The Razor's Edge
August 2005 Reviewed by: James Saxon Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Darryl Zanuck’s 1946 production of W. Somerset Maugham’s epic novel about a WWI veteran’s search for enlightenment is seldom seen on movie channels. One can see why. Shot in black and white on a studio lot using stock footage backgrounds, the movie resembles a B-budget throwaway rather than a Hollywood classic. Yet, it cost more than $3,000,000 to make (a huge sum in 1946) and runs two and a half hours without intermission. Signaling a shift in subject matter following WWII, The Razor’s Edge attempts to portray the potential goodness in man. Unfortunately, the screenplay merely suggests the novel’s scope in the manner of a stage play rather than a motion picture. As a result, the film is all talk and no action. The protagonist’s great discovery (that he felt at one with nature while watching a Himalayan sunrise) takes place off-screen. On screen, the narrative portrays the manners, mores, and mean-spiritedness of the moneyed-class of the 1920s. Maugham is said to have regarded The Razor’s Edge as a comic novel. In translation to the silver screen the humor is largely lost.

Instead of following the protagonist’s journeys in majestic and colorful detail, the camera records extraneous nightclub scenes, lavish interiors, hundreds of extras, and expensive wardrobes that include gowns by Gene Tierney’s then husband, Oleg Cassini. Enhancing the period’s ambience are snippets of copyrighted popular music. Such expensive fillers were necessary to lend ballast to a lightweight script derived from Zanuck’s penny-wise, pound-foolish approach to filmmaking. Nevertheless, The Razor’s Edge, despite a facade of phony spectacle, can be enjoyed for its art if not its artifice.

The attempt to discuss a grown-up theme is a noble one. Despite the prudish, unfamiliar characters, the acting is worth watching (supporting actress Anne Baxter won an Oscar), and the cinematography is captivating. Although the camera’s lens is softly focused, the contrasts of shadow and light lend visual interest. Gene Tierney’s icy beauty fits the self-absorbed character she plays. Tyrone Power’s intensity is in earnest. He listens to his co-stars with searching eyes. The earthy roundness of Anne Baxter is the perfect counterpoint to Tierney’s angular perfection. Clifton Webb’s stylish performance as an elitist fop steals several scenes. A film-lover’s attention is well absorbed in spots.

For those who like movie criticism, the DVD release includes a truly remarkable extra. The movie can be replayed in its entirety with running commentary from movie historians, Anthony Slide and Robert Birchard, who candidly admit they are beneficiaries of a grant to "needy authors" from the Somerset Maugham estate. Their film lore, statistics and historical allusions are fascinating. Fox would do well to employ Slide and Birchard to provide similar narration on future releases. These two gentlemen possess a wealth of information that should be preserved for movie-buffs to come.

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