"A LETTER TO THREE WIVES" (1949) Review

 

"A LETTER TO THREE WIVES" (1949) Review

I am a big fan of Hollywood history. And I have either read my share of books on the topic or watched a great deal of documentaries about Old Hollywood. One of the movies mentioned numerous times was the 1949 romantic comedy-drama, "A LETTER TO THREE WIVES".

Based on John Klempner's 1945 novel, "A Letter to Five Wives", the 1949 movie was adapted by Vera Caspary and Joseph L. Mankiewicz and directed by the latter. "A LETTER TO THREE WIVES" told the story of the unseen narrator, Addie Ross, who mails a letter to three women, telling them she has plans to run away with the husband of one of them, but fails to indicate which one. The movie begins with neighbors and friends Deborah Bishop, Rita Phipps, and Lora Mae Hollingsway gathering to accompany a group of underprivileged children on a riverboat excursion and picnic. Before the riverboat can depart, a messenger delivers the letter to the three wives.

During the children's river excursion and picnic, the three women recall certain moments in their husbands' courtship or their marriages and how Addie may have affected their lives. Deborah Bishop was an inexperienced farmer's daughter who met her wealthy husband, Brad, while she was a WAVE during World War II. Following their marriage, Deborah struggled to overcome her insecurities, her difficulties in easing into Brad's social circle and the knowledge that he had been expected to marry the vibrant Addie Ross. Rita Phipps was a career woman who wrote radio soap operas and whose husband George, a schoolteacher who earned less money than she did. Not only did George felt emasculated by Rita's higher salary, but also disapproved of her involvement with radio (being something of a cultural snob) and her obsequious attitude toward her employer, Mrs. Manleigh. A flashback featured a dinner party Rita gave in honor of Mrs. Manleigh, only she held it on George's birthday. Only Addie Ross, who had befriended George in the past, had remembered his birthday by sending him a present - a rare Brahms recording. Unlike the other two leading characters, Lora Mae Hollingsway's flashback centered on the circumstances that led to her marriage to department stores owner Porter Hollingsway. She was a working-class woman who began dating Porter, her employer. Much to the surprise of many, Lora Mae had managed to woo Porter from the likes of his former girlfriend, the elegant Addie Ross. Unfortunately, Lora Mae had a tendency to hide her true feelings for Porter behind a mask that she maintained after their wedding.

It is very rare for Hollywood productions to explore both marriage and infidelity (genuine or otherwise) with any semblance of maturity and realism without those productions ending up as exaggerated melodramas. What I enjoyed about "A LETTER TO THREE WIVES" is that the three protagonists and their husbands are portrayed as flawed individuals with feelings and not one-dimensional caricatures. Deborah suffers from insecurity over her difficult to assimilate into her husband's social circle. Rita's ambition nearly leads her to not only overlook her husband, but also kowtow to her employer in a cloying manner. And Lora Mae seemed to feel the need to hide her emotions and project this image of a cool and socially ambitious woman to the detriment of her marriage. Even their husbands have their own set of flaws and insecurities that lead them to regard Addie Ross as some kind of ideal woman. There is the old saying that it takes two to break up a relationship. Thanks to Joseph Mankiewicz's screenplay and direction, movie audiences were allowed to see this adage play out.

"A LETTER TO THREE WIVES" had earned at least Academy Awards nominations, but none for acting. I found this surprising, due to the first-rate performances that came from the cast. The movie featured solid performances from the likes of Barbara Lawrence, Florence Bates, Hobart Cavanaugh and Connie Gilchrist. I can also say the same for Jeffrey Lynn, who portrayed the aristocratic and slightly self-absorbed Brad Bishop. However, I wish he had a stronger appearance in the film. But for me the more impressive performances came from Ann Southern as the ambitious Rita Phipps; Kirk Douglas as her culturally sensitive husband George Phipps; Thelma Ritter as Sadie Dubin, the neighbor of Lora Mae's mother; Jeannie Crain as the insecure and sensitive Deborah Bishop; and Celeste Holm, who gave an excellent voice performance as the film's narrator, Addie Ross. Hands down, my two favorite performances came from Linda Darnell and Paul Douglas as Lora Mae and Porter Hollingsway, the couple who spent more time tiptoeing around each other, hiding their true feelings for one another behind masks. I was so impressed by Darnell and Douglas' performances that I felt disappointed to learn neither was nominated for an Academy Award.

As much as I had enjoyed "A LETTER TO THREE WIVES", I had a few problems with the movie. One problem I had was the character, Brad Bishop. Considering his emotional impact on the nervy Deborah, I found it odd that his presence in the film seemed diminished in compared to the other two husbands. Even after the movie ended with an unexpected twist, he failed to make an appearance. I was perplexed by one other aspect in the film. The unseen Addie Ross had informed the three wives that she planned to run away with one of their husbands in one letter. She had addressed one letter to all three of them. Why? Why informed them in that manner? If she had plans to run off with one of the husbands, why not simply address the soon-to-be-abandoned wife? Was this a case of a bitchy woman playing mind games with the three women? The matter of addressing one letter to three wives just seemed vague and unnecessary to me.

I cannot deny that I found "A LETTER TO THREE WIVES" ambiguous, emotionally complicated and mature. I especially enjoyed the cast's performances and the story arc surrounding Lora Mae and Porter Hollingsway's marriage. I thought Joseph L. Mankiewicz did a first-rate job as the film's screenwriter and director. But I do not think I would ever regard this film as a favorite of mine. Was it the vague manner in how one of the arcs ended? Or the idea of a woman sending one letter to three women, taunting them with her plans to run away with one of the husbands? Perhaps. Perhaps not. I liked "A LETTER TO THREE WIVES". I had even enjoyed it to a certain extent. But I do not think I would ever love this film.

"A LETTER TO THREE WIVES" (1949) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from "A LETTER TO THREE WIVES", the 1949 adaptation of "A Letter to Five Wives", John Klempner's 1945 novel. Adapted and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the movie starred Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell and Ann Sothern:

"A LETTER TO THREE WIVES" (1949) Photo Gallery

"ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO" (1940) Review

"ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO" (1940) Review

Whenever one conjured the image of Warner Brothers Studio during the 1930s and 40s, hard-hitting crime dramas or social commentaries come to mind. I would certainly not view melodramas - costumed or otherwise - as part of the studio's usual repertoire. Then in 1933, Hal Wallis became the studio's new production chief and eventually allowed the studio to release more films with a wider variety. And when Bette Davis became "Queen of the Lot" in the mid-to-late 1930s, the release of melodramas by Warner Brothers became more common. 

One of the melodramas associated with Davis was "ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO", the 1940 movie adaptation of Rachel Fields' 1938 novel. Set in France and northeastern United States during the mid-to-late 1840s, the movie told the story of a newly hired French schoolteacher at an American school, who finds herself reliving her past experiences with a French aristocratic family to her new students gossiping over the scandal that had followed her across the Atlantic. The movie begins in 1848 United States. Mademoiselle Henriette Deluzy-Desportes has been hired as the new French instructor at a girls' school. To her dismay, she discovers that her new students are aware of the scandal that drove her out of France. Instead of resigning from the school, she decides to tell her students about her experiences with the family of the Duc de Praslin and Duchesse de Praslin. 

The movie jumps back to 1846, during the last years of the Orleans monarchy, when Henriette arrives in France, following a five-year stint as a governess for an English family. After an interview with the Duc and Duchesse, Henriette is hired to act as governess for their three daughters and son. Although Henriette endears herself to the Duc and his four children, the Duchesse seemed to resent her presence. Due to an erratic temperament and an all compassing love for her husband, the Duchesse begins to suspect that Henriette is not only stealing the love of her children, but more importantly her husband. Despite her happy relationship with the de Praslin children, Henriette is forced to deal with the Duchesse' increasingly hostile behavior, a growing awareness of the Duc's feelings for her . . . and her own feelings for him. The tensions within the family culminates in the Duchesse's brutal death, which leads to a great deal of legal problems for Henriette.

"ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO" proved to be a successful film, but not quite a major box office hit. I read somewhere that some at the Warner Brothers Studios blamed the movie's elaborate production designs for overwhelming the other aspects of the movie. I do not know if I could agree with this assessment. Granted, I found some of Carl Jules Weyl's art designs of 1840s France a bit grandiose - especially in scenes featuring the de Praslin household. But considering the high level of melodrama and characterization, I find this opinion a bit hard to accept. I also find it difficult to agree with this slightly negative opinion of the movie's visual style. Personally, I rather enjoyed it. I thought Weyl and his staff did an excellent job in re-creating the movie's period - 1846 to 1848 via production designs, set designs, Warren Low's editing and especially Ernest Haller's Oscar nominated cinematography. I also have to compliment Orry-Kelly's costume designs. The Australian-born designer had also created the costumes for some of Bette Davis' movie, including 1938's "JEZEBEL" and 1939's "JUAREZ". The designer could have easily been sloppy and re-used the costumes from those particular movies. Instead, Orry-Kelly created costumes that more or less accurately reflected the fashions of the mid-to-late 1840s.

While reading another review of "ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO", the writer complained that he/she found it difficult to believe that a forbidden romance between a French aristocrat and his governess led to the outbreak of the Revolution of 1848 and the fall of the July Monarchy in France. Apparently, the reviewer had failed to do any research or read Rachel Field's novel. AFter all, the novel was based upon history, including Field's family background. Henriette Deluzy-Desportes (or what was her real name) was one of Field's ancestors. And from what I have read, the real scandal that surrounded the governess and the duke had a major impact on the 1848 revolution that broke out in France. But was the movie's historical background completely accurate? I honestly do not know. I would have to read more on the 1848 Revolution in France and the life of the Duc de Praslin. If I have one complaint about the movie's handling of this historical background, I do wish that Casey Robinson's screenplay could have provided more hints about the upcoming political upheaval.

Overall, I really enjoyed "ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO". It is rare to come across a first-rate costume melodrama that can keep me enthralled during its entire running time. And this movie managed to achieve this, thanks to not only Robinson's screenplay, but also Anatole Litvak's steady direction. This was especially apparent in the first two-thirds of the movie that chronicled Henriette's troubles with her American students, her arrival in France and her working and personal relationships with the de Praslin family. The movie's best segment centered around the months she spent in the de Praslin family's employment. Once, Henriette is dismissed by the Duchesse de Praslin for imagined slights, the movie struggled to maintain its momentum. This last third of the film centered on Henriette's attempts to retrieve a reference from the Duchesse, the latter's violent death, the legal wranglings that surrounded the murder and the finale in the United States. And yet . . . this last third of the film dragged so much - especially the period in which Henriette was in prison - that it threatened to overshadow my enjoyment of the film. 

Aside from one particular performance, I have no problems with the movie's cast. Bette Davis gave an engrossing and subtle performance as the movie's lead character, Henriette Deluzy-Desportes. I will admit there were times I found the character a bit ideal for my liking - especially in the scenes featuring the governess and her charges. But the scenes featuring the growing love between Henriette and the Duc de Praslin and her conflicts with the Duchesse allowed Davis to superbly portray the governess more as a human being and less as a figure of feminine ideal. Charles Boyer was superb as the Duc de Praslin, a practical and loving man who found himself trapped in a marriage with a woman he no longer love. I feel it is to his credit that he could make the audience feel sympathetic toward a man who not only harbored adulterous feelings for another woman, but also murdered his wife. 

The movie also featured fine performances from a supporting cast that included Jeffrey Lynn as Henriette's future husband, the Reverend Henry Field; Harry Davenport as the de Praslin groundskeeper Pierre; Montagu Love as the Duc de Praslin's father-in-law, Marshal Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de la Porta; and Henry Daniell as Monsieur Broussais, the man charged with investigating the Duchesse's murder. "ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO" also benefited from excellent performances from the child actors who portrayed Henriette's charges. I was especially impressed by June Lockhart and Virginia Weidler, who portrayed the Duc and Duchesse's two older offsprings. The only performance I had trouble with Barbara O'Neil's portrayal of Frances, the Duchesse du Praslin. I realize the latter was supposed to be an emotional and possessive woman, whose selfishness left her family out in the cold. O'Neil was fine in those scenes in which she conveyed the Duchesse's coldness and attempts at indifference toward Henriette. Otherwise, her shrill rants and emotional outbursts struck me as hammy. I am surprised that O'Neil was the only cast member to earn an Academy Award nomination for acting.

I cannot say that I agree with the old criticism of the production designs for "ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO". I believe the movie does suffer from some flaws that include occasional hammy acting from Barbara O'Neil and the slow pacing that nearly bogged down the third act. But Anatole Litvak's direction, along with a first-rate screenplay by Casey Robinson, excellent production designs, and superb performances from a cast led by Bette Davis and Charles Boyer have led me to regard "ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO" as an excellent example of a Hollywood costume melodrama at its best.

"ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO" (1940) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO", the 1940 adaptation of Rachel Field's 1938 novel. Directed by Anatole Litvak, the movie starred Bette Davis and Charles Boyer: 


"ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO" (1940) Photo Gallery