The Letter (1940) User Reviews (150)

Bette Davis and William Wyler, a winning combination

[FlickJunkie-2 · 9/10 · 9 May 2001]

In `The Letter' William Wyler takes a predictable plot and turns it into a brilliant film with the help of one of the grande dames of film. For hell hath no fury like Bette Davis with a revolver in her hand.

The film opens with Leslie Crosby (Bette Davis) emptying her revolver into a man on her front porch, shooting him twice after he hits the ground. She tells the police she was defending herself against his sexual assault. She seems to be headed for an easy acquittal until (surprise) an incriminating letter surfaces that suggests that she summoned the victim to her house with the clear intention of murdering him.

Can the evidence be suppressed? Will she be acquitted? Was she really in love with the victim? The answers to these questions are obvious to all but the most naïve viewer. Yet, despite the transparency of the plot, this film works for two reasons: Bette Davis and William Wyler.

Bette Davis is arguably among the best actresses of all time. She was originally signed by Universal Studios, who dropped her because she didn't have the looks to be a movie star. Still, Warner Brothers decided to take a chance on her in 1932, signing her to a seven-year contract that would produce two Oscars. She was nominated for best actress eleven times, winning twice (`Dangerous', 1936 and `Jezebel' 1939). She was nominated five straight years from 1939 to 1943. This performance was in the middle of that run. It is classic Bette Davis, utterly in command of every scene. Her portrayal of Leslie is superb, a duplicitous and cunning woman who could manipulate any man to do her bidding. It took another woman to humble her. This is Davis in her prime and it is awesome to see her at work. She could make a dog food commercial exciting to watch.

What Davis was to acting William Wyler was to directing. (The two shared more than a professional relationship, and it was widely rumored at that time that they were romantically involved.) Wyler was nominated for best director twelve times winning three (`Mrs. Miniver', 1942; `The Best Years of Our Lives', 1943; `Ben Hur', 1960). Like Davis, he was also nominated for this film. Wyler's camerawork here is fantastic. In black and white films, lighting is critical, because the director doesn't have the luxury of relying on color to dramatize the images. Aided by veteran cinematographer Tony Gaudio, Wyler's use of lighting and shadows in this film is brilliant. It could serve as a primer for dramatic black and white cinematography. Gaudio was also nominated for an Oscar for this film, one of his six nominations in a forty-year career.

This film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including best picture, but it was shut out. Despite a predictable story, I rated it a 9/10 on the strength of the acting, directing and cinematography. It is an excellent opportunity to see Bette Davis during her glory years in one of her many outstanding performances.

Full moon fever.

[dbdumonteil · 9/10 · 29 November 2004]

Among the three Wyler-Davis' collaborations (the others being "little foxes" and "Jezebel" ) "the letter " is their triumph.The repugnance that most of the French critics feel for the great Wyler is one of their major flaws (coming from "les cahiers du cinema " and the stupidity of the nouvelle vague ravings).

"The letter" is a splendor.A screenplay so simple and so effective it's a wonder it grabs us till the last pictures.A first sequence to rival the best of Hitchcock.A feverish sticky deadly atmosphere from the mysterious garden where a malefic full moon shines on Davis' inscrutable face to the seedy place in the Chinese quarter where they smoke opium and where Gale Sondergaard spins a web :in this memorable scene when she forces Davis to kneel down,she almost surpasses the star,which will seem an impossible task to some,and yet..Every time Sondergaard appears on the screen ,she's absolutely terrifying.I was saying that the screenplay was simple ,but that kind of simplicity takes genius and I wish today's stories had this implacable logic.As always in Wyler's works of that era,the ball sequence is a recurring theme (see the admirable scenes of "Wuthering Heights" and "Jezebel" )Thus,the finale scenes revolve around a ball,beginning with Davis's entrance and ending with a view of the dancers from the outside ,à la "Wuthering Heights" .Excellent performances by the whole cast,fabulous directing,particularly in these last pictures ,where Davis is walking through the garden ,under a bad moon rising..You must see "the letter".

The Right Note

[writers_reign · 9/10 · 16 May 2006]

This is a prime candidate for They-Don't-Make-Them-Like-That-Anymore nostalgists with several key ingredients present and accounted for; it was released in 1940, as close to the heart of the 'Golden Age' of Hollywood as makes no difference; it top-billed Bette Davis at the height of her fame and with not one but Two Oscars under her belt; it featured an exotic location - okay, it was shot on the Sound Stages and Backlot at Warners, but they specialized in creating illusions of exotica, remember Casablanca?; it was helmed by one Willie (Wyler) and adapted from the canon of another (Maugham) and it was a melodrama in the best sense of the word. Wyler sets the mood impeccably letting his camera explore the humid tropical night that could be anywhere South of Pago Pago then nailing it specifically with a shot of a rubber tree dripping its liquid gold into an applicable container. This image is more subtle than you might suppose because it is a visualisation of the first line of Cole Porter's great hymn to obsessive love 'like the drip, drip, drip of the raindrops ...' (Night And Day) and it leads us into a story of obsessive love whose strength is that nowhere are we SHOWN this affliction; where most movies would begin as this one does with Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis) emptying all six chambers into a guy who was dead after the first shot and THEN treat us to a flashback showing just what led Davis to that ultimate step, here Wyler is content to let us IMAGINE the one-sided passion between Crosbie and Geoffrey Hammond. This is a world that Maugham made his own, where English expats feel naked in the tropics unless attired in full evening dress with a Pink Gin welded on to their hand. Poor Bart Marshall didn't fare too well with Davis; he was her (literal) long-suffering husband in Wyler's The Little Foxes and here he is the poor sap who she's been cuckolding - ironically, in a previous (1929) version of the same story Marshall played the victim, Geoffrey Hammond. On paper the acting honors should be Davis's by divine right but here she's given a run for her money by James Stephenson - who made only three more films, released the following year, before dying prematurely - and Gale Sondergaard who has the cards stacked against her by speaking only Malay and Chinese and is forced to rely on her face and eyes which luckily are the most expressive on display. Trivia buffs will relish the names Robert (Marshall) and Leslie (Davis) Crosbie though to be fair Leslie Townes (Bob) Hope had made only one 'Road' picture with Bing Crosby the previous year yet ironically it was The Road To SINGAPORE, and equally not too many people would have been aware of Bing's younger brother Bob (Robert) Crosby who led his own band. This is Davis at her considerable best and is a must-see.

Exquisite!!!!

[RaiderJack · 10/10 · 21 May 2007]

From the opening sequence where we see Bette emptying her gun on this poor unsuspecting soul, you become riveted watching one of Ms. Davis' all-time flawless performances.

In a nutshell, this tells the story of what happens when first we practice to deceive. Bette claims she was attacked by a friend she has seen only casually until she was forced to "defend" herself against his unwanted advances. Initially, it looks like a slam dunk but when the case is taken to trial, more and more, Bette's lies get the best of her.

Not a sympathetic character for the most part. There is one chilling scene where she, totally exasperated with having to remember so many lies, makes a confession to her husband. It is a fascinating scene for while you recoil at her seemingly selfish attitude, there is this underlying, reluctant admiration you feel for this woman's brutal honesty.

Excellent supporting cast all around, most notably, Herbert Marshall as the poor unsuspecting (it appears many men fall under this category when dealing with the Divine Ms. Davis!)husband whose main goal is to support his wife. Now whether she deserves this loyalty is another ugly story.

Excellent mystery with certainly enough twists and turns to keep you totally engrossed in a very good story.

*Just watched it again last night (10/8/2006) - I'm tellin' ya guys - after 900 viewings, the movie still rocks!!!!

Fascinating, tantalising and dangerous has rarely been a more perfect tag line

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 30 August 2017]

Love Bette Davis and director William Wyler, Davis has some iconic performances under her belt and Wyler has directed some of the best films there are.

'The Letter' may not quite be Wyler's very best (which is testament to how fabulous his very best are, because 'The Letter' is still brilliant), but it is Davis's best films and one of her greatest ever performances. She is truly magnificent here and there has rarely been a more chilling performance from her. It's not Davis that makes 'The Letter' so great. She has a supporting cast that are more than up to her level. Herbert Marshall's, an actor who works for me and sometimes doesn't, performance is also up there with his best.

Faring best in support are James Stephenson, never better which makes his ultimely death soon after aged just 52 even sadder, and particularly the most sinister performance Gale Sondergaard ever gave (she sends chills down the spine and induces goose bumps).

Further advantages are a taut script, a compelling and suspenseful story, that is unmistakably melodrama but never in an overwrought way and actually pretty tense, and Wyler's superbly controlled direction.

As well as atmospheric photography, the shadows alone are enough to freak one out, sumptuous production design and a hauntingly melodic score written in the most unmistakable style of Max Steiner. The ending is admittedly tacky and comes close to contrivance, but the shock value makes it just about work.

Overall, brilliant. 10/10 Bethany Cox

White Mischief, 40's Style

[dougdoepke · 31 October 2011]

No need to recap the oft-repeated plot.

Too bad Gale Sondergaard's evil dragonlady doesn't speak English and Davis does. I kept hoping for a verbal face-off between these two queens of acid tongue. There is the one scene, of course, where the dragonlady humiliates Davis's proper lady (well, not too proper) by dropping the incriminating letter on the floor so Leslie (Davis) has to stoop before her. But what does cool cucumber Leslie care now that she's got her get-out-of-jail-free letter.

These high-class British pictures always fascinate me with their refined ways and "oh so proper" conduct. It's fun to watch the characters shed their well-bred propriety for the animal instincts that finally bond us all. Too bad the suffocating Production Code wouldn't allow a peek into the hot and heavy affair Leslie was having. Seeing the uptight lady with her hair down would have been a revealing treat.

Still, it's that suffocating atmosphere of thwarted desires and broken dreams that lifts this 90-minutes above the ordinary. The lush studio jungle alone is enough to suck the air out of a dozen dirigibles. And what about the cloudy moon that finally registers Leslie's dark fate.

For once, the director's (Wyler) slow, deliberate pacing works because of the richly developed characters. I especially like James Stephenson's struggling attorney. He's so restrained on the surface while he watches his self-respect go steadily down the drain. Then there's Sen Yung's oily little functionary, all groveling politeness and calculating brain. What a fine, well-selected cast.

I like the movie's ending better than what I take to be the novel's. Poor lying Leslie can't stand herself anymore, so in a moment of rare honesty blurts out her true feelings and accepts her punishment. Note how quickly director Wyler skips over the colonial cop's presence in the final sequence. I expect he was as annoyed by Code requirements as anyone else.

Anyhow, this is old Hollywood hitting on all eight and in consummate b&w in ways you just don't see any more.

A fine cocktail of money and honor, of Orient and Occident values, turning sour at the last minute... because of the Code!

[ElMaruecan82 · 7/10 · 28 September 2019]

There's a little game I love to play with myself when I watch a movie a second time after a very long period: trying to spot the residual bits, whatever can emerge from memory when the rest drowned into oblivion. And so I could remember three key moments from William Wyler's "The Letter".

First, the opening killing in some tropical colony, gunshots heard off screen, a man stumbling to his death and Bette Davis standing behind a gun pointed at him. Then there was that nightmarishly stone-faced Asian woman, played by Gale Sondergaard. And finally, maybe the moment I was looking forward the most to, when a suave Occidentalized Asian man disappears between two luxurious cars; the sound of a closing door makes us expect to see him driving one of them, but it's actually a jalopy half their size that emerges between, leaving a thick dust of smoke.

That gag worthy of a Warner cartoon and yet coming from Wyler, speaks as eloquently as the other images I just described: yhey're all about the Asian setting, the plantation the plantation where indigenous manservants witness the death of a White men killed by a rich White women, the man's widow wearing traditional clothes as to assert her rejection of the Occident and whose hurt pride is engraved in her face like a death threat on a tombstone, and finally the clerk who speaks perfect English, does his best to accommodate and yet whose car is hilariously dwarfed by the others.

There's such a good mixture of patronizing respect and colonial contempt that forges the intercultural relationships within the film that if anything, the ending, while tying the plot together, should have tied both these cultural issues as well. The problem is that the film was made in 1940, one year shy away from a double revolution: "Citizen Kane" and "The Maltese Falcon". What have these movies got in common? They had flawed protagonists who get a moral comeuppance that still, didn't moralize the audience. These narrative patterns made possible by the noir-genre and the rise of antiheroic figures could challenge the Hays Code.

Unfortunately, movies like "The Letter", for all the competence of director William Wyler, actors Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall and James Stephenson, composer Max Steiner and a hypnotic black-and-white cinematography, couldn't get away with the ending that made the original play written by Sommerset Maughan a critical success. New York Times critic Bosley Crowther called the ending "weak", blaming it on the Code and I couldn't have said it better, the film had all the makings of a pre-noir masterpiece but it failed at the last minute, after ninety made of sheer greatness.

It opens with what seems to be a "what have I done moment?" when we see Leslie Crosby (Davis) standing with a shock and bewildered face behind her victim. Then husband Robert (Marshall) comes with his lawyer and friend Howard (Stephenson). Leslie explains that the man tried to abuse her and she defended herself. Still, there's something very matter-of-factly in her narration, she doesn't even try. She's twice confident about her husband's blind and having law on her side to get off the hook in both matters. The lady is a paradox, unconscious and calculating, good enough an actress to memorize a perfect alibi but not so good that it doesn't raise Stephenson's suspicion.

The lawyer smells something fishy in that self-defense story and Crosby's casualness didn't help not to mention the way she emptied her gun as if she was more trying to silence him than avenging her offended honor. Wyler isn't oblivious to our doubts and without further waiting, the next scene, a charming and scene-stealing clerk tells Howard about the existence of a a letter that might incriminate Leslie, proving that Hammond's visit wasn't unexpected. The letter is in Hammond's Eurasian wife's hands and she won't sell it cheaply. The plot isn't a masterstroke of complexity but Wyler can unveil characters' most complex emotional struggles just by the use of a camera.

Wyler's use of silences, of lights and shadows can say al lot more than Howard Koch's screenplay, in Bette Davis' eyes, we can sense the moments where her confidence is cornered by a too inquisitive question, in Stephenson's pauses and hesitations we witness the moral dilemma of a man compromising his own ethics to protect a murderess. Even in the crucial letter's exchange, Wyler heightens the tension with long close up on knives, chimes, on the Asian woman's threatening glare that might say she's not taking the bargain as an end, the action lingers on small and seemingly meaningless details but it does so with a powerful intensity. So from a simple and straightforward plot, Wyler provides deep understandings of the gap between the Occidental and the Oriental world.

We have silence being bought like a commercial deal, honor and money mixing up in a cocktail that turn sour. Indeed, the methods aren't satisfying for any of the two parties, the Oriental woman still gets her revenge, as if being deprived from external territory was still les hurtful than the internal ne. And ironically, the bargain will cost Robert's fortune, preventing him from buying a new land after the acquittal. Orient triumphs and Occident fails, which is a moral ending, but not the cynical "happy" conclusion of the play. The problem with "The Letter" is that its ending doesn't feel much like a moral victory of the Orient but a rather weak surrendering to the Code.

Because, even by admitting that Leslie would still love the man she killed (then why did she kill him?), and by accepting that she let herself being killed by the widow, as a sort of redeeming arc-closing act, then was it necessary to have the killers being arrested? Crimes and adultery shouldn't get unpunished according to the Code but not when ruining an ending becomes a case of cinematic offense.

Chalk up another winner for the great Bette Davis

[garrard · 10/10 · 4 June 2006]

In a career that spanned almost six decades, it would be hard pressed to cite one definitive Davis performance. There are so many, and with the number of Davis fans worldwide, it would be redundant to list them here.

However, Davis's performance as adulterer/"devoted" wife "Leslie Crosbie" has to rank as one of her finest. Davis does more in the short span of ninety-five minutes (the film's running time) than an actor of lesser skill could do in an entire career. Her "Leslie" is delicate, yet demanding, appealing yet repulsive, and submissive yet authoritative. The character dominates every inch of the screen and the actress makes full use of those trademark "eyes" of which Kim Carnes sang.

The supporting cast is equally as brilliant, with Herbert Marshall outstanding as her loving (but dim-witted) husband, James Stephenson, suave and determined, as Davis's lawyer, Victor Sen Yung (later to achieve fame as "Hop Sing" on TV's "Bonanza"), and Gale Sondergaard, magnificent in the speechless yet captivating role of "Mrs. Hammond."

And praise of this film is not complete without mention of its score. Max Steiner contributed one of film's greatest musical accompaniments. So powerful is this work that Laurence Rosenthal adapted themes in his score to the television version, starring the late Lee Remick.

The Letter (1940) ***

[JoeKarlosi · 7/10 · 24 March 2005]

William Wyler directs with a flourish in this engaging story of a jilted adulteress (Bette Davis) who kills her lover and then tries to get away with it after a revealing letter turns up that could threaten to expose her. James Stephenson is particularly strong as Davis' dedicated defense attorney who takes her side while her complacent husband struggles to understand. Bette gives a suitably multi-layered performance which makes it difficult for us to decide whether or not we can or should side with her. Gale Sondergaard is also memorable in her mesmerizing role as the Asian wife of the slain victim who has control of the infamous Letter. *** out of ****

Simply the best

[jeffhaller · 10/10 · 24 August 2019]

Look at all the other nominees for best picture from 1940. In that year some of the others might have been topical but now, almost 80 years later, no one can deny this one is simply the greatest, Bette Davis? You either lover her or hate her and very often she was absolutely awful. Often she was just playing herself. But this role is so tight that it doesn't give her the freedom to do her mannerisms. . This film truly feels like a work of art. The moods are beyond intense. And that photography with the moon will hypnotize you. The film is just so darned entertaining. And here is a time when the forced Hollywood ending actually created better storytelling. I can't imagine this movie without the spectacular last four or five minutes, This is truly one of Hollywood's masterpieces. That might not seem like a lot considering there was so much Hollywood trash, but the movies of the 30s and 40s, even with all the censorship, were more original than almost anything seen since.

A Fan Of The Classics Would Like It

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 7 December 2008]

How one views this movie depends, I would think, on how one generally views classic-era films. For those who enjoy them, this is one to see since it stars one of the great actresses of all time, Bette Davis. For those who prefer faster-paced, modern movies, this would not be recommended.

Although it helps, you don't have to be a big fan of Bette Davis to enjoy this movie. Myself, I enjoyed Henry Stephenson and his character, "Howard Joyce" in here the most. He got better and better as the film went on, and for me, was the star of the film. Sadly, Stephenson died about a year after this movie came out.

Most people will enjoy yet another sterling performance from Davis, who plays a shady character, "Leslie Crosbie, " a woman trying to get away with murder. Davis is good at playing despicable, scheming liars and she does that well here in this film.

Based on a stage play about privileged people who obviously can't control their love lives, this is a very "talky" movie, so beware of that if you are one that prefers a little more action. In addition, if you're looking for some cool lines from the mysterious Gale Sondergaard, forget it: she didn't utter a word of dialog! Her billing suggested a bigger role, but it was not to be. True, she looked mysterious with some wonderful film-noir-like photography on her, but there wasn't anything else to her role.

William Wyler's direction and Tony Gaudio's photography give us good atmosphere, which I why I wanted to see this on DVD after seeing a so-so VHS tape, but that second viewing was enough. Being a "classic" in the "classic era," it's worth a rental.

A price to pay as Fate steps in

[lora64 · 10/10 · 1 September 2001]

I can't help comparing "Witness for the Prosecution (1957)" with this one "The Letter," as they represent a good study in contrast. The former I recall has many bouts of loud dialogue, in particular the courtroom scenes of constant shouting which reach fever pitch at times. Whereas in this "Letter" movie the atmosphere is ever so subtle, very subdued dialogue, and far more impressive because of it. I rather liken it to a warrior noisily clashing by day on the battlefield contrasted by another kind of warfare, that of stealth night fighting in shadows and lit only by moonlight. Both these movies deal with the guilt or innocence of the main character.

Bette Davis gives one of her great portrayals, and Herbert Marshall as the sympathetic husband is well suited to the role, with that wonderful voice of his too, what more could one ask! I don't really know James Stephenson in many roles but here he makes us feel how difficult the situation was for him to deal with -- truly a razor's edge for each and every one of the characters involved. I've seen this movie many times and it just gets better at each viewing, always most intriguing.

"I've always wanted to visit the Chinese Quarter--I hear it's a bit creepy..."

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 19 February 2006]

Amusingly mannered Bette Davis vehicle concerns the wife of a rubber plantation foreman near Singapore indicted for the killing of a man she and her husband were acquaintances with--she claims it was self-defense, but an incriminating letter she wrote to the victim on the morning of his demise puts her future in jeopardy. Camp/exotic atmosphere and music (like Martin Denny on downers) keeps this soap opera from being a bummer (the underlying message of it all being that any woman who cheats is "evil"). There are some intentionally funny visual jabs and performances, but it's really Bette's show: with her saucer-round eyes and precise diction, she's quite mesmerizing--but with her silly feminine wiles, fainting spells and poker-faced reactions, she's also infernally confounding. Either way, the picture loses dramatic vitality whenever she is off-screen, the men being of little consequence. **1/2 from ****

Dull and thinly plotted

[TelevisionJunkie · 4/10 · 11 January 2006]

I can't understand the big deal about this film. After a beautifully filmed opening sequence, "The Letter" deteriorates into a mind-numbingly boring waste of time. The plot is obvious – Bette Davis murders a man whom she claimed tried to rape her -- and then an incriminating letter that she'd written to him on the same day surfaces.

The film coasts on Davis's charm as a rather loathsome character, with only her performance, some great cinematography and a clever (albeit completely predictable) ending to hold it together. The story's thin, most of the acting is atrocious, the dialogue is even worse… and then there's the score – easily the most obnoxious and redundant musical score that's ever assaulted my ears. If it's your cup of tea, good for you, but I personally found it to be a pretty dull waste of time.

one of Davis' best performances

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 17 May 2006]

This was a pretty simple movie if you think about the plot and the few actors who star in this movie. However, despite such simplicity, this movie is exceptional throughout--particularly the incredible opening scene. In fact, this might just be one of the all-time best opening scenes as Bette Davis very coldly unloads all six chambers of her handgun into her now ex-lover. The utter coldness and thoroughness of this act is extremely shocking. You know that Bette is guilty of murder, but the movie shows how her ultra-decent husband has deluded himself into believing her innocence. And, along the way, a previously decent lawyer illegally helps her beat the rap. Nearly as exciting is the film's conclusion where justice is meted out to the sociopathic Bette.

The film has excellent acting and dialog, but to me the biggest stars are Ms. Davis and her excellent emotional range and the director, William Wyler, who framed and executed this film so well. So many camera shots are simply perfect. It's just an incredibly artistic and beautiful movie.

The production code versus production values

[AlsExGal · 9/10 · 20 March 2017]

This 1940 version of the film was made eleven years after the first sound version, but for what the film had to give up due to the production code, it more than made up in production values that weren't even possible in the 1929 version.

The production code version of The Letter is the slow peeling of a woman's plea of self-defense against an attempted rape into the cold-blooded murder of a lover who has become bored with her. Yes Bette Davis' Leslie Crosbie is peeled like an onion, but no tears are necessary.

Everyone fawns and gushes over Leslie and her plight of being arrested for the murder of a man who tried to rape her. The only one NOT falling all over himself over her is her lawyer. Howard Joyce (played by James Stephenson) has a rather cold, hard look like a leading man worthy of acting opposite the Warner Queen. He stands toe to toe with her. He asks questions that cast just a slight doubt as to the veracity of her story. He talks to the cop and asks him if attacking a woman sounds like Hammond's m.o. since he seemed to be a ladies' man. There's just enough doubt there give us pause.

I could talk about the lawyer's assistant who is intent on using blood money to subvert justice and rob an innocent husband, all so he can build his own law practice. Gale Sondegard's Eurasian widow never wanted the money, she just wanted the face off with Leslie. She has her own ideas of how to deal with her husband's death and it doesn't involve juries or blackmail. But, let's face it, Bette Davis owns this film. Slowly she reveals her true self and the truth of the events. Then she becomes the Legend we know her to be. She has a self-assured answer for everything until her lawyer brings up the letter. It's all in those Bette Davis eyes. She needs time to remember (to lie, she means). She faints when she runs out of excuses. Look at her tactic: she mentions how all of this will affect her husband. It's like a guy trying to get his wife to stay for the sake of the children. Her lawyer is her husband's close friend, and she correctly figures he'll do anything to protect the husband.

Now let's talk about Wyler's direction, particularly in that opening scene. Wyler could have used a series of cuts to show various aspects of the workers, but the flowing camera tells us that everything is connected together. It's almost like cause and effect. First the rubber tree, then those who work to harvest the trees, and only then the dramas of the owners. When you look at the film closely, you can't help but be impressed by Wyler's direction, which works hand in hand with Max Steiner's haunting score.

Now I'm also a big fan of the 1929 version of The Letter. But that film was made at the dawn of sound and is almost like this one in reverse. First the truth about Leslie Crosbie, then the subterfuge. In both cases her last words are the same - "With all my heart I still love the man I killed". But in this film it is the regret of a woman who realizes she is not good enough for her husband who loves and forgives her. In the 1929 version they are the words of a woman acquitted who is telling her bitter husband "If I am stuck with you, YOU are equally stuck with ME".

Watch this one. Over and over. You'll always catch something you missed before.

Remarkable drama that begins with several literal bangs; we're fascinated from that moment until the last frame of film

[J. Spurlin · 2 March 2007]

The wife (Bette Davis) of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense. Her poise, graciousness and stoicism impress nearly everyone who meets her. Her husband (Herbert Marshall) is certainly without doubt; so is the new district officer (Bruce Lester); while her lawyer's (James Stephenson) doubts may be a natural skepticism. But this is Singapore and the resentful natives will have no compunction about undermining this accused murderess. A letter in her hand turns up and may prove her undoing.

This remarkable drama begins with several literal bangs, and we're fascinated from that moment until the last frame of film. Davis, with her precise and intricate manners that match her character's elaborate web of deceit (symbolized by her compulsive crocheting), gives a fiery, mannered, mysterious performance that may equal anything she's done. Marshall and Stephenson are both subtle in their acting and refined in their manners. William Wyler directs an adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's play (Maugham provided the material for Davis's breakthrough role in "Of Human Bondage") and never makes a false move until the censor-imposed ending. Tony Gaudio's photography, with the light often hitting people from a full moon or through the slats of blinds, is splendid. Max Steiner's music, though repetitive, is very effective. A great film.

Solid If Uninvolving Davis Vehicle

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 14 February 2006]

Bette Davis won her fourth Best Actress Academy Award nomination for this moody William Wyler melodrama, made previously in 1929 as a vehicle for stage actress Jeanne Eagels (who also won an Oscar nomination for the same role). The movie gets a high ranking at IMDb, but it's not one of my favorite Davis films. There's nothing exactly wrong with it, but it just left me a bit cold and uninvolved.

The story begins with Davis gunning down a man outside her plantation home in a sweaty tropical country. From there, the film unravels the mystery of what led up to that moment. Is Davis's character a victimized heroine who was acting in self-defense, or is she a lethal femme fatale and a great faker to boot? I'll leave it to you to find out for yourself.

The film has all the stylistic panache one would expect from a William Wyler movie; it has the look of a film noir before film noir was even a recognized genre. It put me in mind a little bit of something Graham Greene would write, given its tropical setting and moral ambiguity. And however indifferent I may be toward the movie as a whole, I do have to admit that it has a remarkable ending, and if Gale Sondergaard doesn't give you the creeps, you're a better man than I.

Grade: B

James Stephenson's Performance

[haridam0 · 10/10 · 11 January 2006]

One of the pivotal roles in "The Letter" is that of James Stephenson as Attorney Howard Joyce. Stephenson's performance in this film has rightly been hailed as a cinematic classic.

The year was 1940. But "The Letter" was only one of a whopping seven films made that year. The previous year he made a jaw-dropping fifteen, and the following he got out two before dropping dead with a heart attack. I wonder why?

Looking at the actor's total profile, he had a full starring career on the British stage before he made his first film (at "old" age 49). So, in just five years (from '37 to '41) Stephenson totaled thirty six films. Talk about an actor working himself to death!

Still, his work in "The Letter" goes down for all time as one of the cinema's great supporting performances. The film itself is a superlative melodrama--a success on all levels.

Oriental Revenge

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 19 February 2006]

One of the things I found implicit in William Wyler's film of The Letter is the racism of the British colonists in Malaya. Essentially in this melodrama we're talking about Bette Davis's boyfriend throwing her over for a Eurasian woman and Bette not liking it a bit.

The film begins with a homicide. Bette Davis empties a revolver into her lover's body. She's been having an affair with him for some time, but he hasn't come a callin' recently. Her story to the authorities is that the man tried to attack her and she resisted. Of course she's not quite telling the truth.

For propriety's sake there seems to be no great desire by the British authorities to investigate what happened. Davis's attorney and family friend James Stephenson learns only what he needs to know to get her acquitted. Her husband Herbert Marshall is unwilling to face the truth until it smacks him in the face towards the end.

It's the natives who have their vengeance in the end. Maybe the best two performances in The Letter are those of the deceased Eurasian wife Gale Sondergaard and her crafty accomplice Victor Sen Yung. They exact what the Anglo-Saxon legal system dare not deal with.

The Letter is a high class melodrama brought to life by Director William Wyler and star Bette Davis. Davis was probably at the height of her career at this time. The Letter is one of her best screen roles.

Possibly Bette's peak, or close to it.

[theowinthrop · 10/10 · 2 June 2007]

If any film role of Bette Davis got permanently identified in the minds of the public with her career it was that of Leslie Crosbie in THE LETTER. For years, if people wanted to do a quickie "imitation" of Davis, they just had to say the line "PETER...GIVE ME THE LETTER!!" In actuality Davis does not say that line anymore than Jimmy Cagney said, "You Dirty Rat!", Eddie Robinson said, "SEE!!...YAH!!!", or Cary Grant said, "Judy, Judy, Judy!!!". It was a capsule urban legend style commentary on a speech pattern (supposedly) and an image of the actor/actress in a typical role.

Still the legend would not have begun except for the role and the film. THE LETTER is based on a Somerset Maugham short story, set in Malaysia in the 1930s. Leslie Crosbie is the wife of a hard working plantation overseer Robert Crosbie (Herbert Marshall) who one night shoots one Peter Hammond, a well known member of the local British social set in the colony. She claims she shot him in self-defense because he was going to rape her. The British colonials rally around Leslie, and she engages Howard Joyce (James Stephenson) as her barrister.

Initially Joyce seems to feel this will be a simple case, but suddenly he finds that Leslie (on some minor details) is not consistent in her story about the shooting of the caddish Hammond. Then, Joyce's clerk (Victor Sen Yung) quietly drops a bomb of his own - the widow of Hammond, a local Malaysian woman (Gale Sondergaard) has some evidence that the defense may want: a letter written by Leslie to Hammond desperately asking him to come to Leslie's home that fatal night because she needed him. Stephenson taxes Leslie about this, and finds she has lied - she lured Hammond to the bungalow, he refused to desert his Asiatic wife for her, and she shot him in anger.

It is a fascinating film to watch because of the rich tapestry of characters involved. Leslie maintaining a near hysterical control over her emotions in the face of the murder she committed and the resulting trial. Joyce trying to do extreme damage control by purchasing the damning letter (and thereby ruining an unaware Robert Crosbie, not to mention threatening his own legal career by suborning evidence while an officer of the court). Mrs. Hammond, as controlled in her non-speaking as Leslie, but her face the face of retribution and hate. Maugham also showed a 20th Century realism in his handling of the relationships of the overlords of the colony with the Asiatics who live there. There is no real love for the colonial overlords, and the performance of Sen Yung is wonderful in it's polite but deadly malice.

The film's story is so well known I won't have to mention it's conclusion. The great question regarding the film was the conclusion. The story ended originally with her rejection of Robert's forgiveness because Leslie still loved Peter, the man she killed. Davis wanted William Wyler to end the film with this conclusion. Instead, the Hollywood Code required Leslie make a larger personal payment for her sin of murder. I have never had a problem with the ending Wyler put on, but Davis was right - the other ending would have been just as effective emotionally. But neither of these conclusions would have been good at all, had the rest of this film not been so splendid to begin with.

Signed, sealed, delivered

[lanierhunt · 7/10 · 17 February 2016]

We see a charming community of buyers, sellers, on-lookers and otherwise pleasant folks conversing idly. The chirps and chatter of the crowd is not a busy kind, but a calm one, like the low roar of a ceiling fan. A record scratch to the communal bliss comes in the form of Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis) unloading a revolver into a man until he's down on the ground, and then she shoots a little bit more. After the echoes of the bullets drift away into the ether, she turns, as if being watched, and it blinded by the light of the moon.

So begins William Wyler's "The Letter," a noirish yarn of murder, deceit and all things in-between. Naturally, Crosbie pleads innocent to the murder, claiming the man tried to rape her. However, the titular piece of paper is found, and then all bets are off. It's a simple enough premise, but where this movie shines is its mood and performances.

There is one fantastic scene in particular, when Crosbie's lawyer (Howard Joyce) breaks the news to Crosbie's husband (Herbert Marshall) that a letter's been found that might be detrimental to her case. The way her husband hesitantly defends her--and doesn't even inquire as to the contents of said letter--and the way in which the laywer avoids eye contact, due to a combination of embarrassment and doubt, is a testament to the talent of both actors.

One would be remiss to ignore Bette Davis, whose giant, made-for- the-movies eyes each seem to be telling a different story at all times. There's a lot of moving parts to her literary character--the torn allegiances, the all-seeing eye of the moon, the knitting, which grows more fervent as the film goes on--that a lesser actor might have folded and simply milked the melodrama inherent to the character.

A problem with a lot of these plot-heavy films, reliant on reveals and gasp inducements, is that a lot of the flair is lost, due to the duty to hit certain plot points at certain times, and repeat them over and over again so the audience doesn't feel stupid. However, "The Letter" succeeds mostly at avoiding such things, and feels more like a star vehicle for everyone involved--like a star bus.

While Wyler is more famous today for "Ben-Hur" the most epically epic of all film epics, his ability to hone in on a small, more personal story, and condense it to a point of pure potency, should not be forgotten. Also, the ending of the movie is a result of the Hays Code, but I think it still works.

The letter is "A"

[Spondonman · 9/10 · 15 January 2005]

What a wonderful film this still is, so long as you're not hamstrung with all the modern pc prejudices. Sadly I feel that one far-off day this film will be banned, when apparent white moral repugnance of the past overwhelms the remaining whites with shame. I've seen "The Letter" now maybe 12 times and it hasn't polluted my mind with imperialist or racial stereotypes, just filled it with pleasure that Wyler at Warners could make such an atmospheric studio-bound gem in 1940.

At the start woman shoots man - but was it murder or justified homicide? All of the cast are superb in their roles, Bette never looked sexier, Herbert Marshall never so realistic, and Gale Sondergaard never so sinister - but James Stephenson! He only made a few more films before his premature death but his understated sweaty performance as the lawyer in this electrifies me every time I watch - without him it might have a very different story! Although on a serious level it is (to me) typical Somerset Maugham fare, I haven't read any better from him as yet. Bette has some fine lines and scenes, and only occasionally hamming it up. Steiner's music is repetitive, but memorable anyhow, and the photography gleams well under the Warners arc-moonlight. But as near perfect in every department as it could get, it's still dignified Stephenson's film - he steals every scene he's in, come what or who may.

The Hays Office was the real uncivilised savage at the end, not the inscrutable "Orientals", but even with such a contrived messy ending it remains compulsive classic viewing for me, once every couple of years.

sing a song for Singapore

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 6 May 2020]

I don't know how recognizable Singapore was at the time that "The Letter" got released, but the movie itself is an impressive piece of work (despite the casting of Gale Sondergaard as a mixed-race woman). Bette Davis, as a woman charged with murder, chews the scenery like you can't imagine (not that I'd want it any other way). The movie's subtlety creates a smooth tension that moves the whole thing along perfectly.

The movie received seven Oscar nominations but failed to win any. No matter, it's a true classic. Any film buff owes it to themselves to watch this movie at least once. One of William Wyler's best.

A bizarre production from a familiar pairing

[FilmOtaku · 5/10 · 7 January 2005]

"The Letter", William Wyler's 1940 film about murder, deception and the consequences of both, was a lot darker than I actually expected it to be. Bette Davis is Leslie, who is first introduced to the film when she is shooting a man multiple times on the front steps of her house in Malaysia. She tells her husband Robert (Marshall) and attorney Howard (Stephenson) that though the man she shot was in fact a long-time family friend, he was making advances on her and she feared for her life. Unfortunately, the truth is that she was having an affair with this man, Hammond, he spurned her and she shot him. This is discovered when Howard is contacted by an associate with the news that there is a letter in existence which was written the day of the murder by Leslie inviting Hammond to come to the house that night, and Hammond's widow has it. Since her original story would be a slam-dunk acquittal in court, Howard and Leslie, while keeping this a secret from Robert, buy the letter back for a large sum to secure her freedom. Unfortunately, this doesn't ensure that she will no longer be blackmailed, that Robert will never find out, or that Leslie's life won't be in danger for what she did.

I found "The Letter" to be a decent film, but it was really odd. I guess I had never seen a Wyler film that was so dark, even when he teamed up with Marshall and Davis in "The Little Foxes". "The Letter" was downright scary at times, though I think that was due largely to the really frightening Mrs. Hammond, played by Gale Sondergaard. She was described as a wicked woman with a frightening white mask of a face, and that's pretty much what she was. The hard looks that she would give, without saying a word, were actually really unsettling. The denouement was so wild and over-the-top that it left me actually kind of humored. The film was good, and I always enjoy Herbert Marshall; (everything I've seen him in make him seem like such a soft-spoken, eloquent teddy bear) but I think I was expecting something either different, or something more out of the film and out of the actors, particularly Davis. 5/10 --Shelly