Life Magazine
August 12, 1946

Page 2 of 8; click link at bottom to continue



IT'S RAW MATERIALS

ARE SCRIPT . . .

Once Producer Darryl Zanuck (next page) had bought The Razor's Edge for his studio, the first step was to convert the novel into a screen play. Many screen writers believed that the story of a young man's search for his soul was impossible to adapt to the movies. Lamar Trotti, however, a star writer at 20th Century-Fox (left) and an admirer of Somerset Maugham, believed it could be done and as assigned to the job.


LAMAR TROTTI is one of 20th Century-Fox's most competent writers. He wrote these twelve versions of The Razor's Edge, but most of them represented only slight changes necessary because two directors worked on film. Trotti wanted to please Maugham and had to please Zanuck.

IN THE BOOK the seduction scene, which does not really culminate in seduction, is described by Heroine Isabel to the author in 10 lines of type.

IN THE SCRIPT the scene is revised from description to action. Written notations are by the script clerk, who must record all additions and changes.