W. Somerset Maugham Anthology Films

W. Somerset Maugham Anthology Films

3 Episodes

In 1948, Gainsborough Pictures—best known for its enormously popular gothic melodramas—embarked on a rare prestige project: an anthology-film adaptation of four short stories by W. Somerset Maugham titled QUARTER, soon followed by two similarly structured follow-ups, TRIO and ENCORE. Featuring British acting legends like Dirk Bogarde, Jean Simmons, and Glynis Johns, these exquisitely crafted miniatures represent literary adaptation at its most elegant, drawing on Maugham’s famously keen insights into human nature to tell stories of misguided passions, creative obsession, social ambition, and unexpected reversals of fortune.

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W. Somerset Maugham Anthology Films

3 Episodes

  • Quartet
    2:00:27
    Quartet
    Episode 1

    Quartet

    Episode 1

    Directed by Ken Annakin, Arthur Crabtree, Harold French, and Ralph Smart • 1948 • United Kingdom
    Starring Mai Zetterling, Hermione Baddeley, Dirk Bogarde

    Four directors take on four stories by W. Somerset Maugham—introduced by the author himself—for this superbly crafted and acted anthology film...

  • Trio
    1:32:06
    Trio
    Episode 2

    Trio

    Episode 2

    Directed by Ken Annakin and Harold French • 1950 • United Kingdom
    Starring Jean Simmons, Michael Rennie, Anne Crawford

    Produced in the wake of the success of QUARTET, this follow-up brings three more stories by W. Somerset Maugham to the screen with the enduringly popular author’s gentle irony a...

  • Encore
    1:29:11
    Encore
    Episode 3

    Encore

    Episode 3

    Directed by Pat Jackson, Anthony Pelissier, and Harold French • 1951 • United Kingdom
    Starring Glynis Johns, Nigel Patrick, Kay Walsh

    Following QUARTET and TRIO, this equally captivating anthology film offers three more drolly amusing, morally perceptive stories drawn from the pages of W. Somers...

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