A Letter for Evie

Why wasn't Marsha Hunt a bigger star? What a sweetie! And what a smile! Really well written take on the mistaken identity romantic comedy. The scene with the great Spring Byington where Johnny's identity was finally revealed went from laugh out loud funny to sad and touching. And the scene with Evie on the bed weeping her confusion when she finally learns the truth was equally well done: both by script writer and Marsha Hunt. Hume Cronyn was perfect. Who would have thought the actor so often cast as a weaselly villain could be such a romantic hero? I loved the last scene where Johnny heroically tries to "Tell her what she wants to hear" ends at last with the romantic resolution. By the way, that scene at the rest home with the friend of the dead soldier added a bit of depth not usually expected in such a generally frothy romance. Another example of how well this was written and played.

Evie O'Connor (Marsha Hunt) pines for a real man instead of her weak-lipped boyfriend. She sees another girl getting her man in uniform after being pen pals. She slips a note in one of the larger shirts being sent to the soldiers. Edgar 'Wolf' Larson (John Carroll) is tired of the female attention and ignores the note. His scrawny new friend John Phineas McPherson (Hume Cronyn) starts writing back as Wolf. When the soldiers get leave, John arrives at Evie's door as Edgar, Wolf's friend.

It's a WWII reimagining of Cyrano de Bergerac. I would have made Wolf a lot dumber. That would be funnier. Hume Cronyn has a good amount of appeal which does soften some of his lies. Although he does keep lying and that is a problem. I would like him to come clean.

Marsha Hunt (Evie) works for a company that makes shirts for soldiers. After witnessing a fellow worker finding true love after slipping a note into a shirt consignment and communicating with an unknown man in uniform - he turns up at the office one day and they walk off together for a life of romance - she tries the same trick. She picks a shirt size - size 16 1/2 collar, writes a note, slips it into the pocket and waits to see what happens. John Carroll (Wolf) gets the shirt but isn't interested and throws the note away. However, his buddy Hume Cronyn (Johnny), who is a lot smaller than Carroll, retrieves the letter and starts to correspond with Hunt. What will happen when Cronyn comes face to face with Hunt, after all, he is not what she is expecting. Cronyn decides to pretend to be someone else and so begins a series of misunderstandings.

The film moves along nicely and the cast are good, particularly Hunt and Cronyn. Occasionally, Carroll mangles his words but you can still make out what he is saying. It's a heart-warming romance peppered with light humour and it succeeds as we find ourselves rooting for the small guy.

This charming comedy caught me completely by surprise. Though the story borrows from "Cyrano de Bergerac," director Jules Dassin puts a modern comedic spin on it, and is ably assisted thanks to a knockout comedy performance by Hume Cronyn. In it, Cronyn plays a soldier who writes to a working girl Marsha Hunt, but sends her a photo of his handsome Lothario buddy (John Carroll). Hunt is lovely as Evie, and it's easy to see why Cronyn would fall for her. The movie also didn't end exactly as I expected, which was another pleasant surprise. TCM seems to be the only place to find this movie, so eye its schedule for an upcoming showing. Definitely worth seeking it, especially for Cronyn, who is brilliant in this film.

Crisply paced, expertly directed, and boasting jewel-like performances by Marsha Hunt and Hume Cronyn, A Letter for Evie stands out among the wartime romances of the 1942-45 era.

The plot is self-consciously breezy. A secretary for the Trojan Shirt Company, Evie O'Conner longs for romance. She places a "Dear Soldier" letter in the pocket of an extra-large shirt bound for the army training camps of Texas in the hopes that the soldier who finds it will be a strapping, heroic man. It falls into the hands of a decidedly short and bookish Private Johnnie McPherson. As they say in the business, hijinks ensue in a case of mistaken identity. But that's where the banality ends. In the guise of a light romp, Dassin explores themes of heroism, self-sacrifice, and honesty. In one plot point, Cronyn's comic turn pretending to be drunk to save Evie from the lecherous advances of his handsome army buddy is hilarious and deft.

This movie is difficult to find, but fans of the genre should make the effort.