics alike.
But time has a way of putting things into perspective. Seen today, THE RAZOR'S EDGE is indeed a beautifully produced film--but that aside the absolute best one can say for it is that it acheives a fairly consistent mediocrity. As in most cases, the major problem is the script. Although it is reasonably close to Maugham's novel in terms of plot, it is noticeably off the mark in terms of character and it completely fails to capture the fundamental issues that drive the story. We are told that Larry is in search of enlightenment; we are told that he receives it; we are told he acts on it--but in spite of the occasional and largely superficial comment we are never really told anything about the spiritual, artistic, philosophical, and intellectual processes behind any of it. We are most particularly never told anything significant about the nature of the enlightenment itself. It has the effect of cutting off the story at its knees.
We are left with the shell of Maugham's plot, which centers on the relationship between Larry and Isabell, a woman Larry loves but leaves due to the growing ideological riff that opens up between them. Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney were more noted for physical beauty than talent, but both could turn in good performances when they received solid directorial and script support. Unfortunately, that does not happen here; they are extremely one-note and Power is greatly miscast to boot. Fortunately, the supporting cast is quite good, with Herbert Marshall, Clifton Webb, and Lucille Watson particularly so; the then-famous performance by Anne Baxter, however, has not worn as well as one would hope.
With a running time of just under two and a half hours, the film also feels unnecessarily long. There is seemingly endless cocktail party-type banter, and indeed the entire India sequence (which reads as faintly hilarious) would have been better cut entirely--an odd situation, for this is the very sequence intended as the crux of the entire film. Regardless of the specific scene, it all just seems to go on and on to no actual point.
As for the DVD itself, the film has not been remastered, but the print is extremely good, and while the bonus package isn't particularly memorable neither is noticeably poor. When all is said and done, I give THE RAZOR'S EDGE three stars for production values and everyone's willingness to take on the material--but frankly, this a film best left Power and Tierney fans, who will enjoy it for the sake of the stars, and those whose ideas about spiritual enlightment are as vague as the film itself.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer