In a career of arguably no lows, Joseph L. Mankiewicz's brilliant screenplay and direction on "A Letter to Three Wives" (1949) comes as close to perfection as movie melodrama has any right to. The plot, based on John Klempner's novel, concerns itself with three genuinely contented women; Deborah (Jeanne Crain), Lora Mae (Linda Darnell) and Rita (Ann Sothern). Contented, that is, until a mysterious letter surfaces from an equally mysterious source that claims to have carnal knowledge of one of their husbands.
Which one? Well, that's what the rest of the film's plot is all about - smelling a rat. Deb' finds herself feeling helpless and lost amidst her husband, Brad's (Jeffrey Lynn) country club set. Could one those shallow jet setters be the backstabbing vixen who wrote the letter? Seeing her gold-digging way with a pocket book and the right sort of heel, Lora's husband, Porter (Paul Douglas) has just about had enough of Lora. Could he be the one straying? And what about Rita's husband, George (Kirk Douglas)? With a career that bests George's ability to keep the home front afloat, might he feel the need to go slumming with a gal who is, at least financially, more at his level? Mankiewicz's astute perceptions of the inner struggles and insecurities that make us all human, and his adept handling of the material from the director's seat, justly won the veteran film maker two Academy Awards.
With a backup cast that includes the diabolically juicy Florence Bates, Hobart Cavanaugh and Connie Gilchrist, "A Letter To Three Wives" proves that all any picture needs to be thrilling is solid writing and fantastic performances.
Fox has done a wonderful job in remastering this film for DVD. Working from second generation materials (no original camera negative exists), the DVD exhibits a very nicely contrasted black and white image with minimal film grain. Blacks are perhaps a tad weak, but this is to be expected from less than perfect source material. Otherwise, fine details are nicely realized, whites are very crisp and clean and shadow levels are adequately represented.
Every attempt has been made through the use of digital technology to re-balance the image quality to as close to the original presentation as possible, and, for the most part, that is exactly how the film looks. An English stereo track is included. But this is a dialogue driven film so there's really not much point or difference between it and the original mono recording. Extras include the Biography Special on the tragic and brief life of Linda Darnell, a wonderful audio commentary by Mankiewicz's son, Christopher and biographers, Kenneth Geist and Cheryl Lower, some "Movietones" news reel footage and the original theatrical trailer. Both the film and the transfer come highly recommended for an old time Oscar-winning night at the movies.
Which one? Well, that's what the rest of the film's plot is all about - smelling a rat. Deb' finds herself feeling helpless and lost amidst her husband, Brad's (Jeffrey Lynn) country club set. Could one those shallow jet setters be the backstabbing vixen who wrote the letter? Seeing her gold-digging way with a pocket book and the right sort of heel, Lora's husband, Porter (Paul Douglas) has just about had enough of Lora. Could he be the one straying? And what about Rita's husband, George (Kirk Douglas)? With a career that bests George's ability to keep the home front afloat, might he feel the need to go slumming with a gal who is, at least financially, more at his level? Mankiewicz's astute perceptions of the inner struggles and insecurities that make us all human, and his adept handling of the material from the director's seat, justly won the veteran film maker two Academy Awards.
With a backup cast that includes the diabolically juicy Florence Bates, Hobart Cavanaugh and Connie Gilchrist, "A Letter To Three Wives" proves that all any picture needs to be thrilling is solid writing and fantastic performances.
Fox has done a wonderful job in remastering this film for DVD. Working from second generation materials (no original camera negative exists), the DVD exhibits a very nicely contrasted black and white image with minimal film grain. Blacks are perhaps a tad weak, but this is to be expected from less than perfect source material. Otherwise, fine details are nicely realized, whites are very crisp and clean and shadow levels are adequately represented.
Every attempt has been made through the use of digital technology to re-balance the image quality to as close to the original presentation as possible, and, for the most part, that is exactly how the film looks. An English stereo track is included. But this is a dialogue driven film so there's really not much point or difference between it and the original mono recording. Extras include the Biography Special on the tragic and brief life of Linda Darnell, a wonderful audio commentary by Mankiewicz's son, Christopher and biographers, Kenneth Geist and Cheryl Lower, some "Movietones" news reel footage and the original theatrical trailer. Both the film and the transfer come highly recommended for an old time Oscar-winning night at the movies.