Ein Brief an drei Frauen

In a small town, three couples are close friends: the upper class Brad Bishop (Jeffrey Lynn) went to the war and returned married with the insecure country girl and Navy military Deborah Bishop (Jeanne Crain); the university professor George Phipps (Kirk Douglas) is married with the writer of silly screenplays of radio soap operas Rita Phipps (Ann Sothern), who makes more money than him and financially supports their home; and the wealthy tradesman Porter Hollingsway (Paul Douglas) is married with the smart Lora Mae Hollingsway (Linda Darnell). In common, further to their friendship, the women hate and the men love the elegant and high-class Addie Ross. While going to a picnic in riverboat with the local students, the three wives receive a letter of their "friend" Addie Ross informing that she is running off with one of their husbands. Along the day, each woman recalls events that might have put her marriage in danger, while anxiously waiting for the end of the day.

One of my favorite movies ever is "All About Eve", of Joseph L. Mankiewicz. I know only a few movies of this outstanding director: "Sleuth", "Cleopatra", "The Barefoot Contessa" and "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir". A dear friend of mine gave me "A Letter to Three Wives" on DVD, I have just watched and I must confess that I am enchanted with such delightful, witty and intelligent screenplay. The romance is perfectly developed with the narrative in off and in an adequate pace, disclosing the lives of each couple and their problems in flashbacks and with a wonderful resolution. The cast is in state of grace, with awesome performances, and Linda Darnell is extremely sexy in the role of an opportunist woman and Jeanne Crain is very beautiful. There is a continuity goof not related in IMDb, when Lora Mae arrives with her car for the picnic, followed by Rita and Debbie's car, and the relative positions of the parked cars and buses change, but this mistake never diminishes this magnificent movie. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Quem É o Infiel?" ("Who Is the Unfaithful?")

A Letter to Three Wives has a stellar cast with Ann Southern, Jeanne Craine, Linda Darnell, Paul Douglas, and Kirk Douglas. Any one of those actors would assure the viewer of a terrific performance. All of them together creates one of the first ensemble casts that are so popular today as in ER or Friends. Ann Southern is great as she plays off of Kirk Douglas and Thelma Ritter. Just looking at Linda Darnell makes watching the movie worthwhile. She was one of the most beautiful women who ever acted in a motion picture. Paul Douglas plays his usual rough and tumble character with a heart of gold. The premise is that a group of friends has one female who has the attention of all the men, and all the stares of the women. One day when the three wives are working on a volunteer project with some children when they receive a special delivery letter from the target of their stares. In the letter the woman states that she is moving away and will never return, and she is taking one of their husbands with her. The women then think about how easily it could be each one of their husbands. It's a great way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon, and boy will it surprise your wife when you watch it with her. She won't know what to think.

One of the funniest and truest commentaries on married life is set into motion when the three wives receive a letter stating that the town siren has run off with one of their husbands--but which one? Flashbacks trace the course of three stories in one--along with witty dialog and comic situations that keep you entertained from beginning to end. All of the principals are excellent--but if I had to choose the favorite couple it would have to be Paul Douglas and Linda Darnell. Why they weren't both at least nominated for Oscars, I'll never understand. Darnell, in particular, more noted for being a great beauty than a great actress, has some of the wittiest lines in the movie and gets them across with slambang effect. Her Lora Mae Hollingsway just about steals the film in some of the funniest, yet poignant moments in the whole story. Paul Douglas is superb opposite her, as are Thelma Ritter and Connie Gilchrist as two outspoken bystanders. Not far behind are Ann Sothern and Kirk Douglas as the squabbling couple whose marriage is falling apart because of her financial success as a soap opera writer vs. his non-lucrative teaching career. Only sequences that fail to register strongly are those between Jeanne Crain and Jeffrey Lynn--lacking the wit of the other stories. The lines and situations get more hilarious as the film goes on and by the end you've seen one of the most richly satisfying comedies ever about the ups and downs of domestic bliss. Fully deserved its Oscars for best screenplay and direction.

You have here a situation that is rarer than you might imagine-a top-notch cast with an even better script. This is a delightful film with fine performances all around and some of the best dialogue! Strangely, none of the cast were nominated for their work here, although three were nominated for other performances in other films they did that year. The script deservedly won an Oscar as did the director. This is a joy to watch and the voice-over narration is perfectly handled throughout. Highly recommended!

Warning! - possible mini-SPOILER to follow...

Other comments herein attest to this film's amazingly well-achieved wit and sophistication, both for its time and, when viewed today, outclassing almost anything I can think of in recent release. Twentieth-Century Fox gave Joseph L. Mankiewicz top-notch professionals to help him win his eventual Oscars for direction and screenplay.

One moment that will always spring to my mind when I recall this film is that wonderful character actress, Connie Gilchrist (so perfectly partnered in her scenes with one of my all-time beloveds, Thelma Ritter), reacting to Laura Mae's announcement of her engagement to her boss, Mr. Hollingsway, so well-played by the great Paul Douglas. As she falls in a dead faint, she emits a jubilant exclamation on her way to the floor: "Bingo!" One of this film's best guffaws and a nice counterpoint to some of the more subtle examples of humor in this example of what Hollywood can do when everything meshes so superbly.