A Letter to Three Wives

Released by: Eureka (Masters of Cinema)
Released on: June 29, 2015
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Ann Southern, Linda Darnell, Jeanne Crain, Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas, Jeffrey Lynn, Thelma Ritter
Year: 1949

The Movie:

A Letter to Three Wives is basically a romantic comedy in anthology form, with a wraparound story in which three women, preparing for a boat ride and picnic, receive a letter from an acquaintance, Addie Ross, claiming that she has run away with one of their husbands. Rather than tell them which one, however, Addie's letter leaves them in suspense. As the women go their separate ways, they not only contemplate their strained marriages but also how Addie Ross always seemed to be there, a silent, stalking lurker in the background, flirting with their men.

Wife number one, Deborah Bishop, recalls her own disadvantaged marriage to wealthy Brad, in whose social circle she seems ill at ease. Thankfully, one of his friends, Rita Phipps, takes her under her wing. Rita is not without her own marital woes, however. Her own husband lives in a state of ire that she makes more money than he does. To make matters worse, he despises her boss and her job. Yet, their problems pale in comparison to those of their best friends, Porter and Lora Mae Hollingsway. Lora Mae was once Porter's employee, but she used her beauty and charm to trap him into marriage. Now the two hate each other with a bitterness unrivaled among their circle of friends. And behind all three wives' problems is a single constant: the invisible but indomitable Addie Ross.

While A Letter to Three Wives is certainly not a forgotten film today, it has accumulated nowhere near the positive reputation and acclaim of Joseph L. Mankiewicz's masterpiece, All About Eve (1950). Yet, if it weren't for its lack of star power—Eve has laid to claim to being Bette Davis's comeback while Letter's female stars are largely forgotten among the masses—Letter is every bit the kind of masterwork that Eve is known as. In many ways, it was Mankiewicz's trial run, and in an incredible coincidence, both films won him Oscars for Best Director and Best Screenplay. (They were also nominated for Best Picture.) There's no doubt as to why: both films operate in a world where drama and comedy romance each other with captivating allure and present the director/screenwriter at the top of his game.

John Klemper's novella A Letter to Five Wives was first published in Cosmopolitan in 1945, and it didn't take 20th Century Fox long to acquire the film rights. The project went through a number of writers (Melville Baker, Dorothy Bennett, F. Hugh Herbert, and Vera Caspary) and stars (Gene Tierney, Maureen O'Hara, Dorothy McGuire, Alice Faye, Anne Baxter, Joan Crawford, Ida Lupino, Tyrone Power, and MacDonald Carey) before Mankiewicz decided to write it himself; along the way, the number of wives went from five to four to three, with a final cast that included Ann Southern, Linda Darnell, Jeanne Crain, and Kirk Douglas. But its raison d'íªtre isn't the terrific performances, or even the top-not direction; it's Mankiewicz's sharp and witty script. Given just how poorly many films from past eras have dated, A Letter to Three Wives is all the more remarkable; it starts out strong, moves from one strength to another, and ends on a superlative note, not only for its characters but for its audience as well. It's classy, adult entertainment with more than its fair share of coded sexual innuendo and sly winks, a perfect film to settle down with on a cold winter's night, a fire in the hearth and a glass of wine in hand.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Eureka's Masters of Cinema series has brought A Letter to Three Wives to Blu-ray with an MPEG-4 AVC encode in 1080p high definition. It is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, with a generally gorgeous transfer that amps up the detail over former home video releases. There are a number of external shots that benefit from the format's quality, but brightly lit interiors are where things really pop. Mankiewicz's film is rich in glamor appeal, particularly in the costumes from designer Kay Nelson, but never before has every woven thread been so clearly visible. The result is that the ugliness in Deborah's flower-bedecked dress has never been more obvious; flowers, trays of dishes, stylish '50s furniture all benefit. Black levels are deep, and hues of gray are rich. Grain looks entirely natural, and there are no issues with edge enhancement or digital noise reduction. There's minor speckling in a few places, and print damage is most evident near a couple of reel changes, but overall, A Letter to Three Wives has been shown the respect and love it deserves.

There are three audio tracks. The film's original soundtrack is included in lossless LPCM 2.0 as well as DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The former is closer in spirit to the film's original sound presentation, though both are fairly pleasing. People wanting to utilize their modern-day stereo surround systems will opt for the latter, while fans wanting to approximate a filmic experience as close to Letter's original release as possible will opt for the former. Neither will be losers. The third track is an audio commentary that features Mankiewicz's biographers, Kenneth Geist and Cheryl Lower, as well as the famous director's son Christopher. Listeners will quickly be alerted to the fact that the participants are not, as is usual, seated in a room together and battling it out for aural supremacy. Rather, they recorded their commentaries separately, and someone at Fox edited them into a cohesive whole. The result is a smart, informative commentary that doesn't waste one iota of screen time on lazy banter. A number of subjects are touched upon, from the position of women in society at the time to the various actors' backgrounds. The remarks are entirely prepared and rehearsed, and the commentary is all the better for it. Lower dominates, though everyone offers revealing tidbits, particularly about Mankiewicz, whose show this film clearly was.

There are a couple of extras, though, unfortunately, none of them compare with the A&E Biography of Linda Darnell included on Fox's North American BD release. First up are two radio adaptations that followed in the wake of the film: the Screen Guild Theater adaptation from November 3, 1949, which runs just shy of thirty minutes, and the Lux Radio Theater adaptation from February 20, 1950, which runs for almost an hour. The first begins with an advertisement for Camel Cigarettes and stars Paul Douglas and Linda Darnell. Both actors return for the second adaptation, which is considerably more fleshed out than the earlier presentation.

A Fox Movietone News short, “'Oscars Presented for Achievements in Motion Pictures,” is also included. It lasts a little over a minute and focuses mostly on Fox's and Letter's various wins, with historical footage of Mankiewicz accepting his award.

Rounding out the list of extras is an original theatrical trailer. It runs a little less than three minutes in length and fails to do the film justice, though Eureka was right in using it.

The Final Word:

A Letter to Three Wives is great stuff, a classic worthy of that classification. It's genuinely funny with some surprisingly adult one-liners. Eureka's treatment of the film is appropriately reverent, with a strong transfer, nice sound, and good extras. Fans of the film really can't go wrong in picking it up.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!