6.8/10
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The Letter (1929)

Passed | | Drama | 7 September 1929 (Argentina)
The Letter Poster
Jeanne Eagels plays the bored and restless Leslie Crosbie who turns to another man, Geoffrey Hammond (Herbert Marshall) for attention when neglected by her husband Robert (Reginald Owen). ... See full summary »

Director:

Jean de Limur

Writers:

W. Somerset Maugham (stage play), Garrett Fort (adaptation)

Stars:

Jeanne Eagels, Reginald Owen, Herbert Marshall | See full cast & crew »
Reviews
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win. See more awards »

Photos

See all 8 photos »
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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jeanne Eagels ... Leslie Crosbie
Reginald Owen ... Robert Crosbie
Herbert Marshall ... Geoffrey Hammond
Irene Browne ... Mrs. Joyce (as Irene Brown)
O.P. Heggie ... Howard Joyce
Lady Tsen Mei Lady Tsen Mei ... Li-Ti
Tamaki Yoshiwara Tamaki Yoshiwara ... Ong Chi Seng
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

Jeanne Eagels plays the bored and restless Leslie Crosbie who turns to another man, Geoffrey Hammond (Herbert Marshall) for attention when neglected by her husband Robert (Reginald Owen). Robert decides to go out for the evening to pick up a new rifle. Leslie's calm vanishes as she awaits an answer to a letter she has written Hammond. He has found a new love - a beautiful unscrupulous native woman Li Ti (Lady Tsei Mei) and has discarded Leslie. Written by Cheepnis

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

letter | obsession | rubber plantation | singapore | confrontation | See All (13) »

Taglines:

A story of white women, tropical heat, heedless love! (Print Ad-Pittsburgh Press, ((Pittsburgh, Penna.)) 13 April 1929) See more »

Genres:

Drama

Certificate:

Passed | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 September 1929 (Argentina) See more »

Also Known As:

A Carta See more »

Filming Locations:

Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Features tragic actress Jeanne Eagels's only Oscar nomination (though Academy Award nominations that year were unofficial) See more »

Quotes

Robert Crosbie: Well, I'll be going now. Hang it all, I was forgetting the gun.
See more »

Connections

Alternate-language version of La carta (1931) See more »

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User Reviews

 
definitely interesting, would like to see a restored version
26 May 2009 | by a666333 – See all my reviews

Jeanne Engles is almost a physical ghost here. Everyone seems to be in love her as an actress. Based on this, I'm not that hooked but she definitely does get your attention.

In this movie, the racism out in the open and cuts both ways which is closer to the real world. The movie does well to bring that forward. Unfortunately, here, as usual, Hollywood fell into bizarre caricatures and images when portraying the Chinese.

With Anna May Wong in Europe at the time, Tsen Mei is cast as Li-Ti and only manages to extract a very average presence. It is difficult to imagine her as a love interest. (Tsen Mei went on to run theatres in New Jersey) With Anna May Wong in that role (and advising the directors), the movie would have been elevated considerably and the confrontation-over-the-letter scene likely would have become an all time classic.

Technically, this movie is crude, especially the sound but a restored version might be a different story.
10 of 13 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
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