Rating: 
Summary: Vintage Bette
Review: The greatest American actress ever (at least in my opinion) did it again in this spectacular drama which is arguably Davis's best performance from her Warner Brothers years. In this film she plays a plantation owner's wife who is accused of killing a man (the opening scene with Davis walking out of the house firing a gun repeatedly is quite famous), who later is found out to have been her lover. James Stephenson, as Davis's lawyer, earned an Oscar Nomination for his understated performance, and Herbert Marshall plays her unwitting husband. Gale Sondergaard also vamps it up as the vengeful Oriental wife of the man Davis has killed (she doesn't speak much, but MAN, is she intimidating). Davis, as usual, upstages everybody without even trying, and she earned her fourth academy award nomination for this performance (she lost to Ginger Rogers for "Kitty Foyle," a movie not even worthy to be compared to this one), and the film scored 6 other nominations including Best Picture. For an older Hollywood film, I find it fascinating to examine some of the psychological elements at play throughout - an example being Davis's knitting, a sign both of sexual frustration and of deceit in literature (both appropriate to the fallen woman type she plays). Highly recommended, very suspenseful drama that will definitely keep you interested until the end.
Rating:
Summary: What happened to the 1929 version?
Review: This disc is wonderful, but I am wondering what happened to the 1929 version which was to have been included. Does anyone know the story?
Rating:
Summary: "With all my heart, I still love the man I killed!"
Review: This is an excellent adaptation of Somerset Maugham's play about the wife of a Malaysian plantation owner who kills her lover and claims it was self defense. However, there exists an incriminating letter...
The role of Leslie Crosbie was previously performed on stage by Katherine Cornell and Gladys Cooper and filmed in 1929 with Jeanne Eagles. Davis gives one of her greatest performances in a carefully nuanced orchestration of pent-up sexual frustration. Equally good is Herbert Marshall as her suffering husband and James Stephenson as the lawyer who reluctantly defends her. Tragically, Stephenson would die of a heart attack the following year at the age of 52. Both Stephenson and Davis would receive Oscar nominations for their work here.
Another unforgettable performance comes from Gale Sondergaard who plays the Eurasian wife of the victim and possessor of the incriminating document. Her chalky face and garish jewelry will give you up the creeps as will the looks of death she gives to Davis. She has very few lines (and they are in Mandarin) but what an entrance she makes! The confrontation scene between Davis and Sondergaard, eerily played with no music aside from wind chimes, has to be one of most tense and memorable scenes ever filmed. Speaking of music, the score by Max Steiner is one of his best.
Other great elements of "The Letter" are the atmospheric photography and sets which perfectelly set the mood of the hot and humid nights on a rubber plantation and the ever present full moon, appearing and disappearing behind clouds and casting shadows (and an accusing glance) on the face of the guilty heroine.
The dvd looks great (on a 36" tv at least) with the wonderful black and white photography sharpy rendered and no notices of nicks or scratches. An alternate ending is featured which basically excerpts a scene in which Davis tells Marshall that she still loves the man she killed. Davis did not want the scene included because she felt that her character could not be so callous to her husband! Director William Wyler wisely included it! Two radio versions (in 1941 and 1944) are also included with both Davis and Marshall reprising their roles. Vincent Price plays the lawyer role in the 1944 version.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Greatest of Film Noirs
Review: To all the previous reviews, I should like to add high praise for the performance of James Stephenson. This underappreciated actor died the year after this film was released, in 1941. While the story is nominally about the Bette Davis character, Stephenson's riveting portrayal of a lawyer, torn between his sense of duty to his profession and his personal loyalties, almost steals the show.The only problem with this film is Max Steiner's overwrought and intrusive score. It might work with Bogart, but it's too much for the dreamlike atmosphere I think director Wyler is trying to evoke. One of the few films I can watch repeatedly, The Letter is one of the videos I like to entertain guests with in my home theatre.
Rating:
Summary: DAVIS CLASSIC STILL POWERFUL....
Review: When the wife of a wealthy plantation owner in Malaysia kills a man she claims tried to assault her, an incriminating letter surfaces in the hands of the dead man's Eurasian wife (a stoic and bizarre Gale Sondergaard). Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis) had written the letter to the man demanding him to come over the day of his death. Now, with the help of a guilt ridden attorney (James Stephenson), she must retrieve the letter before it lands in the hands of the prosecutors. Directed by William Wyler, "The Letter" stands as one of Davis' most powerful films. Not only is she magnificent, but the film itself seethes with tension and sultry atmosphere. The plantation scenes are meticulously done with some shadows being painted on the ground (at Wyler's insistence) for more eerie moonlit shots. The moon plays a large role in "The Letter", sort of as a governing body over the fates of certain characters. A hint of Asian mysticism runs throughout as well implying that one cannot escape one's fate...especially if it involves retribution. Herbert Marshall (also with Davis in "The Little Foxes" again directed by Wyler) is excellent as the husband and plantation owner brought to ruin by "the letter". Warner's has done a fine job in presenting the film (based on W.Somerset Maugham's story) on DVD with good extras including an alternate ending that's more morbid. I couldn't decide which one I liked best. But it's Davis that you're watching here...constantly knitting to conceal her sexual frustration. And for her performance alone, "The Letter" is definitely a collector's item.
Rating:
Summary: Getting Away with Murder
Review: Who else could get away with murder and still get the approval of the audience but Bette Davis? Based on Somerset Maugham's story, THE LETTER relates the murder of a rubber-plantation owner (Herbert Marshall) in Malaya by his wife (Bette Davis). It is interesting how Davis approaches this part. She gives a brilliant study of a cold yet proper woman who intoxicates her society friends and authorities through a pretense of female sexual virtue. She deliriously illustrates the passion of a woman who would kill a man for attempting to leave her and in doing so entices the audience on her behalf. Davis is so brilliant at conveying such a cold woman who my in effect really need the warmth and passion of a desperate soul, that even she may not realize her actions are a desperate attempt to realize her own desires. Is her behavior a pretense or not? This was very erotic stuff for its time. This film was nominated for 8 Academy Awards. Carl Jules Weyl's Art Designs combined with Tony Gaudio's Cinematography made a very provocative setting for the images. However the only fault I found with this film was Max Steiner's score. Max Steiner is one of my favorite film composers but I found his score too full of that heavy-handed Warner Bros. sound and not sensitive to the nature of the main character or the film.
Rating: 
Summary: DVD was a disappointment
Review: Yes, the 1940 Bette Davis version is great. But, the advance advertising of coupling the 1940 version with the 1929 Jeanne Eagles version is what led me to pre-order this DVD. It's hard for me to believe that Warner Home Video and web sites describing this DVD did not know of the "alleged" legal issues with the 1929 version prior to the January 11th release date. These DVDs, cover art, and cover content are not manufactured, distributed, and shipped overnight. I suspect the omission of the 1929 version was known at least a month or two ago. I also suspect that interest in the 1929 version prompted re-thinking of including it for free in the release of the Bette Davis version compared to marketing it alone as a future separate DVD (and additional income). This is the last time I pre-order a DVD.
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