The Letter (1940)

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

W. Somerset Maugham (by)
Howard Koch (screen play)

Release Date:

23 November 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

Tagline:

With all my heart I still love the man I killed

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.

Plot Keywords:

Letter | Rubber | Widow | Plantation | Death

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 2 wins

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Zita Baca	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Brooks Benedict	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
David Bruce	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Roland Got	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Otto Hahn	...	Bartender at Party (uncredited)
Holmes Herbert	...	Bob's Friend (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Bob's Friend (uncredited)
Pete G. Katchenaro	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Crauford Kent	...	Bob's Friend at Bar (uncredited)
Al Lloyd	...	Extra at Trial (uncredited)
Leonard Mudie	...	Fred (uncredited)
David Newell	...	Geoffrey Hammond (uncredited)
Thomas Pogue	...	Juror #10 (uncredited)
John Ridgely	...	Driver (uncredited)
Douglas Walton	...	Well Wisher (uncredited)
Leo White	...	Extra at Trial (uncredited)

Directed by
William Wyler

Writing credits
W. Somerset Maugham		(by)
Howard Koch		(screen play)

Produced by
Robert Lord	....	associate producer
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer
William Wyler	....	producer

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Tony Gaudio		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
George Amy
Warren Low		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Carl Jules Weyl

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jack L. Warner	....	in charge of production
Robert Ross	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chuck Hansen	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Sherry Shourds	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Dolph Thomas	....	sound

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestral arrangements

Other crew
John Villasin	....	technical advisor
Louis Vincenot	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents) (A Warner Bros.-First National Picture) (A William Wyler Production)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• M.P.E.A. (1949) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1941) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Emerald (2011) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6442) | Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Canada:PG (video rating) | West Germany:16 (nf) | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Stage 1, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

The 1929 version was Jeanne Eagels last film and her only Oscar nomination.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Leslie enters her bedroom for the last time, she locks the door behind her. Later, the door is unlocked when Robert enters.

Quotes:

Howard Joyce:Be flippant about your own crimes if you want to, but don't be flippant about mine!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light (2006) (V)

The letter is "A"

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.