The wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense, but a letter written in her own hand may prove her undoing.The wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense, but a letter written in her own hand may prove her undoing.The wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense, but a letter written in her own hand may prove her undoing.
- Nominated for 7 Oscars
- 1 win & 9 nominations total
Elizabeth Inglis
- Adele Ainsworth
- (as Elizabeth Earl)
Victor Sen Yung
- Ong Chi Seng
- (as Sen Yung)
Zita Baca
- Undetermined Role
- (uncredited)
Brooks Benedict
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
William A. Boardway
- Trial Spectator
- (uncredited)
David Bruce
- Undetermined Role
- (uncredited)
James Carlisle
- Attorney
- (uncredited)
George Ford
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe first scene that William Wyler filmed was the famous opening shot in which Leslie shoots Geoffrey Hammond. This sequence, which lasted two minutes on screen, took an entire day to film, and that was before even a single word of dialogue was spoken. The studio expected him to shoot at a rate of 3-4 script pages a day, but the opening shot reflected a mere paragraph on page one.
- GoofsThe motor vehicles throughout are all left-hand drive. In Singapore traffic drives on the left, and all vehicles there are right-hand drive.
- Alternate versionsAlso shown in computer colorized version.
- ConnectionsEdited into Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Featured review
Fascinating, tantalising and dangerous has rarely been a more perfect tag line
Love Bette Davis and director William Wyler, Davis has some iconic performances under her belt and Wyler has directed some of the best films there are.
'The Letter' may not quite be Wyler's very best (which is testament to how fabulous his very best are, because 'The Letter' is still brilliant), but it is Davis's best films and one of her greatest ever performances. She is truly magnificent here and there has rarely been a more chilling performance from her. It's not Davis that makes 'The Letter' so great. She has a supporting cast that are more than up to her level. Herbert Marshall's, an actor who works for me and sometimes doesn't, performance is also up there with his best.
Faring best in support are James Stephenson, never better which makes his ultimely death soon after aged just 52 even sadder, and particularly the most sinister performance Gale Sondergaard ever gave (she sends chills down the spine and induces goose bumps).
Further advantages are a taut script, a compelling and suspenseful story, that is unmistakably melodrama but never in an overwrought way and actually pretty tense, and Wyler's superbly controlled direction.
As well as atmospheric photography, the shadows alone are enough to freak one out, sumptuous production design and a hauntingly melodic score written in the most unmistakable style of Max Steiner. The ending is admittedly tacky and comes close to contrivance, but the shock value makes it just about work.
Overall, brilliant. 10/10 Bethany Cox
'The Letter' may not quite be Wyler's very best (which is testament to how fabulous his very best are, because 'The Letter' is still brilliant), but it is Davis's best films and one of her greatest ever performances. She is truly magnificent here and there has rarely been a more chilling performance from her. It's not Davis that makes 'The Letter' so great. She has a supporting cast that are more than up to her level. Herbert Marshall's, an actor who works for me and sometimes doesn't, performance is also up there with his best.
Faring best in support are James Stephenson, never better which makes his ultimely death soon after aged just 52 even sadder, and particularly the most sinister performance Gale Sondergaard ever gave (she sends chills down the spine and induces goose bumps).
Further advantages are a taut script, a compelling and suspenseful story, that is unmistakably melodrama but never in an overwrought way and actually pretty tense, and Wyler's superbly controlled direction.
As well as atmospheric photography, the shadows alone are enough to freak one out, sumptuous production design and a hauntingly melodic score written in the most unmistakable style of Max Steiner. The ending is admittedly tacky and comes close to contrivance, but the shock value makes it just about work.
Overall, brilliant. 10/10 Bethany Cox
helpful•170
- TheLittleSongbird
- Aug 30, 2017
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Das Geheimnis von Malampur
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $16,455
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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