| The Moon and Sixpence | |
|---|---|
 Laurence Olivier in leprosy makeup | |
| Based on | The Moon and Sixpence bySomerset Maugham |
| Written by | S. Lee Pogostin |
| Directed by | Robert Mulligan |
| Starring | |
| Production | |
| Producer | David Susskind |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | October 30, 1959 (1959-10-30) |
The Moon and Sixpence is an Americantelevision movie that was broadcast onNBC on October 30, 1959. The production, starringLaurence Olivier, was adapted by S. Lee Pogostin fromthe novel bySomerset Maugham. The production won multipleEmmy andSylvania Awards, including awards for Olivier's acting, Pogostin's adaptation, andRobert Mulligan's direction.
A successful stockbroker leaves his family in middle age to become an artist. His wife (played byGeraldine Fitzgerald) responds by committing suicide. In Paris, he befriends another artist (played byHume Cronyn), then has an affair with his friend's wife (played byJessica Tandy), destroying their marriage. He settles inTahiti where he marries a native woman (played byJean Marsh) and developsleprosy.
The following performers appeared in the movie:[1][2]
The 90-minute movie was produced in December 1958 and recorded on color videotape.[3]David Susskind was the producer andRobert Mulligan the director.[2] It was sponsored by RCA and used in advertising for color television sets.[4]
The film is based on Somerset Maugham's 1919 novel,The Moon and Sixpence. The novel had previously been adapted into a stage play in 1925, a feature film in 1942, and an opera in 1957. The television adaptation was written by S. Lee Pogostin.
The production wasLaurence Olivier's debut on American television.[1] Olivier won Emmy and Sylvania Awards for his performance,[5][6] which required him to portray the transformation of the protagonist from a timorous London stockbroker to a rude Parisian artist and eventually a noble leper in Tahiti.[7][8][9]
Makeup artist Dick Smith was responsible for Olivier's makeup after the character developed leprosy. Olivier noted the extreme makeup reflecting the disfigurement of his character's face "does the acting for me."[10] Smith and Olivier later worked together again onMarathon Man (1976).[10]
InThe New York Times, Jack Gould called Olivier's performance "a work of towering accomplishment". He also wrote that the "completely arresting" production proved "that TV can achieve glorious heights if its creative people are afforded free rein."[1]
In theNew York Herald-Tribune, Marie Torre called it "the closest thing to dramatic perfection ever known on television." She also wrote that Olivier's performance "had a brilliance and magnetism unmatched in the annals of TV."[11]
Bob Thomas of theAssociated Press found Olivier's transformation from dullish London stockbroker to amoral painter to have been skillful and convincing. However, Thomas criticized the story as the "chronicle of a cad" with scene after scenes in which the protagonist mistreats his family and friends.[12] Thomas also found any drama in the story to have been "largely muffled" by the narration-heavy adaptation and "talky" dialogue filled with "idle philosophizing".[12] He also found much of the dialogue to be dated, including an exchange in which Olivier tells his Tahitian wife, "I shall beat you, you know," and she replies, "How else shall I know that thy love is true?"[12]
The film won twoEmmy Awards: for outstanding single performance by an actor (Laurence Olivier) and outstanding directorial achievement in drama (Mulligan).[5] It was also nominated for outstanding program achievement in the field of drama but lost toPlayhouse 90.
The film also won fourSylvania Television Awards: outstanding dramatic program; outstanding telecast; outstanding performance by an actor in a starring role (Olivier); and outstanding television adaptation (Pogostin).[6][13]
David Susskind also received a Peabody Award for his production of "a drama of style and substance."[14]