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The Letter (1940)

Filmnoir | 95 minutes
3,44 146 votes

Genre: Filmnoir / Drama

Duration: 95 minuten

Alternative title: De Brief

Country: United States

Directed by: William Wyler

Stars: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall and James Stephenson

IMDb score: 7,5 (15.733)

Releasedate: 21 November 1940

The Letter plot

"Fascinating, Tantalizing and DANGEROUS!"

On a tropical night a gunshot is heard and a man stumbles out of a house, followed by a woman with a gun. She fires the weapon at him again several times and he dies. The woman is Leslie Crosbie, the wife of a British plantation owner, and she claims the man - one Geoffrey Hammond - wanted to assault her. Despite that, she is arrested and her own lawyer does not believe her either. His distrust is confirmed when he learns that Geoffrey's widow has a letter in which Leslie begs Geoffrey to visit her that evening.

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avatar van Vinokourov

Vinokourov

  • 3143 messages
  • 2909 votes

A decent film starring Bette Davis, who believes she shot a man in self-defense. Her lawyer quickly discovers that she was not. A few legal ethics come into play when Davis is offered the opportunity to conceal a crucial piece of evidence, a letter, in exchange for a large sum of money. I thought the supporting role of his Asian assistant was amusing, but also rather typical. I also think it's quite controversial now, because he's portrayed as very submissive and stereotypical.

My weak point about The Letter, however, is that the story is so straightforward. The film simply meanders along with a quasi-dramatic ending that had no impact on me. You can't expect a twist, or at least a positive one. It's a bit of a shame, but I still found it a decent and entertaining film.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original

avatar van Flat Eric

Flat Eric

  • 6443 messages
  • 1026 votes

The use of 50 shades of gray, black and white made it look like a fresh color film.

A beautiful, atmospheric film, and the story moves along quite smoothly. It's a great watch and thankfully not slow, with plenty of meaningful dialogue. Incidentally, it's quite strange that the lawyer's loyalty goes so far as to buy the evidence. That's why I actually liked the ending: An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original

avatar van Bobbejaantje

Bobbejaantje

  • 2260 messages
  • 2062 votes

A melodrama in which all the spotlight is on Bette Davis. The story takes place in Singapore (the Warner Bros. studios) and is based on a true story. Not a whodunit, but rather a whydunit, where the viewer can see the truth from miles away. But that doesn't detract from the viewing pleasure. The pacing is good and the actors do their jobs as they should, although the characters' psychology is sometimes lacking, which is something we often see in films with their age. As mentioned, Bette Davis is top-notch, but for me, the film's look is what really steals the show. It's fantastic. While it may be more melodrama than thriller, it looks like a complete noir. For almost the entire film, the slats of the blinds cast shadows on the setting and the characters, as if they're trapped in something from which there's no escape. For example, in the film's last half hour, a crucial scene takes place between Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, and James Stephenson in Davis's house: the living room chairs also turn out to have a horizontal striped pattern, further emphasizing the continuity of the prison (as I interpret it). Kudos to William Wyler and cinematographer Tony Gaudio (who we also know from Little Caesar and High Sierra). Besides the shadow work, there are also some beautiful shots to admire, such as the crane shot at the very end.

The music was written by Max Steiner, a true master of craft, of course, though I found—although the score is beautiful—that the music occasionally interfered too much with the characters' interactions. There is, however, a nice integration of oriental motifs when the natives appear (who are, admittedly, portrayed in a very one-dimensional way).

Conclusion: For me, the film's visual beauty far outweighs its content. But that's perfectly acceptable.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original