Somerset Maugham and the Cinema

Robert Calder

• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9780299346249, 9780299346201
• eBook ISBN: 9780299346232
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: 20th Century History

William Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) was one of the most prominent and productive authors of the twentieth century—and his works have been among the most cinematically transformed in history. For more than five decades, adaptations of his plays, stories, and novels dominated movie theaters and, later, television screens. More than ninety individual works were filmed, and for many filmgoers his name was a greater draw than that of the director. Works such as Of Human Bondage, "The Letter," The Painted Veil, "Rain," The Razor's Edge, and others were produced multiple times, with starring roles sought by actors like Bette Davis, Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo, Lionel Barrymore, Charles Laughton, and Bill Murray.

This study of the famous author explores the relationship between literature and film, what is involved in adaptation, and how best to judge films based on celebrated books. Robert Calder, the world's leading scholar of Maugham's work, offers fascinating production histories, insight into both fortunate and misguided casting decisions, shrewd analyses of performances and film techniques, and summaries of public and critical responses. Maugham's characters were often conflicted, iconoclastic, and morally out of step with their times, which may have accounted for the popularity of his fiction. Most of Maugham's works could be adapted to satisfy the tastes of moviegoers and the demands of the Hays Office censors, if not the expectations of their author. 

Table of contents

• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Maugham, Hollywood, and Screenwriting
• 1. A New Industry Finds Gold in Somerset: The Silent Era
• 2. Swanson, Crawford, and Hayworth: Rain
• 3. Eagels and Davis: Evil behind the Smile
• 4. Rebellious Wives, Secret Agents, and Beach Bums: Early Sound and the 1930s
• 5. Bette Davis’s Corrosive Mildred: Of Human Bondage
• 6. Garbo Speaks Maugham: The Painted Veil
• 7. Fascism, Bigamy, and the Creative Spirit: The 1940s
• 8. The Greatest Generation’s Quest: The Razor’s Edge
• 9. Life in Short, Sharp Strokes: The Omnibus Films
• 10. Twenty-First-Century Perspectives: Up at the Villa and Being Julia
• Conclusion: Looking Back and Looking Forward
• Appendix: Film Productions of Maugham Works
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index