Trio

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).

Somerset Maugham introduces three short stories that he has authored. The first two are particularly humorous and uplifting and a bit ironic and they are also very short at about 20 minutes each. The first concerns a man over 50 who is fired by the church for which he works because he cannot read and refuses to learn. At first blush he'd seem to be too stubborn for his own good, but he turns out to be more adaptable than his former employer could ever dream. The second involves a fellow with a tremendous ego who at the same time is very generous as he takes a shipboard journey. In the end he must choose between his generosity and his ego as his dominant trait.

The third tale, at about 40 minutes in length, had the potential to be the downbeat one in the bunch and doesn't sound that intriguing at first - it involves the lives of a group of sufferers of "consumption" - tuberculosis - that are being treated in a sanatorium, which was a long term process prior to the introduction of antibiotics. This one turns out to be as upbeat as a story could possibly be in such a setting. The practical in me has me asking a couple of questions that go unanswered. First, there are several patients who may or may not be recovered who apparently have set this place up as their home of preference since they have been there so long and have made social ties they do not wish to break. Why would any doctor of scruples allow this to go on? The sanatorium is spacey and charming and doesn't seem at all medical or antiseptic, so I can see how lonely people with an illness in common wouldn't want to leave, but it seems like it would be the doctor's obligation to force the patients back out into the real world once cured. Second, since apparently recovery takes months or years, who is paying for all of this? Money never comes into the equation as a concern for any of the patients.

I'd recommend this one. Some of Maugham's work can be dark and depressing but these three stories are quite uplifting.

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!

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.

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.