Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > The Letter (1940)
The Letter
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

The Letter (1940) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 22 | slideshow)

Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   3,298 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 10% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
William Wyler
Writers:
W. Somerset Maugham (play)
Howard Koch (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Letter on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
23 November 1940 (USA) more
Tagline:
With all my heart I still love the man I killed more
Plot:
The wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense; a letter in her own hand may prove her undoing. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 7 Oscars. more
NewsDesk:
TCM's 'Summer Under the Stars' Posters are Phenomenal
 (From Rope Of Silicon. 13 July 2009, 3:22 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
The letter is "A" more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Bette Davis ... Leslie Crosbie
Herbert Marshall ... Robert Crosbie
James Stephenson ... Howard Joyce
Frieda Inescort ... Dorothy Joyce
Gale Sondergaard ... Mrs. Hammond
Bruce Lester ... John Withers
Elizabeth Inglis ... Adele Ainsworth (as Elizabeth Earl)
Cecil Kellaway ... Prescott
Victor Sen Yung ... Ong Chi Seng (as Sen Yung)
Doris Lloyd ... Mrs. Cooper
Willie Fung ... Chung Hi
Tetsu Komai ... Head Boy
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
95 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Canada:PG (video rating) | West Germany:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6442)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Sixteen years after he directed this film, William Wyler made his TV directing debut with a live production broadcast Oct. 15, 1956 on "Producers' Showcase: The Letter (#3.2)" (1956). The cast included Siobhan McKenna, John Mills, Michael Rennie, and Anna May Wong in the roles earlier played by Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, and Gale Sondergaard. Some of the censorship that had restricted the 1940 version was eased for this TV version. For example, Hammond's "Eurasian wife" in 1940 was permitted to be, as in the play and 1929 film, his Chinese mistress. more
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Mrs Cooper calls Howard Joyce "Mr Johnson" before she leaves the first aid room. more
Quotes:
Leslie: With all my heart, I still love the man I killed. more
Movie Connections:
Edited into Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) more

FAQ

What's notable about Herbert Marshall playing Robert Crosbie?
Where can I hear radio adaptations of this film?
more
29 out of 57 people found the following comment useful:-
The letter is "A", 15 January 2005
9/10
Author: Gary170459 from Derby, UK

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.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Letter (1940)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Confused lexnlido2
Cecil Kellaway brendangcarroll
Alternate Ending (Spoilers) wencer
James Stephenson Cello1949-2
Great Gem of a Movie I'd Never Heard Of! suel41452
Bette/Gale Sondergaard/William Wyler SpasticTriscuit
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
The Liberation of L.B. Jones The Two Jakes Gone with the Wind Call Northside 777 Romeo + Juliet
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Crime section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.