The Letter (1940 film): Difference between revisions
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''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' says, "Never has [the W. Somerset Maugham play] been done with greater production values, a better all-around cast or finer direction. Its defect is its grimness. Director William Wyler, however, sets himself a tempo which is in rhythm with the Malay locale...Davis' frigidity at times seems to go even beyond the characterization. On the other hand, Marshall never falters. Virtually stealing thesp honors in the pic, however, is Stephenson as the attorney, while Sondergaard is the perfect mask-like threat."[http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117792559.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&query=bette+davis] |
''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' says, "Never has [the W. Somerset Maugham play] been done with greater production values, a better all-around cast or finer direction. Its defect is its grimness. Director William Wyler, however, sets himself a tempo which is in rhythm with the Malay locale...Davis' frigidity at times seems to go even beyond the characterization. On the other hand, Marshall never falters. Virtually stealing thesp honors in the pic, however, is Stephenson as the attorney, while Sondergaard is the perfect mask-like threat."[http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117792559.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&query=bette+davis] |
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''[[Time Out London]]'' says, "A superbly crafted melodrama, even if it never manages to top the moody montage with which it opens - moon scudding behind clouds, rubber dripping from a tree, coolies dozing in the compound, a startled cockatoo - as a shot rings out, a man staggers out onto the verandah, and Davis follows to empty her gun grimly into his body...A pity that [the] camerawork, almost worthy of Sternberg in its evocation of sultry [[Singapore]] nights and cool gin slings, is not matched by natural sounds (on the soundtrack [[Max Steiner]]'s score does a lot of busy underlining)." |
''[[Time Out London]]'' says, "A superbly crafted melodrama, even if it never manages to top the moody montage with which it opens - moon scudding behind clouds, rubber dripping from a tree, coolies dozing in the compound, a startled cockatoo - as a shot rings out, a man staggers out onto the verandah, and Davis follows to empty her gun grimly into his body...A pity that [the] camerawork, almost worthy of Sternberg in its evocation of sultry [[Singapore]] nights and cool gin slings, is not matched by natural sounds (on the soundtrack [[Max Steiner]]'s score does a lot of busy underlining)."[http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/80336/the-letter.html] |
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==Nominations== |
==Nominations== |
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Revision as of 08:20, 6 April 2008
| The Letter | |
|---|---|
| File:Theletter.jpg The Letter movie poster | |
| Directed by | William Wyler |
| Written by | W. Somerset Maugham (play) Howard Koch |
| Produced by | Hal B. Wallis |
| Starring | Bette Davis Herbert Marshall James Stephenson |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates | November 22, 1940 (U.S. release) |
Running time | 95 min |
| Language | English |
The Letter is a 1940 American film noir directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Howard Koch is based on a 1927 play by W. Somerset Maugham. It is a remake of the 1929 film of the same name.
Plot synopsis
Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis), the wife of a British rubber planter in Malaya, shoots and kills Jeff Hammond, and claims that she was defending her honor. To defend Leslie, her husband Robert (Herbert Marshall) sends for family friend and attorney Howard Joyce (James Stephenson), who questions Leslie's story.
Howard's suspicions seem justified when Ong Chi Seng (Sen Yung), his clerk, offers to sell the attorney a letter that Leslie wrote Hammond on the day of his death, asking him to visit her. Howard confronts Leslie with the damning evidence, forcing her to confess to Hammond's cold-blooded killing, but Leslie cleverly manipulates the attorney into agreeing to buy back the letter.
The document is in the possession of Hammond's widow (Gale Sondergaard), who demands that Leslie personally deliver $10,000 for the letter. The transaction is completed and, without the evidence of the letter, Leslie is acquitted of her crime. It is only after she is freed and Robert plans to draw $10,000 out of his savings account in order to buy a rubber plantation in Sumatra, that he learns of the high cost of the letter and of his wife's duplicity.
Confronted with the truth, Leslie confesses her guilt and her love for Hammond, and although her husband forgives her, Mrs. Hammond cannot and stabs Leslie, making her pay for Hammond's life with her own.
Production notes
In the original play, Leslie Crosbie lives out her life without her husband. However, the Production Code Administration rejected the original story that Warner Bros. submitted on the grounds that it contained adultery and unpunished murder. Sondergaard's character was changed from Hammond's Chinese mistress to his Eurasian wife to placate the Hays Office.
Wyler and Davis, who had previously teamed in Jezebel, disagreed on the climatic seen in which Leslie admits to her husband that she still loves the man that she murdered. Davis felt that no woman could look at her husband when she admits such a thing. Wyler disagreed. Davis walked off the set. Later, she returned, and did it Wyler's way, but ever after, Davis insisted her way would have been better.
Wyler also argued with Warner Bros. head Jack Warner over the casting of British actor Stephenson as the attorney, Howard Joyce. Warner had originally suggested Stephenson for the role, but after Wyler cast him, Warner had second thoughts and thought that the role was too important to cast an unknown. Wyler stood firm, and Stephenson's performance earned him an Oscar nomination.
Although Cecil Kellaway is listed in the onscreen credits, his character was cut before the film's relase. He only appears in a longshot during a party scene.
Marshall, who plays Robert Crosbie, also starred in the original film in 1929. He played the murder victim in that version.
Principal 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
- Sen Yung ..... On Chi Seng
Critical reception
In his review in the New York Times, Bosley Crowther observed, "The ultimate credit for as taut and insinuating a melodrama as has come along this year—a film which extenuates tension like a grim inquisitor's rack—must be given to Mr. Wyler. His hand is patent throughout...Miss Davis is a strangely cool and calculating killer who conducts herself with reserve and yet implies a deep confusion of emotions...Only the end of The Letter is weak—and that is because of the postscript which the Hays Office has compelled."[1]
Variety says, "Never has [the W. Somerset Maugham play] been done with greater production values, a better all-around cast or finer direction. Its defect is its grimness. Director William Wyler, however, sets himself a tempo which is in rhythm with the Malay locale...Davis' frigidity at times seems to go even beyond the characterization. On the other hand, Marshall never falters. Virtually stealing thesp honors in the pic, however, is Stephenson as the attorney, while Sondergaard is the perfect mask-like threat."[2]
Time Out London says, "A superbly crafted melodrama, even if it never manages to top the moody montage with which it opens - moon scudding behind clouds, rubber dripping from a tree, coolies dozing in the compound, a startled cockatoo - as a shot rings out, a man staggers out onto the verandah, and Davis follows to empty her gun grimly into his body...A pity that [the] camerawork, almost worthy of Sternberg in its evocation of sultry Singapore nights and cool gin slings, is not matched by natural sounds (on the soundtrack Max Steiner's score does a lot of busy underlining)."[3]
Nominations
- Academy Award for Best Picture
- Academy Award for Best Director
- Academy Award for Best Actress (Bette Davis)
- Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (James Stephenson)
- Academy Award for Best Music, Original Score
- Academy Award for Best Film Editing
- Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black and White
References
External links
- The Letter at IMDb
- The Letter at Allmovie