[1] A quote from Meditations, iii 10, by Marcus Aurelius,[2] introduces the work: "Short therefore, is man's life, and narrow is the corner of the earth wherein he dwells."

After originally including Dr. Saunders in the short story "The Stranger" in On a Chinese Screen, Maugham remained interested in the character.

Captain Nichols originally appeared in The Moon and Sixpence (introduced in chapter 46); he was suggested by "a beachcomber I met in the South Seas....

Dr. Saunders, an English doctor, is in Takana, an island in the Dutch East Indies, waiting to return home to Fu-Chou in China after performing an eye operation on a local merchant.

They visit a friend of Erik, Frith, a former teacher from Britain who has a nutmeg plantation, is interested in Eastern philosophy and in spare time is translating a Portuguese epic poem The Lusiads.

Later, Erik talks to Saunders about Catherine, whom he regarded like a mother, and tells him he is unofficially engaged to Louise, whom he has loved for years.

Directed by Alfred E. Green, it features Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as Fred Blake, Patricia Ellis as Louise Frith, and Ralph Bellamy as Eric Whittenson.

It featured Raymond Huntley as Dr Saunders, George Merritt as Captain Nichols and Denys Hawthorne as Fred Blake.