The Letter (1940)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

W. Somerset Maugham (play)
Howard Koch (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 November 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

Tagline:

With all my heart I still love the man I killed

Plot:

The wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense; a letter in her own hand may prove her undoing.

Plot Keywords:

Letter | Widow | Plantation | Murder | Rubber Plantation

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars.

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Leslie Crosbie
Herbert Marshall	...	Robert Crosbie
James Stephenson	...	Howard Joyce
Frieda Inescort	...	Dorothy Joyce
Gale Sondergaard	...	Mrs. Hammond
Bruce Lester	...	John Withers
Elizabeth Inglis	...	Adele Ainsworth (as Elizabeth Earl)
Cecil Kellaway	...	Prescott
Victor Sen Yung	...	Ong Chi Seng (as Sen Yung)
Doris Lloyd	...	Mrs. Cooper
Willie Fung	...	Chung Hi
Tetsu Komai	...	Head Boy

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Canada:PG (video rating) | West Germany:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6442)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "The Letter" by W. Somerset Maugham opened at the Morosco Theater on September 26, 1927 and ran for 104 performances.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Betty and her lawyer are in Chinatown to collect the letter from the widow, there is a padlock on the door while they are waiting outside the building. Seconds later, a man unlocks the door from the inside.

Quotes:

Robert Crosbie: I'll do whatever you think is right.
Howard Joyce: I don't think it's right, but I think it's expedient. Juries can sometimes be very stupid, and it's just as well not to worry them with more evidence than they can conveniently deal with.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in My Friend Irma Goes West (1950)

one of Davis' best performances

This was a pretty simple movie if you think about the plot and the few actors who star in this movie. However, despite such simplicity, this movie is exceptional throughout--particularly the incredible opening scene. In fact, this might just be one of the all-time best opening scenes as Bette Davis very coldly unloads all six chambers of her handgun into her now ex-lover. The utter coldness and thoroughness of this act is extremely shocking. You know that Bette is guilty of murder, but the movie shows how her ultra-decent husband has deluded himself into believing her innocence. And, along the way, a previously decent lawyer illegally helps her beat the rap. Nearly as exciting is the film's conclusion where justice is meted out to the sociopathic Bette.

The film has excellent acting and dialog, but to me the biggest stars are Ms. Davis and her excellent emotional range and the director, William Wyler, who framed and executed this film so well. So many camera shots are simply perfect. It's just an incredibly artistic and beautiful movie.