The Razor’s Edge (Edmund Goulding, 1946): USA

Reviewed by Kathleen Amboy.  Viewed on DVD.

 The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over, thus the wise say the path to salvation is hard.  Wisdom of Eastern mysticism were the inspiration for the title of W. Somerset Maugham’s novel The Razor’s Edge; a tale of two opposing forces of selfishness and altruism.

Mr. Maugham (portrayed by Herbert Marshall) begins his tale in America shortly after WWI, where he attends a party with the handsome young veteran Larry Darrell (Tyrone Power) and his fiancee Isabel Bradley (Gene Tierney).  The two are crazy about each other but have differing agendas.  Isabel has high ambitions, while Larry is overcome with grief from the tragedies of war, and just wants to escape.

At the same party is Larry’s childhood friend Sophie (Anne Baxter) who’s sweet, innocent and in love, and has the simplistic desire to please her husband and be a good mother.  She refrains from alcohol because it displeases her sweetheart Bob (Frank Latimore), until tragedy strikes a crushing blow, and poor Sophie can only find solace in alcohol, drugs and promiscuity.

Enter Uncle Elliott (Clifton Webb) the demanding, snobbish, social climber.  He moves in upper-class circles and is quite pleased when his niece Isabel and her dreadful fiance Larry part company.  Although generous in many ways, his social climbing pursuits are never reciprocated.

As each character’s motivations unravel, Sophie’s life spirals downward as her friend Larry does all in his power to save her, but to no avail.

Anne Baxter is outstanding, transitioning herself from innocence to experience, and then from rehabilitation to absolute misery.  She indeed won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Sophie.  The wonderful Gene Tierney gives an equally strong performance yet received only one Oscar nomination in her lifetime, for her role in Leave Her to Heaven (1945).  Goulding’s perfectly paced film received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.