''Quartet'' is a 1948 British

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

with four segments, each based on a story by

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

. The author appears at the start and end of the movie to introduce the stories and comment about his writing career. It was successful enough to produce two sequels, '' Trio'' (1950) and ''

Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pres ...

'' (1951), and popularised the compendium film format, leading to films such as ''

O. Henry's Full House ''O. Henry's Full House'' is a 1952 American anthology film made by 20th Century Fox, consisting of five films, each based on a story by O. Henry. The film was produced by André Hakim and directed by five directors from five screenplays with di ...

'' in 1952. The screenplays for the stories were all written by

R. C. Sherriff Robert Cedric Sherriff, FSA, FRSL (6 June 1896 – 13 November 1975) was an English writer best known for his play '' Journey's End'', which was based on his experiences as an army officer in the First World War. He wrote several plays, many nov ...

The Facts of Life

Based on "The Facts of Life", included in the 1940 collection of Maugham stories ''

The Mixture as Before ''The Mixture as Before'' is a collection of 10 short stories by the British writer W. Somerset Maugham, first published by William Heinemann in 1940.Ralph Smart Ralph Foster Smart (27 August 1908 – 12 February 2001) was a film and television producer, director, and writer, born in England to Australian parents. Biography Smart found work in Britain with Anthony Asquith and later alongside the film dir ...

* Cinematographer: Ray Elton

Cast

Jack Watling Jack Stanley Watling (13 January 1923 – 22 May 2001) was an English actor. Life and career The son of a travelling scrap metal dealer, Watling trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts as a child; and made his stage debut in ''Where ...

as Nicky *

Mai Zetterling Mai Elisabeth Zetterling (; 24 May 1925 – 17 March 1994) was a Swedish film director, novelist and actor. Early life Zetterling was born in Västerås, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actor at the age of 17 at D ...

as Jeanne *

Basil Radford Arthur Basil RadfordAdam Greaves, "Radford, (Arthur) Basil (1897–1952)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, May 201available online Retrieved 3 August 2020. (25 June 189720 October 1952) was an English charac ...

as Henry Garnet *

Angela Baddeley Madeleine Angela Clinton-Baddeley, CBE (4 July 1904 – 22 February 1976) was an English stage and television actress, best-remembered for her role as household cook Mrs. Bridges in the period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. Her stage career ...

as Mrs. Garnet *

Naunton Wayne Naunton Wayne (born Henry Wayne Davies, 22 June 1901 – 17 November 1970), was a Welsh character actor, born in Pontypridd, Glamorgan, Wales. He was educated at Clifton College. His name was changed by deed poll in 1933. Stage actor His fir ...

as Leslie *

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

as Ralph *

Jack Raine Thomas Foster "Jack" Raine (18 May 1897 – 30 May 1979) was an English stage, television and film actor. He was a leading man of the British cinema in the late twenties and early thirties in such films as ''The Hate Ship'' (1929), '' Raise the ...

as Thomas *

James Robertson Justice James Robertson Justice (15 June 1907 – 2 July 1975) was a British actor. He is best remembered for portraying pompous authority figures in comedies including each of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. He also co-starred with Grego ...

as Branksome

Plot

Despite their reservations, Mr. and Mrs. Garnet allow their promising tennis player son, nineteen-year-old Nicky Garnet, to travel by himself to

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

to compete in a tournament. Mr. Garnet gives him some advice: never gamble, never lend money, and don't have anything to do with women. On the last night of his stay, he disregards all three: he wins a large amount of money at

roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

and meets a beautiful woman named Jeanne, who borrows from him before he can react. Later, she repays him, then takes him dancing at a nightclub. It is so late, his hotel has closed for the night. She offers to let him sleep on her sofa. Later that night, he awakens to find her stealing his winnings. He pretends to be asleep and sees her hide the money in a vase. After she leaves, he retrieves the money. The next morning, on the plane returning home, he counts his money and finds there is more than there should be. A friend suggests that Jeanne had stored her own funds in the same hiding place. Upon his return home, his father laments to his friends that his son ignored everything he had told him and profited from it!

The Alien Corn

* Director:

Harold French Harold French (23 April 1897 – 19 October 1997) was an English film director, screenwriter and actor. Biography After training at the Italia Conti School, he made his acting debut age 12, in a production of ''The Winter's Tale''. As an ...

* Cinematographer: Ray Elton

Cast

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Organ ...

as George Bland *

Raymond Lovell Raymond Lovell (13 April 1900 – 1 October 1953) was a Canadian-born actor who performed in British films. He mainly played supporting roles, often somewhat pompous characters. Lovell initially trained as a physician at Cambridge University ...

as Sir Frederick Bland *

Irene Browne Irene Browne (29 June 1896 – 24 July 1965) was an English stage and film actress and singer who appeared in plays and musicals including ''No, No, Nanette''. Later in her career, she became particularly associated with the works of Noël Coward ...

as Lady Bland *

Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 58. (1962 ...

as Paula * Françoise Rosay as Lea Markart * Mary Hinton as Aunt Maud

Plot

On George Bland's twenty-first birthday, his father, of the landed gentry, asks him what he intends to do with his life. George's answer is incomprehensible to his entire family: he wants to become a concert pianist. His family, who want him to succeed to his father's place and title, try to talk him out of it. Finally, his cousin Paula (who is in love with him) comes up with a compromise: he will study in Paris for two years, after which an impartial expert will determine whether he has it in him to reach his goal. The two years ended, Paula gets Lea Markart, a world-famous pianist, to do the judging. After listening to George's recital, Markart tells him that, while his technique is excellent, he lacks the talent and inspiration of a true artist and could never be more than a good amateur. George is killed later that day with a blast to the chest from a gun he was supposedly cleaning. His family is anxious that his death be ruled accidental, and, at the inquest, the coroner's jury returns such a verdict with clear consciences, since, in the words of the plainspoken foreman, the jurors cannot accept that a gentleman such as the deceased would have killed himself "just 'cause he couldn't play piano good."

The Kite

Based on "The Kite", included in the 1947 collection of Maugham stories '' Creatures of Circumstance''. * Director: Arthur Crabtree * Cinematographer: Ray Elton

Cast

* George Cole as Herbert Sunbury *

Hermione Baddeley Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley (13 November 1906 – 19 August 1986) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She typically played brash, vulgar characters, often referred to as "brassy" or "blowsy".Folkart, Burt, "Noted ...

as Beatrice Sunbury *

Susan Shaw Susan Shaw (29 August 192927 November 1978) was an English actress. Biography Shaw was born Patsy Sloots in West Norwood, London. She had wanted to become a dress designer and was working as a typist at the Ministry for Information when she di ...

as Betty *

Mervyn Johns Mervyn Johns (born David Mervyn John; 18 February 18996 September 1992) was a Welsh stage, film and television character actor who became a star of British films during the Second World War. Johns was known for his "mostly mild-mannered, lugubrio ...

as Samuel Sunbury *

Bernard Lee John Bernard Lee (10 January 190816 January 1981) was an English actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven Eon-produced James Bond films. Lee's film career spanned the years 1934 to 1979, though he had appeared on stage from t ...

as Prison Visitor

Plot

Herbert Sunbury marries Betty, despite his overly involved mother's dislike for the woman. The newlyweds are happy, except for Herbert's lifelong enthusiasm for flying kites. Herbert and his father had designed and flown their creations every Saturday on the

common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

since Herbert was a young lad. Betty considers it childish, so to appease her, Herbert reluctantly promises to give it up. However, the lure of his latest, giant, unflown kite proves too great for him. When Betty finds out, they have a fight and Herbert moves back in with his parents, much to his mother's delight. Betty has second thoughts and tries to make up with her husband, but he refuses to go home with her. Out of anger, she destroys his new kite. Aghast, Herbert angrily refuses to give her any further financial support and is put in prison as a result. A

prison visitor A prison visitor is a person who visits prisons to befriend and monitor the welfare of prisoners in general, as distinct from a person who visits a specific prisoner to whom they have a prior connection. Prisons may also have a visiting committee. ...

is told his curious story. He arranges for Herbert to be released and advises Betty on how to save her marriage. When Herbert goes to the common, he discovers Betty there flying a kite.

The Colonel's Lady

Based on "The Colonel's Lady", included in the 1947 collection of Maugham stories '' Creatures of Circumstance''. * Director:

Ken Annakin Kenneth Cooper Annakin, Order of the British Empire, OBE (10 August 1914 – 22 April 2009) was an England, English film director. His career spanned half a century, beginning in the early 1940s and ending in 2002, and in the 1960s he was notice ...

* Cinematographer: Reg Wyer

Cast

* Cecil Parker as Colonel George Peregrine *

Nora Swinburne Leonora Mary Johnson (24 July 1902 – 1 May 2000), known professionally as Nora Swinburne, was an English actress who appeared in many British films. Early years Swinburne was born in Bath, Somerset, the daughter of Henry Swinburne Johnson a ...

as Evie Peregrine *

Wilfrid Hyde-White Wilfrid Hyde-White (12 May 1903 – 6 May 1991) was a British character actor of stage, film and television. He achieved international recognition for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical ''My Fair Lady'' (1964). Ea ...

as 2nd. Club Man *

Ernest Thesiger Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger, CBE (15 January 1879 – 14 January 1961) was an English stage and film actor. He is noted for his performance as Doctor Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's film ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935). Biography E ...

as Henry Dashwood * Henry Edwards as Duke of Heverel *

Linden Travers Florence Lindon-Travers, known professionally as Linden Travers (27 May 1913 – 23 October 2001Ronald Bergan ), was a British actress. Life and career Travers was born in Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, the daughter of Florence (née ...

as Daphne *

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early ...

as Martin

Plot

A colonel's mousy wife writes a book of poetry under a pseudonym, but is immediately unmasked by the papers. The colonel does not read the poetry (although he says he has) and is surprised when a friend says it is "not suitable for children." Another friend says it has "naked, earthy passion", and compares it to

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

. The book is a success and sells "like hot-cakes", becoming the talk of the town. Even the colonel's mistress has an interest in it. After listening to much talk about how "sexy" the book is, the colonel finally asks his mistress to borrow her copy, then insists she tell him about it. The book is about a middle-aged woman falling in love with, and having an affair with, a younger man, told in the first person. After a torrid affair, the younger man dies. The mistress says it is so vivid that it must be based on a real experience, but the colonel insists his wife is "too much of a lady", and that it must be fiction. Still, he is tortured by the insinuation that it could be true but is too afraid to ask his wife about it. Eventually, of course, sensing his unease, she tells him the passion was based on his love for her, as it was when they were young. She blames herself for the "death" of that love. They end in an embrace.

References

External links

* * {{Ralph Smart 1948 films 1948 comedy-drama films British comedy-drama films British anthology films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Ken Annakin Films directed by Arthur Crabtree Films directed by Harold French Films directed by Ralph Smart Films based on multiple works Films based on works by W. Somerset Maugham British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films