Quartet

QUARTET is a subtle, understated anthology of stories by Somerset Maugham--entertaining but decidedly uneven in presentation. Nevertheless, as a study of various British personalities among the upper classes it does manage to evoke interest without furnishing any big surprises--which is what one usually expects from short stories.

What it does do, brilliantly, is show us Maugham's keen observations on human nature. MAI ZETTERLING and IAN FLEMING star in a story about a young man who fails to follow his father's advice and almost suffers the consequences; DIRK BOGARDE and HONOR BLACKMAN are the leads in a story about a man whose sole passion in life is to become a professional top-flight pianist but is told by FRANCOISE ROSAY that he has no such chance; the third story is a rather dated and foolish morality tale about a kite that just didn't make much sense to me; and the final story--probably the best--is about a man whose wife secretly writes a novel about her great love (a la "Lady Chatterly's Lover") and is confronted by her husband who demands to know who "the man" in the story really is. CECIL PARKER and NORA SWINBURNE play the couple and they're wonderful.

Nicely performed, well scripted and directed, QUARTET has an introduction by Maugham himself which manages to be self-effacing and informative.

If you wonder why the story "The Alien Corn" has that title, the answer tells you what has been left out, and why it is therefore so bland and restrained as to be superficial and uninteresting. Maugham gave it that title because it was about Jews. The boy's father is not some terribly, terribly dash-it-all, upper-upper English aristocrat. He is a self-made man who has devoted his life to fitting into English society. But, Maugham says, in a line no one who has read this story will ever forget, he betrayed himself with one characteristic which marked him out as entirely un-English: "He loved his son." It is this tension between the man's deep, sensual love of his son and the man's desire to fit in with the English upper class, who do not become artists, or didn't then (sort of thing foreigners and nancy boys do), that gives the story its power and pain, not simply the young man's desire to be an artist conflicting with his lack of talent. And it is a disgrace that, even after World War II, the filmmakers clearly thought that the problem of Jewish assimilation could not be part of a "civilised," classy, English entertainment.

Somerset Maugham, who wrote tons of plays and stories, introduces his set of four shorts, while telling us a little bit about himself. In Facts of Life, Nicky (Jack Watling) learns a lesson, although we're not sure just what lesson he has learned. In Alien Corn, a young Dirk Bogarde is George Bland, a pianist who is determined to know how good he is, so he brings in an expert to evaluate. (LOVE her HAT!) In The Kite, Herbert Sunbury (George Cole) is in jail for abandoning his wife. We flash back to see what led up to it; his wife Betty (played by Susan Shaw, who was really born Patsy Sloots!) hadn't been very nice to him... In Colonel's Lady, the Colonel's wife has written a book, and EVERYONE is talking about it, much to his dismay.

Note that Hermione Baddeley (plays Beatrice Sunbury) will go on to be Mrs. Naugatuck on TV show Maude, while her sister Angela Baddeley will do mostly British TV series, most notably Upstairs, Downstairs. Probably the biggest star in this group was Dirk Bogarde, who had mixed success in both the British and Hollywood film industry. Playing his part in "Victim" may have altered his later career success. Quite an interesting bio on IMDb, worth the read. Viewers will also recognize Cecil Parker (plays Colonel Peregrine, in Colonel's Lady) from Indiscreet, with Cary Grant. Quartet is an entertaining set of Maugham stories, some have happy endings, some do not.

Quartet (1948)

A set of four half-hour movies built on stories by Somerset Maugham, who also introduces the movie. They all have a witty naturalism that's totally likable, and the slice of life insights are sometimes even moving. You can only get so far into complexity in a short time, but these do well at packing their narrative efficiently. Really enjoyable. And, especially for those of us who aren't British, they are a total insight into British life (mostly upper class British life, for sure, and mostly post-war era).

It's hard to go into them all in detail but I'll point out the key thing to each that makes them watchable. I'm not talking plot, but some other quality. As follows.

The Facts of Life: The most fun might be the first, logically placed. A man is given advice by his father before going to Monte Carlo (that rich person's den of temptation). And things go exactly backwards, without the son really having a thing to do with it. You mostly smile and enjoy the ride.

The Alien Corn: More straightforward (except the title), and reveals a common Maugham theme of getting the practical British old folks to appreciate an artist's sensibility. In this case it's music. And it runs into a shocking final chord. Idealism up against the wall.

The Kite: Really a tale of a marriage that comes unhinged on one basic misunderstanding. Both main characters (man and wife) are stubborn about certain principles, and it comes to a rather simple kind of violence between them. And a resolution. Touching.

The Colonel's Lady: Certainly more touching, a funny and brilliant and sad bit of writing and stunning acting. This is probably the most involved of the group, and it's just tightly made, a short story in feel, and yet with enough layers to make it really lasting.

All of these are about real life and real people, and small things that end up mattering quite a lot. It's a different experience than a single feature movie, yes, but a refreshing one, with built in refreshment breaks. If you like this approach (sort movies in group), check out the Maugham inspired sequel of sorts called "Encore."

Master storyteller W. Somerset Maugham introduces four of his own short stories in this beautifully presented film. Each story has its own intriguing charm, and the superior cast, headed by Dirk Bogarde, Mai Zetterling and Cecil Parker, elevates these stories to a level of moving drama. All aspects of the production, with each segment handled by a different director, is outstanding. John Greenood's aristocratic score wraps up the film with its own unique style. A very fine English film with moving and memorable episodes.