THE MOON AND SIXPENCE (1959)

Films made for TV aren't usually fodder for this blog (except for some from the Golden Age of the 1970s), but this one has strong interest for classic film fans and has just been released on DVD so is readily available for viewing. It was not presented live as many plays on TV were, but was shot on tape with individual sequences obviously recorded 'live' with no retakes, and so is an interesting look at what early TV drama was like. Based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham which had previously been made as a theatrical film in 1942, this is a thinly veiled version of the life of artist Paul Gaugin. Here, he is named Charles Strickland (Laurence Olivier), and the play presents him as an average, everyday stockbroker, seemingly happy in his life and with his wife Amy (Geraldine Fitzgerald) until suddenly he isn't. After Amy has defended him as a good husband, he drops the bombshell that he wants to leave her and go to Paris by himself. She is convinced he is having an affair, but when she follows him, she finds out that, at the age of 40, he wants to start a new life as a painter. In Paris, he is befriended by fellow artist Dirk (Hume Cronyn) and his wife Blanche (Jessica Tandy). When Strickland falls on hard times and is sick and starving, Dirk has him move in, a kindness which Strickland pays back by taking Blanche from him—though the incident is portrayed more as Blanche becoming obsessed with Strickland and him just allowing the betrayal to happen. Things end badly between the two, and with Strickland hating his "human desires" and claiming that love is a disease, he goes off to the South Seas to paint and do nothing else. His story ends in Tahiti where he paints to his heart's content, has a satisfactory relationship with a local woman, and eventually contracts leprosy and dies, having left instructions to have all his work burned.

The big draw at the time for this production was the presence of Olivier, generally considered then the greatest living actor. He won an Emmy for it, as did Robert Mulligan for directing. While Olivier is very good, I found the supporting cast more interesting. Tandy's portrayal of a woman who seems completely unmoored by her attraction to Strickland is understated and exceptionally good. In addition to those mentioned above, the cast includes Judith Anderson and Jean Marsh as two island women and Denholm Elliott and an author, the usual Maugham stand-in, who tells the story even though he's not present for most of it. Olivier has a couple of line flubs which are left in. The leprosy makeup by famous artist Dick Smith is excellent. It was shot and transmitted in color, even being used in a magazine advertising campaign by RCA for its color televisions. The print on this DVD came from a kinescope, having been filmed directly from a television set, and the color comes and goes, and the picture gets murky from time to time, but none of those things make it unwatchable. (However, the DVD company, Redemption Hill, does manage to get four typos on the cover, including 'Jessice' for Jessica and 'Cronin' for Cronyn). Interesting viewing for its acting and its relative novelty as an acclaimed television production from the past. Pictured are Cronyn and Olivier. [DVD]