W. Somerset Maugham

Latest Articles

Review: Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

1951 melodrama fails to convince
In this soupy 1951 romantic melodrama, Ava Gardner plays Pandora, a self-loathing vixen who toys with the affections of sundry panting males while waiting without hope for her real love to appear.
By GERALD PEARY | December 02, 2009

Dysfunction junction

A Delicate Balance; The Gibson Girl; Some Men
A Delicate Balance is 40 years old now, but like the patrician clan at the frightened heart of it, the play has good bones.
By CAROLYN CLAY | March 25, 2008

Unkindest cuts

Julius Caesar at the ART; The Scene at Lyric Stage
Those who went to high school in the 1960s may feel a wave of déjà vu at the American Repertory Theatre’s Julius Caesar .
By CAROLYN CLAY | February 19, 2008

The Painted Veil

Paints blissful, empty montages
Somerset Maugham might have inspired more movie adaptations than any other author, but not because his perversely realistic view of human behavior follows Hollywood formula. Watch the trailer for The Painted Veil (QuickTime)
By PETER KEOUGH | December 28, 2006

Falwell U

The Moral Majority's higher education
This article originally appeared in the August 4, 1981 issue of the Boston Phoenix .
By JERE REAL | August 03, 2006