Rent The Letter (1940)

3.9 of 5 from 97 ratings
1h 35min
Rent The Letter Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
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Synopsis:
Six years after exploding to stardom in Of Human Bondage, Bette Davis equaled that excitement with another W. Somerset Maugham role as an adulteress using her sexual wiles to escape a murder conviction in The Letter. The film throbs with sultry tension thanks to Davis, an impeccable supporting cast, atmospheric cinematography and the artistry of three-time Academy Award winner* William Wyler, Davis' director on Jezebel and The Little Foxes.
Actors:
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Directors:
Writers:
W. Somerset Maugham, Howard Koch
Others:
Manoel De Oliveira, Warren Low, Max Steiner, Gaetano (Tony) Gaudio
Studio:
Warner
Genres:
Drama
Collections:
Acting Up: British Actors at the Oscars, Award Winners, Oscar Nominations Competition 2024, The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to William Wyler, The Instant Expert's Guide to Yasujiro Ozu
BBFC:
Release Date:
22/08/2005
Run Time:
95 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, French Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
Subtitles:
Arabic, Dutch, English, English Hard of Hearing, French, Italian, Italian Hard of Hearing
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
Colour:
B & W
Bonus:
  • Recently Discovered Alternate Ending Sequence
  • Trailer

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Reviews (1) of The Letter

Tropical Noir (spoiler). - The Letter review by Steve

Spoiler Alert
15/11/2022

Six years after Of Human Bondage, Bette Davis starred in another Somerset Maugham adaptation. But this time, with the Production Code at full tide, greater compromises had to be made. Davis empties her revolver into the body of her lover because he has has married a Chinese woman in colonial Singapore, but she cannot go unpunished as she does in the source play.

Bette gives one of her best and most interesting performances. Her character is lying for most of the film and she performs behind an inscrutable visage which doesn't signify a stiff upper lip, but her intent to not betray her guilt. And the suppressed Malayan locals are similarly impassive, unable to express themselves honestly before these corrupt, entitled occupiers.

The scene between Gale Sondergaard as the grieving wife and her husband's murderer is a meeting of masks. The unctuous facade of Victor Sen Yung as a Singaporean lawyer acting as a go-between for the two women is another deception. James Stephenson is excellent as Bette's biddable British lawyer who hides behind a mirage of ethical purity. The message is plainly anti-empire.    

The studio recreation of the east is exotic but plausible. Davis' costumes by Orry-Kelly are elegant. The camerawork is mobile and eloquent and very artistic, with the expressionist photography painting the fluttering, white-laced and guilty heroine within its shadowy net. Though censorship was an impediment, this is one of William Wyler's greatest films.

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