The Letter
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Movie Reviews of The Letter
Movie Review: The Letter
Summary: 5 Stars
Adapted from a story by W. Somerset Maugham, "The Letter" is a taut, captivating film. After the huge success of 1938's "Jezebel," director Wyler teamed again with Davis for this juicy melodrama, crafting a dark, sultry atmosphere that complements the scandalous intrigue. Davis is tops as a lady we love to hate, and Sondergaard's wordless turn as the wronged woman nearly steals the show.Movie Review: Trade everything you own for The Letter (recommended)
Summary: 5 Stars
It takes a well-rehearsed pathological liar to beat a murder rap when committed in front of dozens of witnesses. Enter Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis). With passionate warmth and conviction she presents herself as an innocent victim, winning hearts of her husband, attorneys, jurors, but not all peers. There is one little overlooked detail -- a letter that could send her to the gallows -- increasing its value far above all worldly possessions.
The youthful Davis deserves a standing ovation or at least an encore presentation. The latter is granted on this DVD with two special audio-only "Lux Radio Theater" adaptations (1941 and 1944) narrated by Cecil B. DeMille featuring Bette Davis as Leslie Crosbie, Herbert Marshall as Robert Crosbie, and Vincent Price as Howard Joyce. The audio presentation includes some slight adjustments in dialogue that more smoothly round out the story. THE LETTER is a suspenseful classic film noir with superb cinematography.
Movie quote: "This letter places an entirely different complexion on the whole case. It will put the prosecution on the track of suspicions which have entered nobody's mind."
Movie Review: Bette Davis At Her Best
Summary: 5 Stars
For some reason all the films Bette Davis made under the guiding hand of director William Wyler represent her best work, and The Letter is no exception. Made in 1940, the movie shows attitudes that have changed greatly in western society since that picture was made - the contempt people have for Gayle Sondergaard's character is a question in point - an
Asian woman who marries an Englishman, was something that was too too terrible to be countenanced ! (Especially when the man involved prefers Sondergaard to Davis)
The moon and fabulous sunsets were used to great effect during the picture, as in the opening scene where Bette Davis is seen chasing a male figure down a flight of steps, firing her gun into his back as she does so.
She sends a servant to get her husband from his plantation, and tells him that the man she shot was an intruder who tried to rape her. Of course her story is believed without question - the wife of a plantation owner is not without status among the British comminity in Malaya.
All goes well until a letter purporting to be a love letter from Davis to her ex-lover,pleading with him to come and see her at the house - her husband will be away etc really sets the cat amongst the pigeons.
Family friend and well regarded solicitor (played magnificently by Howard Joyce) is appalled at his clients duplicity and they go through a sham of a court case where by any mention of the letter is with held - to ensure Davis doesn't face a death penality.
Gayle Sondergaard is the vengeful wife who makes Davis and her solicitor come to the seedy China town area so she and Davis can meet face to face. Unbeknowns to Herbert Marshall, who plays the decent trusting husband (as he did so memorably with Davis in The Little Foxes) the money used to buy back the letter was $10,000 - all he had in the bank.
The meeting of the two women with Davis wearing a beautiful white lace shawl, and Sondergaard in a Chinese outfit, clinging as it does to show all her curves was well directed acted and photographed.
The two Chinese present enjoy watching Davis forced to ask for the letter and hand over the money. It is a scene that crackles with irony, hatred, and a sense of justice having been done.
Davis is - as she was in Jezebel,another Wyler picture - perfect in the Letter,selfish,self centred, mannered, under playing her character perfectly as a a woman who commits adultery, murder, and lies to those who trusted her, leaving in her wake a husband hearbroken and in debt, their close friend and lawyer in grave danger of being disbarred from practising the law, and her lover murdered in a deliberate act of cold blood.
The fascination I felt in watching The Letter was seeing Miss Davis' character gradually being trapped - like a fly to a spider's web.
She gets her come uppance of course, but I almost felt sorry for her just the same.
Gayle Sondergaard was an actress who was targetted by the house of Un-American activites, and her career was effectively halted. It was good to see playing such an effective role.
The Letter is dated in its mannerisms and views, but it is still very much worth the having, the watching and the owning of.
Movie Review: Obvious plot holes, but great, nonetheless!
Summary: 4 Stars
I thought "The Letter" was a gripping hour-and-a-half. Bette Davis is truly marvelous as the cold, calculating, scheming wife of a more or less milquetoast husband, well played by Herbert Marshall. I also agree that James Stephenson was very underrated as an actor, and he competently portrayed the honest, incorruptible lawyer who later becomes somewhat self-loathing (after he allowed himself to be guilted into tampering with the state's case by burying evidence in the form of an incriminating letter which would surely have put Leslie Crosbie away for a long time). In fact, it is to this very letter that I allude when I refer to an obvious plot hole in the story.
It is apparent that Howard Joyce is not only an honest defense lawyer (talk about a dead breed!), but is also a very smart one, however after the trial, when he and Leslie are talking alone, she asks him at one point where the letter is. He tells her it's in his pocket. Wait a minute.. time out! You mean to tell me that this brilliant attorney, after buying back the letter from the murdered man's widow for $10,000, thus suppressing vital evidence, not to mention seriously jeopardizing his career, is STUPID enough to actually KEEP the damn thing?? Wouldn't it have served his client's best interests, not to mention save himself from disbarment, to have burned it? What would have happened if, during the trial, the widow had decided to double-cross the defense and tell the court about the letter? As long as it still existed, there was a chance it would be discovered and used against Leslie. If Joyce had simply burned it, even the best attempts of the widow to expose the defense's treachery would have been in vain.
Then later, when Leslie's hubby began getting suspicious about the actual contents of the letter (which he had been told was fairly innocuous), this idiot of a lawyer, whom we have been led to believe is willing to spare his friend's feelings at all costs, SHOWS HIM THE DAMNED THING! If you were truly a great friend to someone, and you had a letter in your pocket that you knew would cause grave damage to him, wouldn't you tell the guy that the letter had been burned, or some such thing? No! This genius shows his friend the letter, which ultimately destroyed him! I couldn't believe it!
Anyway, those very obvious deviations in character aside, I thought the movie was very entertaining and went by very quickly for me, although I also thought the ending a bit contrived and unsatisfactory. That did not detract from my enjoyment, though! I give THE LETTER 4 stars, only because I was unable to give it 4 1/2.
Movie Review: Bette Davis As the Perfect Femme Fatale!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was recently trapped at a young nephew's birthday party at a local arcade. After four hours of non-stop video games and blaring rap music I had enough. Tired and with a headache, I was ready to put my feet up and soak in some good old fashion entertainment. Luckily, I had the antidote in a recently acquired DVD of the 1940 William Wyler drama/thriller "The Letter".This is just the movie to take you away from everything and just suck you in. The film takes place in the exotic Far East of a colonial Singapore rubber tree plantation. In the opening (and best) scene of the movie, we watch as Leslie Crosbie (a brilliant Bette Davis) calmly walks out on her front porch and grimly shoots a man dead as he attempts to flee. In the short aftermath she explains in precise detail to her husband (Herbert Marshall) and the authorities, that she was forced to kill family friend, Geoffrey Hammond, after he tried to sexually attack her. Even though there is dead body lying there with six bullets in it, everyone seems to automatically take Leslie at her word. That is until defense lawyer, Howard Joyce (James Stephenson) starts finding inconsistancies in her story. With each inconsistancy, new facts are revealed, which Leslie tries to explain and rationalize. Things finally come to a head, when an incrimating letter appears, which could possibly doom this murderous woman. We watch how this 'Femme Fatale' with a steely coldness and conviction, will say and do anything to save her own skin. Even if it means hurting everyone around her. When they came up with the saying "they don't make 'em like they use to", they must have been thinking of this movie. William Wyler's direction is marvelous. He just gets your attention from that very first riveting, classic shot all the way to the movie's climatic ending. The film features great performances from a wonderful cast. Bette Davis really is just amazing in this villainous role. Bette plays a woman who is (over) acting out the role of a victim for all the other characters to see. But the viewer understands how subtley, with each roll of those big beautiful eyes, with each furrowed brow and with the tight shots of those nervous, delicate hands, that this is a woman who is constantly scheming and coniving to get her way. Its just an astonishing performance. The supporting cast does an admirable job. Herbert Marshall is very good as the weak, cuckholded, husband. The scene where he finally reads the infamously, incrimating letter is just priceless. He just shows all his emotions in his face. James Stephenson is also very good as the lawyer, who unravels all of Bette Davis' lies and eventually compromises his own pricinples. Finally, mention should be made for a spellbinding performance from Gale Sondergaard as the mudered man's, Eurasian wife. The character she plays appears mysterious and Sphinx-like. She rarely speaks, yet is a totally commanding presence in every scene she's in. Sondergaard is so good in the role, she actually steals away her big scene with Bette Davis! Now, that takes some doing! Everything seems to work in this movie to create a forboding mood. From Max Steiner's bewitching score to the beautiful, yet eerie, B&W cinematography. I love this movie and just can't get enough of it. A true classic! Highly recommended!