The four episodes based on Maugham short stories are increasingly substantial, although the overall experience is somewhat unsatisfying. The first, "The Facts of Life," stars Zetterling and "The Lady Vanishes" duo of Radford and Wayne, but it doesn't make much of an impression. The second, "The Alien Corn," stars Bogarde and Blackman as cousins in love and has a surprising ending. "The Kite" is an amusing story about a family's love for kites. The last, "The Colonel's Lady," is about the scandalous publication of erotic poems by a woman of upper society; it is the longest and most developed of the quartet. Maugham himself introduces the stories and comes across as rather pompous.
