A Letter to Three Wives
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.92 You Save: $9.06 (60%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $4.49 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of A Letter to Three Wives
Movie Review: The Postman Only Rings Once
Summary: 4 Stars
Forgetting "Cleopatra" and "The Quiet American," and never foretting the incomparable "All About Eve," it's true that Joseph L. Mankiewicz has made more scintillating movies than most Hollywood directors. "A Letter to Three Wives" is certainly among them. The wives begin their day supervising a school picnic after learning that one of their husbands has decamped with a country club flirt. We as well as they are asked to contemplate which wife will go husbandless. That we care at all is a credit to Mankiewicz's witty script, to 20th-Century Fox for okaying the production, and to the shrewdly chosen actors.
Mankiewicz has worked with some of them before (Thelma Ritter and Celeste Holm in "All About Eve," Jeanne Crain in "People Will Talk"), but Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas and especially Linda Darnell also respond well to him. Holmes' unseen voiceover seems dated today, the film's not in color (as Amazon has it), and feminisim had yet to entitle women to lives of their own. Still, a thoughtful movie about real people, full of smart dialogue and insights, is an antidote to the romantic comedies poisoning our cineplexes. Viewers can be grateful that this "Letter" at last has arrived on DVD.
Movie Review: Trouble In Paradise!
Summary: 4 Stars
A LETTER TO THREE WIVES(1949)---Linda Darnell, Jeanne Crain, Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas, Thelma Ritter, Barbara Lawrence, Jeffrey Lynn
Written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, this is "social satire" of the first order---which was Mankiewicz's forte. A letter is delivered to 3 women just as they are about to take a group of school children on a day-excursion on a riverboat. The letter is from a woman named Addie Ross, who is never seen in the film but whose "voice-over" is done by Celeste Holm. The letter says that Addie has run off with one of their husbands. The rest of the film is divided into 3 "episodes" wherein each woman ruminates on her life with her husband and whether it could be her husband that Addie has stolen. The movie is full of the sort of wonderful dialogue and funny/barbed satire that Mankiewicz excelled in. Darnell and Sothern are very good in this film and Kirk Douglas has some of the best lines in the movie as Sothern's husband. Paul Douglas makes his film debut playing Darnell's husband. A very good film and much of Mankiewicz's satire continues to have relevance in the 21st century. A year later, Mankiewicz would write/direct, ALL ABOUT EVE.
Movie Review: The Mystery: Just Whose Husband Walked Away?
Summary: 4 Stars
Three women are told that one of their husbands has just left her. Which is it? The women each engage in obsessive soul-searching. Why did he wear a new suit? Why didn't he go golfing? Why wasn't he fishing? And what about that big argument last night? I will not spoil the ending by revealing it.
Certain themes in this film are quite modern. For instance, a man tells a woman to shut up. At that time, this must have sounded very harsh and explicit. There is also a scene of violence against women: A man pushes a woman down into a chair (Most violence against women consists of slapping or pushing).
This 1949 Academy Award winner also gives the modern viewer insights into American society immediately after WWII. There is mention of WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service). One can easily tell that this is an old movie. There are many scenes of smoking and drinking. Archaic terms are used by the characters (e. g., consumption instead of TB). Some scenes are funny. For example, the cupboard rattles to an exaggerated extent whenever a train passes nearby. And some of the women play hard to get.
Movie Review: A truly entertaining gem.
Summary: 4 Stars
Though the story of three women wondering which of their husbands has run off with the town man-trap may seem a little dated, the script and direction by Mankiewicz, and the top-notch performances make this a memorable pleasure.
Mankiewicz would go on to create the classic "All About Eve," of course. And if you've never seen the wonderful Ann Sothern play anything more than lightweight comedies, you have to catch this. The stunning Linda Darnell is also a terrific foil for blustering Paul Douglas (no relation to Kirk Douglas who also is very good here). AND the always sensational Thelma Ritter and the offscreen voice of Celeste Holm, both to later appear memorably in "...Eve." (Holm had already won an Oscar for Makiewicz's "Gentleman's Agreement.)
Well worth your time.
Movie Review: A Letter to Three Wives
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this movie for my father who recalled to me that he had tried to find this movie here in Australia. I found it here on Amazon and purchased it for him. I watched this movie with some hesitation as I am not familiar with old black and white movies. This movie from 1949 kept my attention throughout with it's slick photography, direction, and plot. I was impressed with the cast and the acting. I would heartily recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a well scripted and acted movie. The remastering to DVD was excellent even on playback to high definition screen. Five stars from me. (Daniel Hume)