Themes: Journey of Self-Discovery, Love Triangles, Home From the War
Main Cast: Demetrius Alexis, Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, Walter Bonn, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Eugene Borden, Clifton Webb
Release Year: 1946
Country: US
Run Time: 146 minutes
Plot
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, All Movie Guide
Renee Carson - Sophie's Friend; Herbert Marshall - Somerset Maugham; André Charlot - Bishop; Noel Cravat - Russian Singer; Jean de Briac - Lawyer; Ray DeRavenne - Bartender; Jean del Val - Police Clerk; Cecil Humphreys - Holy Man; Fritz Kortner - Kosti; Isabelle Lamore - Maid; Elsa Lanchester - Miss Keith; Frank Latimore - Bob MacDonald; Henri Letondal - Police Inspector; Frances Morris - Nurse; Forbes Murray - Mr. Maturin; Albert Petit - Albert; Harry Pilcer - Specialty Dancer; Lucile Watson - Mrs. Louise Bradley; John Wengraf - Joseph; Cobina Wright, Sr. - Princess Novemali; Dorothy Abbott; Louis Bacigalupi - Miner; Patti Behrs - Guest; Mary Brewer; Mme. Louise Colombet - Concierge's Wife; Marcel dela Brosse - Conductor; Bess Flowers - Matron; Sol (Saul) Gorss - Drunk; Greta Granstedt - Hospital Telephone Operator; Louis Mercier - Little Frenchman; Barry Norton - Escort of Princess; Peggy O'Neill; Albert Pollet - Man; Frances Ray - Trollop; Richard Shaw - Intern; George Sorel - French Surete Man; Adele St. Maur - Nurse; Hermine Sterler - Nurse; Marek Windheim - Waiter; Bud Wolfe - Corsican; Frank Arnold; Juan Duval; Hassan Khayyam - Hindu; Mayo Newhall - Kibitzer; Eddie Das - Hindu; Fred Farrell; Blanche Taylor; Roger Valmy - Coco; George Davis - Concierge
