The multi-talented Somerset Maugham wrote these three short stories, which are presented as a collection from British Gainsborough/Paramount Pictures. Each one has a lesson to be learned by the central characters. In the first story, a gentleman who can't read is fired, but then becomes even more successful because of the descisions he is forced to make. In the second, a loud-mouth on a cruise ship finally learns to keep his mouth shut to avoid exposing uncomfortable truths. In the last tale, occupants of a sanatorium argue over the size of their rooms, and so many other things. Each story is introduced by Maugham himself. Directed by two British chaps, sharing the duties... Harold French and Ken Annakin. probably the biggest name here is Jean Simmons.. check her out on wikipedia.org only 500 votes so far on imdb, so they must not have shown this too often on Turner Classics. pretty good stuff from a Great British author (although he was born and died en france).

W. Somerset Maugham appears as narrator to three divergent tales of his. The first two are of the comic variety and the third is a tender romance laced with looming tragedy. James Hayter and Kathleen Harrison are a church janitor and his landlady whom after he is fired from his job proposes marriage to her and she agrees. Hayter and her go into business with a tobacconist shop and they do quite well. They've prospered so much that bank manager Felix Aylmer has a serious talk about the bank investing some of his considerable deposits. No thank you is Hayter's answer and he reveals a secret. All I'll say is that behind every good man there is a good woman. I guarantee you will love Nigel Patrick's performance as the boorish nouveau riche lout that everyone on the cruise ship he's on shudders when he comes near. One of those who is an expert on everything. Only Wilfrid Hyde-White who is his cabin roommate can't avoid him. But when it comes to a matter of discretion regarding Anne Crawford, Patrick shows he has some grace. The last is a tender romance at a tubercular sanitarium in Scotland. A couple of patients Jean Simmons and Michael Rennie fall in love. They are as opposite as can be. Simmons hasn't seen much of the world and Rennie is a high living rake whose hedonistic ways have caught up with him. Sometimes Maugham writes himself into his stories and here Roland Culver plays a version of him. It's through his eyes we see the story unfold. In any event Simmons and Rennie make a life altering decision. You'll laugh pretty good at the first two stories especially at Nigel Patrick. And the third would reduce a Medusa to tears. A fine film from British Gainsborough films that holds up well.

Following on from his "Quartet" series from 1948, we have another three short stories with a gently underlying moral message from Somerset Maugham. The first is, in my view, the best: it sees a verger of many years standing (James Hayter) forced to resign by a rather snobbish vicar when it is discovered that he can neither read nor write. Only once he has left the safety of his parochial responsibilities, does he discover a fondness for his landlady (Kathleen Harrison) and a flair for business and is soon proving that his inability was little impediment to his happiness and success. The second features an on-form Nigel Patrick as a show-off who manages to alienate just about everyone on an ocean cruise with his rather vulgar, ostentatious manner but yet is not quite as odious an individual as his image presents. Finally, we head to a baronial style castle in the north of Scotland where people are sent to convalesce and recover from tuberculosis. The latter story has the better cast, and a decently interwoven series of stories as the patients try to deal with their illness, and their demons - with mixed results - but even with Michael Rennie, Jean Simmons, André Morrell and a rather enjoyable pairing of John Laurie and Finlay Currie drags on just a bit too long. It's all interestingly linked together by the author, and takes a series of swipes at the British and their attitudes and prejudices in a clever, at times quite witty way.

source: Trio

Moviecut—Trio

Trio

This is the second British Rank film to adapt the stories of Sommerset Maugham to film. All but one story from 'Quartet' does not travel well into the contempory era; and the actors speech is decidedly "clipped", as only British pre-1950's actors delivery can be. In anycase 'Trio' seems tighter and more filmic than the first film adaptation. One of the problems these two films can't overcome is that their source material was written 25-30 years prior to the films. Consequently, by the 1950's Maughm's (pre-war) popularist "small morality" storyteling seemed rather quaint, if not downright coy.

The second of three movies showcasing the short stories of W. Somerset Maugham, "Trio" gives us three more stories, the first two of which are light and frothy things that fairly dance off the screen. The second, "Mr. Know-All," is remarkable for its wonderful humanness. It seems all the characters who must deal with this Passenger from Hell are quite content to suffer the fool gladly; their comments to each other about Mr. Kelada are neither mean nor cruel, only witty and downright philosophical. I enjoyed this story (and its ending, celebrating people at their finest) immensely. The third, and longest, story, "The Sanitorium" failed to reach beyond the grinding melodrama of, say, "The High and the Mighty" -- a bunch of people thrown together show what they're made of. The rather sappy ending didn't help. But your mileage may vary, of course. Luckily, good solid film-making raises this problematic movie higher than it might otherwise have landed.

This is actually a trilogy of 3 of Somerset Maugham's short tales. The first one is The Verger, which is about 15 minutes long and very enjoyable. After 17 years Albert Foreman is laid off from his church job because he can't read nor write. So what does he do? Opens a tobacco shop, of course! The second is Mr. Know-All which was actually a story I had read for school 6 years ago and instantly forgotten, until I heard the familiar introduction. Another 15 minute one, and also very good. It worked better on film than in a book for me, but then perhaps that's because I was only 14 the last time, afterall. The 3rd one is nearly a let-down. Almost an hour in length, it simply drags. It's not all that bad, but not as quick and snappy as the last 2. I watched the first quarter hour of it and then skipped forward to the last quarter hour, and found that it still made sense and really I hadn't missed a thing! Overall I give them 8, 9, and 6 out of 10, respectively.

Trio's vignettes were insightful and quite enjoyable. It was curious seeing so many soon to be famous actors when they were very young. The performances and attention to detail were wonderful to watch. Observation. In film it isn't necessary that source material be in alignment with the contemporary era to be interesting or worthwhile. "Small morality" storytelling is quaint (or coy) only in the eye of the beholder--thankfully. Story content--well told--can overcome it's time, subject or place. Ironically, there are quite a few contemporary films today that have not overcome the conventions or cutting edge mores of the present era. Inserting "small morality" content--occasionally--might provide a dimension lacking.