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A Letter to Three Wives

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"A Letter to Three Wives" would probably bomb at the box-office these days because it isn't mawkish, vulgar, or depressing. Too bad! It's insightful without being depressing, compassionate without being maudlin, and razor-sharp funny without being sophomoric. In short, it is a film written and directed by an adult aimed at adults. "Three Wives" examines, with wit to spare, the importance placed on money, class distinction, and what women had/still have to deal with concerning the opposite sex, with a couple of jabs at entertainment,advertising, and consumerism thrown in for good measure. All of the performances are excellent, with a remarkable performance by the gorgeous Linda Darnell as a gold-digging dish (with a heart of gold) from the other side of the tracks. Also present are Connie Gilchrist and an unbilled Thelma Ritter,whose presence in a film always guaranteed howls of laughter. (Her roles were written with her in mind, by the way) "Three Wives" was unnecessarily remade, without the wit or charm, into a made-for-TV movie in the late 1980s, its only redeeming quality being Ann Sothern, one of the original "Three Wives" played a small role in it. To sum it up, "A Letter to Three Wives" is a delicious piece of apple pie, its ingredients being a brilliant, insightful script and direction, three beautiful women, and excellent performances-enjoy!

Three suburban wives board an excursion boat to chaperone an all-day outing with a group of school children. Just before the boat leaves the dock a messenger arrives with a note for the three of them. It's from Addie Ross, an old friend who may not be much of a friend. "Dearest Debby, Lora Mae and Rita," she writes. "As you know, by now, you'll have to carry on without me from here. It isn't easy to leave a town like our town, to tear myself away from you three dear, dear friends who have meant so much to me. And so I consider myself lucky to be able to take with me a sort of memento, something to remind me of the town that was my home, and of my three very dearest friends, who I never want to forget, and I won't. You see, girls, I've run off with one of your husbands. Addie" For the next few hours, unable to get to a telephone, each of the three women can only reflect back on her marriage and wonder if she is the one who has just lost her husband. Only that afternoon when they return will they learn which husband Addie made off with.

There's Deborah Bishop (Jeanne Crain) married to Brad (Jeffrey Lynn). She was a small town girl swept away by a glamorous officer, who now lives a life of country club complacency. She has never lost her insecurity. There's Rita Phipps (Ann Southern) married to George (Kirk Douglas). She and her husband started out as school teachers. He still is but she is carving a successful and well-paid career as a radio soap opera writer. There's Lora Mae Hollingsway (Linda Darnell) married to Porter (Paul Douglas). She wanted away from the other side of the tracks, and managed to make a marriage happen with the town's biggest businessman.

As they flash back, we learn a lot about each one of them and the state of their marriages. Hovering over everything is the presence of Addie. "That's Addie, for you," gushes Brad at one moment. "Always the right thing at the right time. Thoughtful and generous." "Generous to a fault," agrees George. "To a fault. That's Addie," say Rita, making a face. We never meet Addie, never even see her, but she keeps up a voice-over commentary with us that is amusing, a little malicious and wise about the ways of husbands.

By the end of the movie the three couples have learned a good deal about themselves and what's important. Addie indeed had run off with one of the husbands. And nonetheless the movie has a happy and satisfying ending.

Many critics think this is Joseph Mankiewicz' best movie after All About Eve. He won Oscars for best screenplay and best direction (and then repeated the next year for Eve). There are any number of good things about the film. The situation could have degenerated into melodrama but Mankiewicz' writing is so amusing and sophisticated it raises the game. It crackles with commentary on any number of issues, and most are still pertinent today. "I'm a school teacher," George Phipps says. "That's even worse than being an intellectual. School teachers are not only comic they're often cold and hungry in this richest land of ours." Try substituting "television writing" for "radio writing" and hear the zingers snap home as George offends a radio advertising executive. "The purpose of radio writing," he says, "as far as I can see is to prove to the 'masses' that a deodorant can bring happiness, a mouthwash guarantee success and a laxative attract romance." Mankiewicz' brief satire of a radio soap opera, "Another Day in the Notebook of Linda Grey, Registered Nurse," is almost as good as some of Bob and Ray's stuff.

All the actors do fine jobs, but particularly appealing, I think, are Ann Southern as Rita, Linda Darnell as Lora Mae and Paul Douglas as Porter. Unbilled and stealing scenes is Thelma Ritter as the Phipps' maid. Also unbilled but a key element in the movie is Celeste Holm. She does Addie's voice...warm, low pitched, amused, and not to be trusted if you're a wife.

The black and white DVD looks great. There are several extras, including a TV biography of Linda Darnell and a commentary track which includes two of Joseph Mankiewicz' biographers and his son.

Jeanne Crain was a very pretty girl, Ann Sothern was chiefly noted for her comic turns, and Linda Darnell was a memorable beauty--but although all three appeared in popular films none were particularly celebrated for their acting talents until Joseph L. Mankiewicz tapped them for the roles of three society wives in this poison pen letter to both sexes. Wickedly witty in script, and remarkably acid in tone, A LETTER TO THREE WIVES would put every one involved in the film firmly on the Hollywood map.

Three society wives (Crain, Sothern, and Darnell) are committed to hosting a children's picnic on an isolated island--and as the ferry prepares to depart they receive a letter from town femme fatale Addie Ross (never seen but memorably voiced by Celeste Holm.) Addie informs them that she is leaving town forever... but has decided to take one of their husbands along as a memento. And each of the three wives, cut off from the outside world for the day, is left to wonder: when I go home tonight, will my husband still be there?

During the day each of the wives recalls scenes from her marriage. Deborah (Craine) arrived in town as a pretty but very awkward farm girl fresh out of the navy and with a wardrobe consisting of a single and very ugly mail-order dress; she has never felt entirely secure. Rita (Sothern) is married to a schoolteacher, and has committed the unpardonable sin of becoming the writer of a popular radio show that brings her more money than her husband will ever earn. And Lora Mae (Darnell) was a beauty born on the wrong side of the tracks who connived her way into a wealthy marriage and now specializes in bickering with her gruff and boorish husband. And always they have been victim to Addie--a woman who "has class," who stings them with competition and evil wit, and who has their husbands eating out of her hand.

Although the construction is artificial, the script is wickedly knowing, painting a truly subversive vision of American marriage and mores of the late 1940s. Of the three leads, Ann Sothern dominates with her spirited "Rita"--but Darnell has the best of the script, a series of manipulations and drop-dead quips and ripostes, and Crain is perfectly cast as the insecure beauty who is as out of place as a dove at a gathering of eagles. The supporting cast, which includes Kirk Douglas, Thelma Ritter, and Connie Gilchrist is remarkably fine as well. And before all is said and done, small town society gets raked over coals.

If A LETTER TO THREE WIVES has a flaw, it is the same flaw that would trouble Mankiewicz's later and even more celebrated ALL ABOUT EVE: the point of view that a woman is ultimately nothing without a man, an idea that tends to limit the scope of the film and at times even belittle its characters. Some viewers may also be disappointed with the film's conclusion, which--although extremely ironic--lacks the sharp bite you might expect. Even so, this is a truly memorable and often very funny film, and one that deserves to be seen more often today than it usually is.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

While chaperoning a children's outing, three wives recieve a letter by special delivery from the town vamp, Addie Ross (voiced by Celeste Holm) telling them that she has run off with one of their husbands. Through the course of the day, each wife reflects on her marriage. Directed by Joseph L.Mankiewicz, this film boasts performances from a sterling cast. Ann Sothern, Jeanne Crain and Linda Darnell are the wives and Kirk Douglas and Paul Douglas are two of the husbands. Thelma Ritter is also on hand and is a delight as Sothern's common-as-dirt housekeeper who's also a friend of Darnell's equally common mother. The scenes in their tiny house's kitchen as the train goes by are a riot. There are many memorable moments in this classic with equal parts comedy and drama thanks to a trenchant script (also by Mankiewicz from a story by Vera Caspary) and a priceless cast of pros. The DVD is a good print and this is definitely a keeper for lovers of classic films. A most unusual and enjoyable entertainment of the kind they just don't make anymore.

The foundation of any great film is an even greater screenplay. In "A Letter To Three Wives" Joseph L. Mankiewicz achieved greatness as a writer first and a as director second. The screenplay sparkles with wit and humor and an edgy take on the modern world that is as up to date today as it was fifty-four years ago.
Joe was a great writer and a consummate wit; were he not in the movies one might think him an intellectual. (Hats off to his "Cleopatra"). He understood women and wrote some of the most complex, deep and exciting women on the screen. He gave them life on the page and then with his brilliant eye for casting and directing he brought them to life on the screen. Eve Harrington, Margo Channing, in "All About Eve". Maria Vargas in "The Barefoot Contessa", and his most complex of all his smart Cleopatra, a modern woman of politics and passion in an ancient setting.
The unseen Addie Ross, the clumsy Deborah, Rita the writer, and the smart and guarded Lora Mae are just a few of the gems Joe Mankiewicz presented to us in his Oscar winning "Letter". He brings out some of the best acting Jeanne Crain would ever do. She is both vulnerable and comic. Ann Sothern dominates the screen as a feminist ahead of her time. She cements the image that she would carry the rest of her career, that of a beautiful smart woman making it in a man's world. The stunning centerpiece to this work is the top-notch performance handed in by Linda Darnell as tough wrong side of the tracks Lora Mae. This is a great performance by an actress who herself felt she had little to offer as an actress. Here with the help of her writer and director Miss Darnell delivers the goods as no one else of her generation possibly could.
In a small role as Sadie Dugan, Thelma Ritter in her third film nearly steals the picture from all involved. Paul Douglas as Lora Mae's husband and meal ticket is at the top of his form. He matches Lora Mae word for word and punch for punch. And what a face he had! Kirk Douglas is right on the money in this early film of his career. The entire production is superb.
Darryl F. Zanuck always stressed the importance of good writing and good story at his studio, 20th Century-Fox and over the decade that "Letter to Three Wives" ushered in he gave us some great works. He hired some of the best writers and directors of the day to work at his studio. At the top of that list was Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Personal differences aside between the two men, they did some wonderful things together. With what Fox is now doing in it's incredible classics series on DVD, I hope they will devote some much needed attention to this classic film.

In a career of arguably no lows, Joseph L. Mankiewicz's brilliant screenplay and direction on "A Letter to Three Wives" (1949) comes as close to perfection as movie melodrama has any right to. The plot, based on John Klempner's novel, concerns itself with three genuinely contented women; Deborah (Jeanne Crain), Lora Mae (Linda Darnell) and Rita (Ann Sothern). Contented, that is, until a mysterious letter surfaces from an equally mysterious source that claims to have carnal knowledge of one of their husbands. Which one? Well, that's what the rest of the film's plot is all about - smelling a rat. Deb' finds herself feeling helpless and lost amidst her husband, Brad's (Jeffrey Lynn) country club set. Could one those shallow jet setters be the backstabbing vixen who wrote the letter? Seeing her gold-digging way with a pocket book and the right sort of heel, Lora's husband, Porter (Paul Douglas) has just about had enough of Lora. Could he be the one straying? And what about Rita's husband, George (Kirk Douglas)? With a career that bests George's ability to keep the home front afloat, might he feel the need to go slumming with a gal who is, at least financially, more at his level? Mankiewicz's astute perceptions of the inner struggles and insecurities that make us all human, and his adept handling of the material from the director's seat, justly won the veteran film maker two Academy Awards. With a backup cast that includes the diabolically juicy Florence Bates, Hobart Cavanaugh and Connie Gilchrist, "A Letter To Three Wives" proves that all any picture needs to be thrilling is solid writing and fantastic performances.

Fox has done a wonderful job in remastering this film for DVD. Working from second generation materials (no original camera negative exists), the DVD exhibits a very nicely contrasted black and white image with minimal film grain. Blacks are perhaps a tad weak, but this is to be expected from less than perfect source material. Otherwise, fine details are nicely realized, whites are very crisp and clean and shadow levels are adequately represented. Every attempt has been made through the use of digital technology to rebalance the image quality to as close to the original presentation as possible, and, for the most part, that is exactly how the film looks. An English stereo track is included. But this is a dialogue driven film so there's really not much point or difference between it and the original mono recording. Extras include the Biography Special on the tragic and brief life of Linda Darnell, a wonderful audio commentary by Mankiewicz's son, Christopher and biographers, Kenneth Geist and Cheryl Lower, some "Movietones" news reel footage and the original theatrical trailer. Both the film and the transfer come highly recommended for an old time Oscar-winning night at the movies.

"A Letter to Three Wives" would be anyone else's best movie. Since Joseph L. Mankiewicz followed "Letter" with "All About Eve", "Letter" is his second best, but it still towers over most films of its day.

The story concerns a letter received by three small-town wives; the town femme fatale, Addie Ross, is running off with one of their husbands. Mankiewicz uses flashbacks to give an insightful view of each of the three marriages involved, and demonstrates that each has its problems and is therefore eligible for a bust-up by Addie.

The setting is the sort of small town that only existed on the back lots of movie studios; there's a right side of the tracks represented by a mansion, a middle-class district with an elm-lined street and brick Colonials, and a wrong side of the tracks that is no worse than picturesque. The movie-ish milieu is soon forgotten by the viewer, however, because of the quality of the playing of each part. Jeanne Crain is a poor girl who has married rich and suffers burning insecurities. Linda Darnell is a scheming store clerk who flummoxes the boss into marrying her. Ann Sothern- an actress who demonstrates that zaftig can be absolutely beautiful- is a radio writer who battles her school teacher husband over the literary quality of her work, and the effect of her earning power on the marriage. Their husbands are played, respectively, by Jeffrey Lynn (blandly effective), Paul Douglas (gruffly effective), and Kirk Douglas (the essence of effective). Minor roles are filled out by the late great Connie Gilchrist as Darnell's Ma, and by someone who was a newcomer in this movie, Thelma Ritter.

The tension and byplay in the film are its chief delight; Darnell and Paul Douglas spar for much of their screen time, only to discover that their mutual needling masks mutual need. Sothern and Kirk Douglas do their own sparring, but they also learn lessons; Sothern finds her radio writing is consuming her marriage, and that Kirk is well worth a cut-back in her work schedule. Lynn and Crain are the weakest links, but Crain's nicely observed case of the willies at a big country-club dance is eminently watchable, and her drunk scene is a delight. Ritter begins her long string of side-splitting acerbity in "Letter"; she's a maid, and her scenes with Sothern show two immensely talented, evenly matched comedic actresses at the height of their powers, having a ball zinging everything and everyone in the movie, including each other.

The protagonist, Addie Ross, is never seen, but she narrates the film in voice-over, done by Celeste Holm. Holm's distinctive voice gets a full workout here; her genius for conveying subtext with such devices as a dry inflection here, a kidding British accent there, is alone worth the time and price of a viewing.

Mankiewicz wraps up all three stories at one last country-club dance, where all three wives and only two husbands are in attendance. Think it's all over at that point? Well, it isn't; Mank throws in a fast red-herring ending that leaves everything and everybody in fine shape, except...

Watch the movie to find out what happens. Hi-ho.

"A Letter to Three Wives" is a crafty masterpiece throughout, very adult in its humor and sexually charged relationships, particularly Paul Douglas and lovely Linda Darnell sizzling in their parts as Mr. Millionaire merchant and the temptress from, or literally, ON the wrong side of the tracks. Their scenes of blatant desire and passion sizzle and blend nicely with the other two woven stories of which husband has run off with never-seen but definitely male-understanding high class

hoochie, Addie Ross. Seems the three wives herein all have good reason to believe their husbands would prefer Miss Ross to them!!

All the actors are top shelf, as is the script, which is cleverly comic, knowing, and suspenseful. Kirk Douglas is pretty macho here, and very entertaining. But watching Linda Darnell bait her hook, and finally reel in the biggest fish around (Paul Douglas) is toooo utterly delicious.

Don't pass up "A Letter to Three Wives" if it shows up in your tv listings. Or buy it for your film library; you'll come to appreciate this emotionally charged, well crafted character study. ENJOY!!!!

I saw "A Letter" a couple of years ago, and it has been my favorite movie to date. I'm only seventeen, but I love watching old films. I had never heard of this movie before I rented it at the library, and I now wonder why. The acting is absolutely superb, the storyline fabulously intriguing and the ending a delightful surprise. If you want to see an old-fashioned love/mystery movie, "A Letter" is absolutely fabulous and memorable. What was AFI thinking when they failed to include this film on the "100 Greatest Films of All Time" list? It certainly is number one on my list!

The film concerns three wives who receive a letter from the town vamp (tramp?) "Addie" who informs the women than she has run off with the husband of one of them. The three wives (Ann Sothern, Linda Darnell, and Jeanne Crain) are serving as chaperones for a school field trip and won't be able to get home until late in the day. As a result, each wife has plenty of time to think about the situation. The film is told in flashback as each wife looks back on her marriage in an effort to determine if she is the unfortunate victim of homewrecker Addie. Anne Sothern plays a radio soap-opera writer (this is 1949) married to a "happy but not rich" school teacher (Kirk Douglas). Linda Darnell is a "girl from the wrong side of the tracks" (literally) who is married to successful vulgarian (Paul Douglas) who doesn't quite trust her. Jeanne Crain plays a "simp with low self-esteem" who is married to a VERY successful husband. The actual victim is not revealed until the surprise ending of the film.

The dialogue is very witty and well written. Mankiewicz won Oscars for his screenplay and direction. He deserved them. The film covers a lot of material but moves at a very fast pace. Buy this tape and you won't be sorry. Where is the DVD version?