The Letter
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Movie Reviews of The Letter
Movie Review: DAVIS IS DELICIOUSLY EVIL - A FIRST RATE MELODRAMA
Summary: 4 Stars
Once you've seen the opening moments of William Wyler's superb "The Letter" you aren't apt to forget what great Hollywood film making is all about for a very, VERY long time. Bette Davis stars in this potent, diabolically delicious melodrama as Leslie Crosbie; the unscrupulous wife of a Malaysian rubber plantation owner. After packing six slugs into a man exiting her boudoir...not her husband...Leslie embarks on a deeply disturbing odyssey to vindicate her murder. Hmmm....vengeful Eurasian, Mrs. Hammond (Gale Sondergaard)will have something to say about that. To this morbid end of tragic curiosity, Leslie is ably aided by the naiveté of her husband, Robert(Herbert Marshall). But then there's the letter; a bit of forgotten business that threatens to unravel all of Leslie's well laid plans and lay bare her genuine passion for the man that she's killed.
The play by Somerset Maugham on which the film is based must have seemed like old hat to Davis. For there can be no other reason why she's so cleverly fiendish and stylishly sinister as Leslie. But then all is not to be realized in sweet escapism when a letter surfaces that could blow the whole truth wide open and send Leslie to prison for life. Superbly crafted with the fine animal instincts of a jungle cat at every turn, "The Letter" was nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture but won not a single statuette. Wyler's impeccable direction, and Davis's mesmerizing and unsympathetic performance are what transform this standard melodrama into movie art!
Unfortunately all is not well with the transfer from Warner Brothers. Seemingly contrasting a bit on the overly dark side, fine details are generally lost in the deep and foreboding blackness. Yes, most of the picture was designed to have a very dark image, but contrast and tonality in the gray scale here are what seem to be lacking over all throughout this black and white image. Also, the image is not very stable. Long shots tend to be a bit blurry and out of focus. There's also an annoying amount of edge enhancement on the horizontal slats of the bamboo blinds that figure into the mood of the piece throughout the film - making certain scenes seem unnecessarily harshly contrasted. Age related artifacts crop up now and then. Film grain becomes obtrusive and dense at moments, and practically non-existent at other moments. The audio is mono and overall nicely balanced. Occasionally dialogue is somewhat muffled. Extras include a fascinating alternative ending only recently discovered as well as 2 audio bonuses and the film's original theatrical trailer. "The Letter" comes highly recommended as a melodrama par excellence from a studio, director and a star who definitely understood the subtly of the art. As a DVD you may find the presentation somewhat disappointing.
Movie Review: Stilted but riveting
Summary: 4 Stars
Times have changed and "The Letter", based on a short story and play by W Somerset Maugham, suffers in 2005 from its stagebound roots. The film focuses on dialogue and atmosphere with little action. The modern equivalent would be English TV series such as "The Forsyte Saga" or "Pride and Prejudice".
The plot involves the deception of an unfaithful wife who kills her lover, stands trial but is pronounced innocent of murder but only because an incriminating letter is suppressed. The resolution of the film is compromised from the play by the constraints of the Production Code but it is still harrowing. The film accurately captures the atmosphere and location of Maugham's short story, the narrow and provincial world of the English in Malaya.
William Wyler's direction is very tight. His skill with the actors, the sets, establishing a mood etc is outstanding but every moment feels as if it was drawn up with a slide rule. The same applies to Bette Davis's legendary performance as the hypocritical Leslie Crosbie. Davis is riveting but as precise as her diction. Every move she makes feels as if it was carefully choreographed. She is like a coiled spring, ready to explode. Of course, this reflects the knots of her web of deceit hidden beneath the controlled exterior, but at all times, you are aware of "great acting". James Stephenson plays her lawyer and his performance is as good as Davis's. Their scenes together are the best in the film as you sit on the edge of your seat watching them play cat and mouse. Stephenson nearly walked off the set from the pressure brought by Wyler but Davis urged him to hang in there because of the great performance Wyler would get and she was right. Herbert Marshall plays Davis's husband very well too. His realisation that he does not know the woman with whom he has been sharing his life is moving. Gail Sondergaard plays the murdered man's Eurasian wife and creates a menacing figure with almost no dialogue.
The DVD print is excellent and the package contains an alternate ending which eliminates the fireworks of the released ending but in someways offers a more subtle resolution - interesting to see. One of the fascinations of seeing these alternate scenes is you get an unusual insight into the thought process of the director. The radio transcripts are a waste of time. The plot is compressed and the actors rush through the scripts without any of the pregnant pauses which are so important in the film. Also, why listen to a second rate condensed version of the script when you can watch the real thing?
Trivia Note - Cecil Kellaway gets billing, but he is barely in the film. Other prints, but not this one, show him in other scenes.
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: DELICIOUSLY DANGEROUS AND OVER THE TOP!
Summary: 4 Stars
Once you've seen the opening moments of William Wyler's superb "The Letter" you aren't apt to forget what great Hollywood film making is all about for a very, VERY long time. Bette Davis stars in this potent, diabolically delicious melodrama as Leslie Crosbie; the unscrupulous wife of a Malaysian rubber plantation owner. After packing six slugs into a man exiting her boudoir...not her husband...Leslie embarks on a deeply disturbing odyssey to vindicate her murder. To this end, Leslie is ably aided by the naiveté of her husband, Robert (Herbert Marshall) and by her popular following of fair weather friends, helmed by Mrs. Hammond (Gale Sondergaard). The play by Somerset Maugham on which the film is based must have seemed like old hat to Davis. For there can be no other reason why she's so cleverly fiendish and stylishly sinister as Leslie. But then all is not to be realized in sweet escapism when a letter surfaces that could blow the whole truth wide open and send Leslie to prison for life. Superbly crafted with the fine animal instincts of a jungle cat at every turn, "The Letter" was nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture but won not a single statuette. Wyler's impeccable direction, and Davis's mesmerizing and unsympathetic performance are what transform this standard melodrama into movie art!
Unfortunately all is not well with the transfer from Warner Brothers. Seemingly contrasting a bit on the overly dark side, fine details are generally lost in the deep and foreboding blackness. Yes, most of the picture was designed to have a very dark image, but contrast and tonality in the gray scale here are what seem to be lacking over all throughout this black and white image. Also, the image is not very stable. Long shots tend to be a bit blurry and out of focus. There's also an annoying amount of edge enhancement on the horizontal slats of the bamboo blinds that figure into the mood of the piece throughout the film - making certain scenes seem unnecessarily harshly contrasted. Age related artifacts crop up now and then. Film grain becomes obtrusive and dense at moments, and practically non-existent at other moments. The audio is mono and overall nicely balanced. Occasionally dialogue is muffled. Extras include a fascinating alternative ending only recently discovered as well as 2 audio bonuses and the film's original theatrical trailer. "The Letter" comes highly recommended as a melodrama par excellence from a studio, director and a star who definitely understood the subtly of the art. As a DVD you may find the presentation somewhat disappointing.
Movie Review: Moody, Taut and Sultry: Bette Davis Scores Big
Summary: 4 Stars
Once you've seen the opening moments of William Wyler's superb "The Letter" you aren't apt to forget what great Hollywood film making is all about for a very, VERY long time. Bette Davis stars in this potent, diabolically delicious melodrama as Leslie Crosbie; the unscrupulous wife of a Malaysian rubber plantation owner. After packing six slugs into a man exiting her boudoir...not her husband...Leslie embarks on a deeply disturbing odyssey to vindicate her murder. Hmmm....vengeful Eurasian, Mrs. Hammond (Gale Sondergaard)will have something to say about that. To this morbid end of tragic curiosity, Leslie is ably aided by the naiveté of her husband, Robert(Herbert Marshall). But then there's the letter; a bit of forgotten business that threatens to unravel all of Leslie's well laid plans and lay bare her genuine passion for the man that she's killed. The play by Somerset Maugham on which the film is based must have seemed like old hat to Davis. For there can be no other reason why she's so cleverly fiendish and stylishly sinister as Leslie. But then all is not to be realized in sweet escapism when a letter surfaces that could blow the whole truth wide open and send Leslie to prison for life. Superbly crafted with the fine animal instincts of a jungle cat at every turn, "The Letter" was nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture but won not a single statuette. Wyler's impeccable direction, and Davis's mesmerizing and unsympathetic performance are what transform this standard melodrama into movie art!
Unfortunately all is not well with the transfer from Warner Brothers. Yes, most of the picture was designed to have a very dark image, but contrast and tonality in the gray scale here are what seem to be lacking throughout this black and white presentation.Long shots tend to be a bit blurry. There's also some edge enhancement on the horizontal slats of the bamboo blinds that figure into the mood of the piece throughout the film - making certain scenes seem unnecessarily harsh. Age related artifacts crop up now and then. Film grain becomes obtrusive in spots. The audio is mono and overall nicely balanced. Occasionally dialogue is somewhat muffled. Extras include a fascinating alternative ending only recently discovered as well as 2 audio bonuses and the film's original theatrical trailer. "The Letter" comes highly recommended as a melodrama par excellence from a studio, director and a star who definitely understood the subtly of the art.