The wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense, but a letter in her own hand may prove her undoing.
Get the best new trailers in under a minute, including Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.
Related News
-
Pssst! Wanna win an Oscar? Change your image
09 November 2018 | Gold Derby -
Showbiz History: Lost in Translation, Eyes of the Mummy, and Clive Owen
03 October 2018 | FilmExperience -
‘The Other Side of the Wind’: Posthumous nomination for two-time Oscar winner John Huston?
26 September 2018 | Gold Derby
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: The Letter (1940)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
More Like This
The Little Foxes
(1941)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
William Wyler
Stars:
Bette Davis,
Herbert Marshall,
Teresa Wright
Mr. Skeffington
(1944)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Vincent Sherman
Stars:
Bette Davis,
Claude Rains,
Walter Abel
Jezebel
(1938)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
William Wyler
Stars:
Bette Davis,
Henry Fonda,
George Brent
Dark Victory
(1939)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Edmund Goulding
Stars:
Bette Davis,
George Brent,
Humphrey Bogart
Now, Voyager
(1942)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Irving Rapper
Stars:
Bette Davis,
Paul Henreid,
Claude Rains
All This, and Heaven Too
(1940)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Anatole Litvak
Stars:
Bette Davis,
Charles Boyer,
Jeffrey Lynn
Of Human Bondage
(1934)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
John Cromwell
Stars:
Bette Davis,
Leslie Howard,
Frances Dee
Dangerous
(1935)
Drama
Director:
Alfred E. Green
Stars:
Bette Davis,
Franchot Tone,
Margaret Lindsay
Deception
(1946)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Irving Rapper
Stars:
Bette Davis,
Paul Henreid,
Claude Rains
The Heiress
(1949)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
William Wyler
Stars:
Olivia de Havilland,
Montgomery Clift,
Ralph Richardson
In This Our Life
(1942)
Drama
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Bette Davis,
Olivia de Havilland,
George Brent
Edit
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 |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
See All (96) »
Storyline
The wife 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 is certainly without doubt; so is the district officer; while her lawyer's 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. Written by J. Spurlin
Plot Keywords:
rubber plantation | lace | gunshot | crime of passion | husband wife relationship |Taglines:
I wish I could say I was sorry. See more »Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
23 November 1940 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Das Geheimnis von Malampur See more »Filming Locations:
Stage 1, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
Edit
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on April 21, 1941 with Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall and James Stephenson reprising their film roles. See more »Goofs
When Leslie and the others leave and Leslie shuts the door, Howard walks through the door twice. See more »Quotes
Howard Joyce: Strange that a man can live with a woman for ten years and not know the first thing about her.See more »
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.