"There is in every one of us a spark of the infinite goodness that created us. When we leave this Earth, we are reunited with it as a raindrop falling from heaven is at last reunited with the sea which gave it birth." 

This quote is from Somerest Maugham's "The Razor's Edge" and attributed to Sri Ramana / Ramana Maharshi. He was born Venkataraman Iyer on December 30, 1879  but is mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. He is also known as "the liberated being."

This film is the screen version of Somerset Maugham's thinly disguised memoir. It is an unusual book in that it is more about his memories of a close friend than his own life. It is classed as a novel only because he changed the name of that friend as well as his own family members.

The friend, Larry, is played by Tyrone Power. And in seeking enlightenment he seems to inadvertently learn that what Sri Ramana has taught him is not always true. There are people who are inherently indifferent, and still others who are evil.

An outstanding film, marked by the performances of Tyrone Power as Larry, Cecil Humphreys as Sri Ramana, Clifton Webb as Elliot Templeton and both  Anne Baxter and Gene Tierney, as Sophie and Isabelle respectively. W. Somerset Maugham is played by Herbert Marshall.

The film begins just after World War One and spans the following decade. It takes place in Chicago, London, Paris and Tibet. The book is well adapted for the screen.

It is mainly the story of Larry, the most unusual man the author ever encountered, and the contrast between the spiritual life he has chosen, and the material lives of Elliot Templeton and the rest of the cast.

Written in 1944 it was well adapted for the screen only 2 years later by Darryl F. Zanuck.

"Where the Sidewalk Ends" with Dana Andrews (1950)

Dana Andrews plays a detective who accidently kills a murder suspect he believes to be innocent. Now, he finds himself in the awkward position of trying to prove the dead man guilty of a murder which he never did, even while trying to cover up the crime he himself has committed.

When he falls in love with the dead man’s widow, played by Gene Tierney, things get even more complicated. This is one of those truly underrated film noir classics with a great storyline and some serious acting, including Karl Malden as the new chief of Detectives, who has his doubts about the methods his men use, but still must answer to his own higher ups in order to justify his job.

Dana Andrews acts with a rare intensity in this film, opposite a sizzling Gene Tierney as they take you back to the days when detectives were “gumshoes” and the gals were “dames”. Round it out with some good old fashioned detective work, and it all adds up to a great viewing experience.