The Painted Veil on screen

W. Somerset Maugham's novel has received three feature adaptations that progressively reshape Kitty's marriage, the cholera setting, and the possibility of reconciliation.

This map covers the related screen works currently supported by PlotGeeks, rather than every adaptation ever made.

1. Source book | 1925The Painted VeilView book explainer →
2. 1934 | Feature filmThe Painted VeilAdapted from | Richard Boleslawski

   The first film changes names, simplifies Kitty's moral development, and redirects the marriage toward a more conventional resolution.

3. 1957 | Feature filmThe Seventh SinAdapted from | Ronald Neame

   The retitled second treatment modernizes and compresses the story while retaining adultery, punishment, and the cholera mission.

4. 2006 | Feature filmThe Painted VeilAdapted from | John Curran

   The later film develops mutual tenderness between Walter and Kitty, making the marriage more reciprocal than Maugham's colder account.

   View film explainer →Compare with the book