A Letter to Three Wives (1949) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe)

A Letter to Three Wives (1949)



Lora May Hollingsway, who grew up next to the wrong side of the tracks, married her boss who thinks she is just a gold digger. Rita Phipps makes as much money writing radio scripts at night as her school teacher husband does. Deborah Bishop looked great in a Navy uniform in WWII but fears she'll never be dressed just right for the Country Club set. These three wives are boarding a boat filled with children going on a picnic when a messenger on a bicycle hands them a letter addressed to all three from Addie who has just left town with one of their husbands. They won't know which one until that night.



Jeanne Crain ... Deborah Bishop

Linda Darnell ... Lora Mae Hollingsway

Ann Sothern ... Rita Phipps

Kirk Douglas ... George Phipps

Paul Douglas ... Porter Hollingsway

Barbara Lawrence ... Georgiana 'Babe' Finney

Jeffrey Lynn ... Bradford 'Brad' Bishop

Connie Gilchrist ... Mrs. Ruby Finney

Florence Bates ... Mrs. Manleigh

Hobart Cavanaugh ... Mr. Manleigh



Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz



Runtime: 103 mins



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041587/
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Codecs:



Video : 636 MB, 863 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 576*416 (4:3), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,

Audio : 60 MB, 82 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 1 channels, 0x55 = MPEG Layer-3, CBR,



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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.



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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.



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In `A Letter to Three Wives,' Deborah Bishop, Lora Mae Hollingsway, and Rita Phipps are chaperoning underprivileged children on a day trip picnic. As they board the riverboat that will ferry them up-river to the picnic grounds, they are stopped by a messenger who delivers a letter from their dear, close friend, Addie Ross. Addie, who was supposed to accompany them on the day trip, quite unexpectedly, left town that very morning. After debating whether or not they should open the letter, with a bit of trepidation, they do. And so begins the story of three wives, three husbands, one letter, and Mrs. Addie Ross.



Addie Ross wrote in the letter to her dear, close friends Deborah, Lora Mae, and Rita, that she was so sorry to be leaving town, permanently. And, that by the way, she took one of their husbands with her.



Which husband has run off with Addie Ross? That question is the driving force of this drama, with just a bit of comedy to hone its edges. This movie is compelling, there are no gaps; from start to finish you're hooked. Be there no doubt, you'll be kept guessing until the end. All is not always what it seems.



`A Letter to Three Wives,' is a story nicely staged by a series of three flashbacks, each chronicling meaningful events in the lives and marriages of the three wives.



Jeanne Crain does well playing Deborah, the young, sometimes self-doubting and suspicious wife of the well-to-do Brad Bishop, played by Jeffrey Lynn. As we soon learn, Brad is a lifelong, close friend of the alluring Addie Ross.



The story is further fashioned by the immense talents of Kirk Douglas and Ann Sothern, who portray George and Rita Phipps. George is a devoted school teacher, and Rita is a social climbing script writer of radio plays. Both George and Rita are old, close friends of Addie Ross. However, Rita thinks George is just a little to close. Expect a stellar performance from Ann Sothern, because that's exactly what you're going to get.



This story's most interesting characters are portrayed by Paul Douglas, and the beautiful Linda Darnell. These talented actors play Porter and Lora Mae Hollingsway. They're a couple who tolerate a marriage of convince, he for her beauty, and she for his money. Lora Mae knows that Porter has helped Addie Ross with financial matters in the past, and perhaps other things in the present.



This movie has an excellent supporting cast in Thelma Ritter, and Connie Gilchrist. Look for them to relieve the natural tension of this story. Also contributing are Hobart Cavanaugh and Florence Bates, as Mr. and Mrs. Manleigh. Keep your ear tuned and listen for Celeste Home, as she is the voice of Addie Ross.



`A Letter to Three Wives,' is a festival of love, hate, jealousy, and suspicion. It's propelled by the energy of a very high caliber cast, and the directorial influence of Joseph L. Mankiewiez.



It should be noted that `A Letter to Three Wives,' brought Mankiewiez, two Academy Awards in 1949. Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay.



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* To get the proper look of derision from Linda Darnell in the scene where she stares at a photo of Addie, director Joseph L. Mankiewicz used a picture of Otto Preminger, the director who had given Darnell such a hard time on the set of Forever Amber (1947).



* This film was based on John Klempner's novel, "A Letter to Five Wives." Two wives were lost in the transition to the screen.



* At one point the film was called "A Letter to Four Wives". Upon submitting the adapted screenplay to 20th Century-Fox chief Darryl F. Zanuck, Joseph L. Mankiewicz mentioned that he found it too long and asked how he felt the movie could be shortened. "Take out one of the wives," Zanuck replied. Originally, the movie would have featured Anne Baxter as the fourth wife. Zanuck didn't feel Baxter's segment was as strong as the other three, so that one was cut.



* Anne Baxter's character in the film was to be named Martha.



* General Douglas MacArthur was so confused by the ending that he had his aide write Joseph L. Mankiewicz a letter asking with whom Addie had, in fact, run off.



* The identity of the actress ('Celeste Holm (I)' ) who did the voice-over for Addie Ross was kept secret when the film was released. The studio held a number of "Who is Addie?" contests around the country where moviegoers could guess the actress' name.



* Joseph L. Mankiewicz had a real battle with the American censors at the time who would not permit him to use words like "laxative" and "toilet" in his script. He got his revenge with a famous double-entendre laden exchange which used words like "penetration" and "saturation".



* This was leading stage actor Paul Douglas' motion picture debut.