The Razor's Edge (1946)
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83% of critics liked it
(6 reviews) -
75% of users liked it
(1,798 ratings)
After several years' service with the Marines in World War II, Tyrone Power made his much anticipated return to the screen in The Razor's Edge. Power is appropriately cast as disillusioned World War I vet Larry Darrell, who returns from hostilities questioning his old values. To find… More After several years' service with the Marines in World War II, Tyrone Power made his much anticipated return to the screen in The Razor's Edge. Power is appropriately cast as disillusioned World War I vet Larry Darrell, who returns from hostilities questioning his old values. To find himself, Larry joins several other members of the Lost Generation in Paris. He is disillusioned once more when the society deb whom he loves, Isabel Bradley (Gene Tierney), marries another for wealth and position. She returns to Larry's life to break up his romance with unstable, alcoholic Sophie MacDonald (Anne Baxter in a powerhouse Oscar-winning performance). After Sophie's death, Larry determines that the life offered him by Isabel is not to his liking, and continues seeking his true place in the scheme of things. Acting as a respite between the plot's various intrigues is Clifton Webb as a waspish social arbiter, who ends up a lonely, dying man, imperiously dictating arrangements for his own funeral. The Razor's Edge was based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham, who appears onscreen in the form of Herbert Marshall. The film would be remade in 1984, with Bill Murray in the Tyrone Power role. This film re-teamed Tierney and Webb two years after their appearance together in Laura. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Edmund Goulding
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1946 Wide
- On DVD
- May 24, 2005
- Studio
- Twentieth Century Fox
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Edmund Goulding's version deserves crdit for trying to adapt Maugham's difficult existential movel, but Tyrone Power is miscast and the film is too melodramatic and verbose, failing to illustrate the novel's essence.
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Jeremiah Kipp, Slant Magazine
Goulding indulges in voluptuously lit scenes dominated by well-dressed extras, lots of carousing and booze, catty dialogue, and water fountains that upstage everybody.
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Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser
Often pushing against Production Code limits, it is a fine execution of the novel
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Glossy, effective version of the Maugham novel.
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Cast
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Demetrius Alexis
as Abbe
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Tyrone Power
as Larry Darrell
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Gene Tierney
as Isabel Bradley
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Walter Bonn
as Butler
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John Payne
as Gray Maturin
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Anne Baxter
as Sophie MacDonald
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Eugene Borden
as Sea Captain
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Clifton Webb
as Elliott Templeton
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Herbert Marshall
as Somerset Maugham
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Renee Carson
as Sophie's Friend
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André Charlot
as Bishop
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Noel Cravat
as Russian Singer
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Jean De Briac
as Lawyer
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Ray DeRavenne
as Bartender
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Jean Del Val
as Police Clerk
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Cecil Humphreys
as Holy Man
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Fritz Kortner
as Kosti
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Isabelle Lamore
as Maid
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Elsa Lanchester
as Miss Keith
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Frank Latimore
as Bob MacDonald
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Henri Letondal
as Police Inspector
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Frances Morris
as Nurse
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Forbes Murray
as Mr. Maturin
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Albert Petit
as Albert
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Harry Pilcer
as Specialty Dancer
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Lucile Watson
as Mrs. Louise Bradley
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John Wengraf
as Joseph
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Cobina Wright Sr.
as Princess Novemali
- Dorothy Abbott
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Louis Bacigalupi
as Miner
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Patti Behrs
as Guest
- Mary Brewer
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Mme. Louise Colombet
as Concierge's Wife
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Marcel dela Brosse
as Conductor
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Bess Flowers
as Matron
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Sol (Saul) Gorss
as Drunk
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Greta Granstedt
as Hospital Telephone Operator
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Louis Mercier
as Little Frenchman
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Barry Norton
as Escort of Princess
- Peggy O'Neill
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Albert Pollet
as Man
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Frances Ray
as Trollop
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Richard Shaw
as Intern
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George Sorel
as French Surete Man
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Adele St. Maur
as Nurse
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Hermine Sterler
as Nurse
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Marek Windheim
as Waiter
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Bud Wolfe
as Corsican
- Frank Arnold
- Juan Duval
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Hassan Khayyam
as Hindu
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Mayo Newhall
as Kibitzer
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Eddie Das
as Hindu
- Fred Farrell
- Blanche Taylor
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Roger Valmy
as Coco
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George Davis
as Concierge
