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 & 12 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
Bette Davis delivers
The wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense, but a letter in her own hand may prove her undoing.
The Letter was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress (Bette Davis), Best Supporting Actor (James Stephenson), Best Cinematography, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Editing and Best Musical Score.
A superior melodrama, compounded of excellent acting, insinuating atmosphere and un-relaxed suspense. Prime Bette Davis, featuring a memorable shooting in the opening. A fine performance by Davis; no one is better at playing characters who act their way through life.
Wyler's direction is very moody; there are long passages in which dialogue is sparse or nonexistent and the erotic tension is built through Max Steiner's music, shadows, sounds...the moon floating through the clouds, character movements and expressions. With a great sequence to open and close the film, a wonderful turn by Davis combining her effervescent skills at being ladylike and selfish,The Letter (1940) is a classic melodramatic film noir of murder and deceit. . First-class cinema.
The Letter was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress (Bette Davis), Best Supporting Actor (James Stephenson), Best Cinematography, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Editing and Best Musical Score.
A superior melodrama, compounded of excellent acting, insinuating atmosphere and un-relaxed suspense. Prime Bette Davis, featuring a memorable shooting in the opening. A fine performance by Davis; no one is better at playing characters who act their way through life.
Wyler's direction is very moody; there are long passages in which dialogue is sparse or nonexistent and the erotic tension is built through Max Steiner's music, shadows, sounds...the moon floating through the clouds, character movements and expressions. With a great sequence to open and close the film, a wonderful turn by Davis combining her effervescent skills at being ladylike and selfish,The Letter (1940) is a classic melodramatic film noir of murder and deceit. . First-class cinema.
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- robfollower
- Feb 5, 2019
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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