The Letter [DVD]

Made in the short time when the Japanesse overran Singapore and Malaya, a grim reminder of what happens when one race commits ethnic cleansing on the natives and soon to be the end of the Britsh Empire, it shows a female trading on her sex and race to beat a murder conviction. Nearly all films, and most of the novels writen today restrict us to nearly the same plots. I miss Seinfeld's humor and honesty about human nature.

For some reason all the films Bette Davis made under the guiding hand of director William Wyler represent her best work, and The Letter is no exception. Made in 1940, the movie shows attitudes that have changed greatly in western society since that picture was made - the contempt people have for Gayle Sondergaard's character is a question in point - anAsian woman who marries an Englishman, was something that was too too terrible to be countenanced ! (Especially when the man involved prefers Sondergaard to Davis)The moon and fabulous sunsets were used to great effect during the picture, as in the opening scene where Bette Davis is seen chasing a male figure down a flight of steps, firing her gun into his back as she does so.She sends a servant to get her husband from his plantation, and tells him that the man she shot was an intruder who tried to rape her. Of course her story is believed without question - the wife of a plantation owner is not without status among the British comminity in Malaya.All goes well until a letter purporting to be a love letter from Davis to her ex-lover,pleading with him to come and see her at the house - her husband will be away etc really sets the cat amongst the pigeons.Family friend and well regarded solicitor (played magnificently by Howard Joyce) is appalled at his clients duplicity and they go through a sham of a court case where by any mention of the letter is with held - to ensure Davis doesn't face a death penality.Gayle Sondergaard is the vengeful wife who makes Davis and her solicitor come to the seedy China town area so she and Davis can meet face to face. Unbeknowns to Herbert Marshall, who plays the decent trusting husband (as he did so memorably with Davis in The Little Foxes) the money used to buy back the letter was $10,000 - all he had in the bank.The meeting of the two women with Davis wearing a beautiful white lace shawl, and Sondergaard in a Chinese outfit, clinging as it does to show all her curves was well directed acted and photographed.The two Chinese present enjoy watching Davis forced to ask for the letter and hand over the money. It is a scene that crackles with irony, hatred, and a sense of justice having been done.Davis is - as she was in Jezebel,another Wyler picture - perfect in the Letter,selfish,self centred, mannered, under playing her character perfectly as a a woman who commits adultery, murder, and lies to those who trusted her, leaving in her wake a husband hearbroken and in debt, their close friend and lawyer in grave danger of being disbarred from practising the law, and her lover murdered in a deliberate act of cold blood.The fascination I felt in watching The Letter was seeing Miss Davis' character gradually being trapped - like a fly to a spider's web.She gets her come uppance of course, but I almost felt sorry for her just the same.Gayle Sondergaard was an actress who was targetted by the house of Un-American activites, and her career was effectively halted. It was good to see her playing such an effective role.The Letter is dated in its mannerisms and views, but it is still very much worth the having, the watching and the owning of.

And definitely one of Bette's best. I've seen this movie hundreds of times and never tire of it.

If your a Bette Davis fan seen it many times but it's worth it.

Times have changed and "The Letter", based on a short story and play by W Somerset Maugham, suffers in 2005 from its stagebound roots. The film focuses on dialogue and atmosphere with little action. The modern equivalent would be English TV series such as "The Forsyte Saga" or "Pride and Prejudice".The plot involves the deception of an unfaithful wife who kills her lover, stands trial but is pronounced innocent of murder but only because an incriminating letter is suppressed. The resolution of the film is compromised from the play by the constraints of the Production Code but it is still harrowing. The film accurately captures the atmosphere and location of Maugham's short story, the narrow and provincial world of the English in Malaya.William Wyler's direction is very tight. His skill with the actors, the sets, establishing a mood etc is outstanding but every moment feels as if it was drawn up with a slide rule. The same applies to Bette Davis's legendary performance as the hypocritical Leslie Crosbie. Davis is riveting but as precise as her diction. Every move she makes feels as if it was carefully choreographed. She is like a coiled spring, ready to explode. Of course, this reflects the knots of her web of deceit hidden beneath the controlled exterior, but at all times, you are aware of "great acting". James Stephenson plays her lawyer and his performance is as good as Davis's. Their scenes together are the best in the film as you sit on the edge of your seat watching them play cat and mouse. Stephenson nearly walked off the set from the pressure brought by Wyler but Davis urged him to hang in there because of the great performance Wyler would get and she was right. Herbert Marshall plays Davis's husband very well too. His realisation that he does not know the woman with whom he has been sharing his life is moving. Gail Sondergaard plays the murdered man's Eurasian wife and creates a menacing figure with almost no dialogue.The DVD print is excellent and the package contains an alternate ending which eliminates the fireworks of the released ending but in someways offers a more subtle resolution - interesting to see. One of the fascinations of seeing these alternate scenes is you get an unusual insight into the thought process of the director. The radio transcripts are a waste of time. The plot is compressed and the actors rush through the scripts without any of the pregnant pauses which are so important in the film. Also, why listen to a second rate condensed version of the script when you can watch the real thing?Trivia Note - Cecil Kellaway gets billing, but he is barely in the film. Other prints, but not this one, show him in other scenes.

This is the "old movie" that started my love of the classics.

Une femme entretenant une relation adultère utilise son sex-appeal pour échapper à une condamnation pour meurtre.

I was just in the right mood for some Warner/Davis/Wyler 1940's melodrama, and this Film delivers. From the Somerset Maugham story, Bette plays a wife of a plantation owner in Ceylon, who murders her lover - NO SPOILER - Honest. From there we go through he emotions and those who love her (a wonderful Marshall - his scenes at the end are are marvel of his acting style. Moody photography, a rather too grand for some, musical score from Max steiner, and a director who knew just how to get the nbest from Bette. Not a film for everyone, but those of a certain age and those who know the period and genre, should find much to please. Ignore the one star reviews, mostly they refer to a different release. The quality on this one is fine. Not BLURAY but perfectly watchable (The alternative ending is a real let down)...Enjoy Bette at her near best.

DVD bien reçu, merci!

Ecco un altro capolavoro da vedere assolutamente se si amano i vecchi film.Una Bette Davis impeccabileIl dvd è arrivato puntuale e in condizioni perfette

Good performanceDVD works well