The Letter (1940 film)
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- For the article about the 1927 play from which this film was adapted, see The Letter.
| The Letter | |
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 Original poster |
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| Directed by | William Wyler |
| Produced by | Hal B. Wallis |
| Written by | Howard Koch Based on the play by W. Somerset Maugham |
| Starring | Bette Davis Herbert Marshall James Stephenson |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Cinematography | Tony Gaudio |
| Editing by | George Amy Warren Low |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | November 22, 1940  United States |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Letter is a 1940 American film noir directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Howard Koch is based on the 1927 play of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham, originally filmed in 1929.
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[edit] Plot synopsis
Leslie Crosbie, the wife of a British rubber planter in Malaya, shoots and kills Jeff Hammond, claiming she was defending her honor. To defend her, husband Robert sends for family friend and attorney Howard Joyce, who questions Leslie's account of the shooting.
Howard's suspicions seem justified when his clerk Ong Chi Seng offers to sell the attorney a letter that Leslie wrote, asking Hammond to visit her on the day of his death. 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, who demands Leslie personally deliver $10,000 for the letter. The transaction is completed and, without 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.
[edit] 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. The character of Mrs. Hammond was changed from Hammond's Chinese mistress to his Eurasian wife to placate the Hays Office [1].
Director William Wyler and star Bette Davis, who previously had teamed on Jezebel, disagreed about the climactic scene in which Leslie admits to her husband she still loves the man she murdered. Davis felt no woman could look at her husband when she admits such a thing. Wyler disagreed, and Davis walked off the set. She later returned and did it Wyler's way, but ever after, Davis insisted her approach would have been better [2].
Wyler also argued with Warner Bros. head Jack Warner over the casting of British actor James Stephenson as attorney Howard Joyce. Warner originally had suggested Stephenson for the role, but after Wyler cast him, the studio head had second thoughts and thought the role was too important to cast an unknown in it. Wyler stood firm, and Stephenson's performance earned him an Oscar nomination [3].
Herbert Marshall also appeared in the 1929 version, in which he played the lover who was killed by Leslie.
[edit] Principal cast
- Bette Davis ..... Leslie Crosbie
- Herbert Marshall ..... Robert Crosbie
- James Stephenson ..... Howard Joyce
- Gale Sondergaard ..... Mrs. Hammond
- Frieda Inescort ..... Dorothy Joyce
- Bruce Lester ..... John Withers
- Sen Yung ..... On Chi Seng
[edit] 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". [4]
Variety said, "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". [5]
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 . . . [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)." [6]
[edit] Nominations
- Academy Award for Best Picture
- Academy Award for Best Director
- Academy Award for Best Actress (Bette Davis)
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (James Stephenson)
- Academy Award for Original Music Score
- Academy Award for Best Film Editing
- Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black and White
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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