The Love Letter (1998)

20th century computer games designer Scott exchanges love letters with 19th century poet Elizabeth Whitcomb through an antique desk that can make letters travel through time.

Director:

Dan Curtis

Writers:

Jack Finney (short story), James S. Henerson (television story) (as James Henerson)

Stars:

Campbell Scott, Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Dukes

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Campbell Scott	...	Scott Corrigan
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Elizabeth Whitcomb
David Dukes	...	Everett Reagle
Estelle Parsons	...	Beatrice Corrigan
Daphne Ashbrook	...	Debra Zabriskie
Myra Carter	...	Clarice Whitcomb
Gerrit Graham	...	Warren Whitcomb
Irma P. Hall	...	Mae Mullen
Richard Woods	...	Jacob Campbell
Kali Rocha	...	Flossy Whitcomb
Laurie Kennedy	...	Lavinia Whitcomb
Edgar Smith	...	Potts the Postman
Cara Stoner	...	Maggie the Maid
George Gaffney	...	Bike Rider
Tom Riis Farrell	...	Scott's Boss

Storyline

Scotty Corrigan buys an antique desk and finds a Civil War-era letter inside it, written by a woman who died over a hundred years ago. Fancifully, he writes and mails a reply...only to have it reach its destination in the past. As Elizabeth and Scotty continue their remarkable correspondence, they find themselves falling in love, and more than restless about their impending, respective, marriages.

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Plot Keywords:

time travel | letter | antique | desk | love | 

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Taglines:

A love story that touches two lives....a century apart.

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Genres:

Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Hallmark Hall of Fame page.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hallmark Hall of Fame: The Love Letter (#47.3)

Filming Locations:

Tuckahoe Plantation - 12601 River Road, Richmond, Virginia, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hallmark Entertainment, Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film received critical acclaim. In terms of ratings, it was also one of four original Hallmark presentations that finished in the Top 10 (ranking No. 9) among more than 200 TV films in 1998. The other three Hallmark films were What The Deaf Man Heard (No. 1), Ellen Foster (No. 4), and The Echo of Thunder (No. 5) .

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Goofs

The first shot of the Whitcomb house in 1863 has a small electric light on over the front doorway.

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Quotes

Elizabeth Whitcomb: The hard truth is we are doomed to be chaste. To never touch each other, hear each other, see each other... so what harm can there be to write to each other?

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Connections

Edited into Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951)

User Reviews

Comments from a guy

Just saw this with my wife on TNT tonight. The commercials drove me nuts because I didn't want to wait to see how the movie turned out. A good mixture of happy and sad with a creative ending. A very original storyline. Campbell Scott is especially good in this role because he looks like a normal guy and is so serious. If you like him in this, be sure to see The Spanish Prisoner which stars Steve Martin in an unusual bad guy roll. I LOVED this movie (my wife did also) and I just now clicked through to Amazon.com to buy it for our personal collection. Probably one of my top ten movies of all time.