THE LETTER (1940)

  With an acting career that nearly spanned six decades, It would be nearly impossible to pinpoint Bette Davis's finest hour. There are so many marvelous performances to choose from. But one does stand out among the rest, the role of adulteress Leslie Crosbie from THE LETTER, in which Davis was nominated for Best Actress for the role, but did not win. Davis proclaimed the opening sequence of THE LETTER  to be finest she has ever seen and called the film, a magnificent picture.

Our story begins literally with a BANG,  actually several of them being dislodged into a man who has staggered out from the house, onto the porch and then falling down the stairs. Behind him, is Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis), wife of the rubber plantation administrator. who had followed out to finish him off. There is nothing worse than a WOMAN'S SCORN. If she couldn't have him no other woman would either. She emptied the chamber firing shots into the lifeless body that lie on the ground. Leslie possessed an icy cold look upon her face as she glared down at her LOVER looming over him holding the SMOKING GUN.

Leslie convinces her DEVOTED husband, Robert Crosbie (Hebert Marshall) and everyone else that it was SELF-DEFENSE. The deceased was Geoff Hammond, a friend and well-respected member of the community. Leslie 's moral compass has eclipsed to a darker realm from an ADULTERESS to a MURDDERESS in self- preservation mode.

Leslie effortlessly fabricates a story to clear her name, including every detail about why Hammond was there visiting and that he made several advances toward her, which at first she shrugged off, because Hammond had been drinking and that he was a close friend of hers and her husband for years. But then things took a turn when he grabbed and tried to carry her upstairs. Then Hammond stumbled onto the floor, she got away to get the GUN. He continued to come at her, which left her no choice, but to SHOOT him to SAVE HER HONOR.

Even though Leslie had been ARRESTED for MURDER, everyone was assured that she would be ACQUITTED on the murder charge for SELF-DEFENSE. But then some evidence has come up to shed new light on the murder trial that could damage Leslie's case. It was a  copy of THE LETTER that was written by Leslie to the deceased Hammond pleading him to come to see her, that her husband was away and she would be alone that evening, and threaten him if he did not come.

Howard Joyce (James Stephenson), Leslie's Lawyer is told by his clerk, Ong Chi Seng ( Victor Sen Young)  that the ORIGINAL COPY of the handwritten LETTER by Leslie Crosbie is in possession of Hammond's Eurasian wife ( Gale Sondergaard). Mrs. Hammond blackmails Leslie for the cost of ten thousand dollars for THE LETTER. However, there is a catch, Leslie has to come in person to receive the letter from Mrs. Hammnond.

Soon after Howard Joyce reveals to his client, the damning evidence, Leslie confesses that she had penned THE LETTER for sale. Surprisingly, THE LETTER is going to cost Leslie's husband entire life's savings.

Shrouded in a lace shawl, Leslie has come to meet the demands of Mrs. Hammond delivering ten thousand dollars personally for THE LETTER. As soon as Hammond 's exotic widow entered the room, Leslie could feel the HATRED and the CONTEMPT, Mrs. Hammond had for her without muttering one word. Mrs. Hammond goes further by dropping THE LETTER at her feet, degrading Leslie to have to pick it up. Even though Hammond's exotic widow allowed the EVIDENCE to be SUPPRESSED, which ACQUITTED Leslie for her husband's murder, she was not through with the woman who took away the man she loved.

Celebrating Leslie 's acquittal, Robert announces at the party that he plans to buy a rubber plantation in Sumatra with his life savings. Quickly, Robert is ushered into another room, where Leslie and Howard come clean that his life savings were used to suppress THE LETTER. After reading THE LETTER, Robert is ravaged by the knowledge that his deceitful wife had been having an affair with Hammond for years. And it was JEALOUSY that prompt Leslie to MURDER her lover in cold blood, after learning he MARRIED another woman.

 Later that evening, as Leslie's acquittal party is ongoing, Robert clarifies his previous announcement stating that he plans to buy this rubber plantation instead of the one in Sumatra. Leslie could hear her husband 's announcement from the balcony, returning to her bedroom, she discovers a DAGGER. Leslie knew that it was from Hammond's exotic widow giving her the sign to take her own life. 

When Robert returns, he offers to forgive his wife for her transgressions. At first, Leslie agrees to put the past behind and do everything she can to make him happy again. But when Robert kisses Leslie, she recoils confessing "With all my heart, I still love the man I killed."

Robert exit the room a BROKEN man. As Leslie tries to pull herself together, she notices the DAGGER was missing. Leslie suspects that Hammond's exotic widow had planted the DAGGER and now, has taken it away. Wandering out of her patio into the garden, Leslie begins to search for the culprit with the DAGGER. Suddenly, Leslie encounters Hammond's exotic widow bearing the DAGGER. Quickly, Leslie is grabbed from behind by Mrs. Hammond's companion, then he stuffed a cloth in her mouth to silence her scream for help. Fiercely, Mrs. Hammond stabs the woman who murdered her husband, with the DAGGER. Leslie collapses to the ground, while Mrs. Hammond and her companion make their getaway, only to be confronted by the police. However, no one is aware that Leslie 's lifeless body lies in the dark , only to be expose by the moonlight. 

FILM FACTS

James Stephenson who played Howard Joyce died of a heart attack shortly after making THE LETTER (1940) at age 53.  

Hebert Marshall played the lover in the original version of THE LETTER (1929) with Jeanne Eagles.

IMMORTAL DIALOGUE

"WITH ALL MY HEART. I STILL LOVE THE MAN I KILLED !"

THE CAST

Bette Davis (Leslie Crosbie), Hebert Marshall (Robert Crosbie),

James Stephenson (Howard Joyce), Freida Inscecort (Dorothy Joyce), Gail Sondergaard (Mrs. Hammond), Cecil Kellaway (Prescott) Bruce Lester (John Withers)

Victor Sen Young (Ong Chi Seng).

MY BOTTOM LINE IS....

Bette Davis certainly gave an Oscar-Winning performance in THE LETTER (1940) playing Leslie Crosbie, a lonely neglected housewife of a  British rubber plantation manager, who seeks comfort in the arms of another man, only to kill him in a jealous rage. Davis was on fire, with her famous Bette Davis rolled back, dislodging every bullet from her pistol into her lover in the infamous opening scene of THE LETTER (1940). Unfortunately for Davis, she followed in the footsteps of Jeanne Eagles who played Leslie Crosbie in the original version, both were nominated for Best Actress for THE LETTER but did not win.

Gale Sondergaard who played Mrs.Hammond also gives a superb performance as Hammond's wife, barely speaking, she accomplishes this task with facial expressions, her glaring eyes, and her body posture. One can feel the hatred that Sondergaard has for Davis's Character without uttering one word. The infamous scene in which Sondergaard drops the letter, having Davis bow down to her to retrieve it, takes the contempt she has for Davis a bit further. All this is accomplished without any dialogue, rendering the scene priceless.

THE LETTER (1940) is a superb film with its top-notched black and white photography which captures the very essence of this film noir. And of course, the melodramatic acting, which was the style of the era, has Bette Davis at the top of her game delivering a tour-de-force performance of her career.

Bette Davis in a publicity photo for THE LETTER (1940).

Gale Sondergaard in a publicity photo for THE LETTER (1940).