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 | antique desk | bicycle race accident | post office fire | civil war colonel | 

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Taglines:

A letter from the past would change their future forever.

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Genres:

Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Jason Leigh (Elizabeth Whitcomb) is the daughter of actor Vic Morrow (TV's Combat!, Blackboard Jungle and Twilight Zone: The Movie). In 1982, on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie, he was accidentally decapitated by helicopter roter blades.

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Goofs

Since at least a month had gone by in the 20th century during Scotty's coma, the trees (indicating autumn) should have had more leaves on the ground

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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

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

User Reviews

My favorite chick-flick!

This is is a real tear-jerker, the type of show I thought I was immune to. Turns out I was more weepy than my wife throughout the whole movie. What a great story and the actors were superb. I found myself to be in love with Elizabeth Whitcomb and despising David Duke's (RIP)character. I truly felt sorry for Scott's fiance, however, and could empathize completely with her conclusion that Scott was perhaps a little bit nuts.

I rated this show a 9 (out of 10), downgrading only because the railroad train used was common around 1915, not 1863. Why couldn't they have used a 4-4-0 American locomotive and light weight wooden coaches typical of the Civil War era? Other than that minor glitch, the movie was exceptionally well done and will occupy a prominent place in my movie collection.

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