Trio

This is actually a trilogy of 3 of Somerset Maugham's short tales. The first one is The Verger, which is about 15 minutes long and very enjoyable. After 17 years Albert Foreman is laid off from his church job because he can't read nor write. So what does he do? Opens a tobacco shop, of course!

The second is Mr. Know-All which was actually a story I had read for school 6 years ago and instantly forgotten, until I heard the familiar introduction. Another 15 minute one, and also very good. It worked better on film than in a book for me, but then perhaps that's because I was only 14 the last time, afterall.

The 3rd one is nearly a let-down. Almost an hour in length, it simply drags. It's not all that bad, but not as quick and snappy as the last 2. I watched the first quarter hour of it and then skipped forward to the last quarter hour, and found that it still made sense and really I hadn't missed a thing!

Overall I give them 8, 9, and 6 out of 10, respectively.

The multi-talented Somerset Maugham wrote these three short stories, which are presented as a collection from British Gainsborough/Paramount Pictures. Each one has a lesson to be learned by the central characters. In the first story, a gentleman who can't read is fired, but then becomes even more successful because of the descisions he is forced to make. In the second, a loud-mouth on a cruise ship finally learns to keep his mouth shut to avoid exposing uncomfortable truths. In the last tale, occupants of a sanatorium argue over the size of their rooms, and so many other things. Each story is introduced by Maugham himself. Directed by two British chaps, sharing the duties... Harold French and Ken Annakin. probably the biggest name here is Jean Simmons.. check her out on wikipedia.org only 500 votes so far on imdb, so they must not have shown this too often on Turner Classics. pretty good stuff from a Great British author (although he was born and died en france).

My favourite of this obscure series is Mr Knowall. Nigel Patrick gives a professional performance as the irritable , but ultimately likeable Mr kalada... the final sequences are wonderfully constructed and tense.

Two years earlier, the film Quartet showcased four W. Somerset Maugham short stories, each introduced by the very charming and humorous author. In 1950, Trio was released, and three more Maugham stories were brought to the big screen.

The first two stories, "The Verger" and "Mr. Know All", were very delightful. Cute, with recognizable character actors like Kathleen Harrison and Wilfrid Hyde-White, and each containing surprise twists to add to the plot. I adored the first two stories, and looked forward to "The Sanatorium", hoping it would be just as enjoyable. To my surprise, it wasn't at all like the preceding two stories. A strict drama, it took place in a tuberculosis sanatorium, exploring the lives of each ill patient. This one could have easily been expanded to the length of a feature film; the supporting characters were all so interesting, I wished they'd been given more time to explore their motivations and story lines. The main storyline was the romance between Jean Simmons and Michael Rennie, but even though they were given the most screen time, I still would have wished for more character development and twists and turns in the plot.

All in all, I'd recommend a viewing of Trio, but if your tastes lean towards cute rather than tragic, I'd recommend you only watch the first two stories. They're very sweet. On the other hand, if you'd like to watch a sad story, you can skip the first two and watch only the last. That's the great thing about a short story compilation; there's something for everyone!

TRIO was the Somerset Maugham follow-up to QUARTET a few years earlier.

Again, it's three of his short stories told with wit and humor and a good observation of human frailties and eccentricities in a trio of tales populated by stars like KATHLEEN HARRISON, MICHAEL HAYTER, JEAN SIMMONS, MICHAEL RENNIE, ROLAND CULVER and FINLAY CURRIE.

The first about the village VERGER is brief and to the point with charming performances from Michael Hayter as The Verger who loses his job when it's discovered that he can neither read or write but then becomes a successful businessman; the second is about everyone's worst nightmare--having to put up with an obnoxious Know-All on a cruise vacation (splendidly played by NIGEL PATRICK); and the third, and most satisfying for me, is SANATORIUM, a segment having to do with the lives of people spending time in a sanatorium, with some moving scenes between JEAN SIMMONS and MICHAEL RENNIE as the doomed lovers.

Only big flaw in the sanatorium sequence is the healthy and robust appearance of both Simmons and Rennie makes it hard to believe the dire situation they are in. This is easily overlooked because the story is extremely well played by a very capable cast of British players.

Summing up: Well worth seeing.