RAZOR'S EDGE,THE (1946) 26296

20th Century Fox Original Style B One-Sheet Poster (27x41) Linen Backed Very Fine Art by NORMAN ROCKWELL

Original 20th Century-Fox Style B One Sheet Poster (27x41) for the Darryl F. Zanuck production of THE RAZOR'S EDGE (1946), starring Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, Herbert Marshall and directed by Edmund Goulding. THE RAZOR'S EDGE was a prestige production for Twentieth Century Fox from top to bottom, and Zanuck took a personal interest in its production. Maugham's story of a pilot returning after his service in World War II to encounter rampant materialism and spiritual crisis is given the most expensive treatment Hollywood could offer in 1946. With a production cost of over four million dollars, careful meticulous direction by Goulding and a large cast of two superstars, several accomplished actors, and an ensemble of great bit players including the great Elsa Lanchester, Zanuck spared no effort in trying to capture the philosophical, intellectual and spiritual essence of Maugham's novel. Power, who was, arguably, Fox's top male star before World War II, returned to films for the fist time in years, playing a more mature character who has become, in essence, a seeker. Tierney plays his former sweetheart who expects Power to marry her, accept a high paying job she has arranged, and to settle into a comfortable, predictable life. But Maugham has other ideas - and thus Power (two decades before the Beatles did!) travels to India, to seek spiritual guidance. He stays for several years, meditating on the meaning of life and the value of personal integrity, before returning to the west and encountering the cast of characters from his former life - and the laundry list of melodramatic problems which Maugham has deftly provided, including sex, murder, malaise, romance, money, poverty and alcoholism. The ensuing story is complicated and not necessarily cinematic, yet Goulding manages to make the film entertaining. Anne Baxter earned an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress as one of Power's former friends beset by tragedy and The Bottle. Tierney is excellent at scheming and Clifton Webb plays his trademark roue to perfection. With a filming schedule of over 100 days, very long for the time, Goulding filled the screen with opulence of set and costume; the screenplay by Lamar Trotti searches for gravitas, but realizes not much more than a solid entertaining melodrama. The style B one sheet demonstrates Fox's desire to reach beyond the normal studio artists in promoting the film. Fox enlisted America's most famous magazine illustrator, Norman Rockwell, to create art for a one sheet which would showcase a more mature Tyrone Power as Larry Darrell, the aviator-pilgrim of Maugham's novel. Rockwell had previously painted an image of Jennifer Jones for one of the Fox one sheets from THE SONG OF BERNADETTE (1943). These two posters are the best of Rockwell's illustrative work for film posters, although he did do others. Always hard to find, the style B one sheet for this film has become quite scarce. It is clearly one of the important U.S. movie posters. This poster is in very fine condition, linen backed. Very minor distresses, which have been artfully managed by the restorer. Colors are bright. In a word, lovely.

Tyrone Power - Actor
Gene Tierney - Actor
John Payne - Actor
Anne Baxter - Actor
Clifton Webb - Actor
Herbert Marshall - Actor
Elsa Lanchester - Actor
EDMUND GOULDING - Director