The Razor's Edge (1946)
(Edmund Goulding, US 1946, 145 min., 35mm)
W. Somerset Maugham’s 1944 novel comes to life with the deluxe Twentieth Century-Fox treatment. Tyrone Power stars as Larry Darrell, a young man from a good family who returns after World War I, disillusioned by the trappings of his family and name. He loves Isabel Bradley (Gene Tierney) and is engaged to be married to her, but when Larry reveals to her that he is less interested in finding wealth than the meaning of life, she breaks it off. Ten years later, however, Isabel is overcome with regret at the life she ends up leading and intends to win Larry back. Utilizing the first-person narration found in the novel, screenwriter Lamar Trotti incorporates Maugham as a character in the film (played by Herbert Marshall), providing voice-over and serving as an audience surrogate. John Payne, Clifton Webb, Anne Baxter, and Elsa Lanchester shine in supporting roles.