Larry and as a test of Sophie's strength. Then Larry says, quietly, “That’s pretty much what I thought. Sophie is dead...murdered.” A stunned Isabel asks, “Do they know who did it?” Larry replies, “No, but I do.” The camera remains on Larry, so we do not see Isabel's face and do not know if Larry's response registers with her at all. He immediately tells Isabel that there is no need to be shocked about Sophie, that all day he has had the feeling that Sophie is where she wanted to be, with her husband and child. Gently and with compassion in his voice and face, he says “Good-bye Isabel. Take good care of Gray. He needs you now more than ever.” He walks away, his footsteps echoing on the hallway's marble floor. A reeling Isabel tells Maugham, “I’ve lost him for good. ... Do you suppose we’ll ever see him again?” Maugham replies that her America will be as remote from Larry's as the Gobi Desert. She still does not understand what Larry wants. Maugham tells her that Larry has found what most people want and never get. “I don’t think anyone can fail to be better and nobler, kinder for knowing him. You see my dear, goodness is after all the greatest force in the world, and he’s got it.” Isabel turns to look out the window at the Mediterranean. Cut to Larry on the deck of a storm-tossed ship, hoisting cargo in the rain. Cast Production history 20th Century Fox purchased the film rights from Maugham in March 1945 for $50,000 plus 20% of the film's net profits. The contract stipulated that Maugham would receive an additional $50,000 if the film did not start shooting by February 2, 1946. In August 1945, producer Darryl F. Zanuck had the second unit begin shooting in the mountains around Denver, Colorado, which were to portray the Himalayas in the film. The stars had not yet been cast; Larry Darrell was played by a stand-in and was filmed in extreme long shot. Zanuck wanted Tyrone Power to star and delayed casting until Power finished his service in the Marines in January 1946. Zanuck originally hired George Cukor to direct, but creative differences led to Cukor's removal. Although Maugham wanted his friend (whom he had in mind when he created the character) Gene Tierney for Isabel, Zanuck chose Maureen O'Hara but told her