A Letter to Three Wives [1949] Joseph L Mankiewicz

http://bayimg.com/DAjBjAADk

A Letter to Three Wives (1949)


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

English language with hard Spanish subtitles

A Letter to Three Wives is a 1949 film which tells the story of a woman who mails a letter to three women, telling them she has left town with the husband of one of them. It stars Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas (in his first film role), Jeffrey Lynn, and Thelma Ritter. An uncredited Celeste Holm provides the voice of Addie Ross, the unseen woman who wrote the eponymous letter.

The movie was adapted by Vera Caspary and Joseph L. Mankiewicz from the novel Letter to Five Wives by John Klempner. It was directed by Mankiewicz, who went on to direct All About Eve the following year.

It won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay and was nominated for Best Picture.

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

The 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. When 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 Martha, the fourth wife. Zanuck didn't feel Baxter's segment was as strong as the other three, so that one was cut. The fifth wife, Geraldine, was omitted from the outset.

All major characters differ substantially between the novel and film, and the nature of the problems with their marriages also. In the novel, Lora May (not Lora Mae) is less a gold digger than a woman who has always been dominated by her wealthy husband; Rita is trying to succeed in a second marriage with a man she has never felt passionate about; and Deborah is a plain and quiet ex-spinster whose "catch" of a husband has been disappointed in her lack of success in society. As for the other two wives, Martha and her husband locked horns over child-rearing issues, while Geraldine was devoting excessive time and money to her singing career with few results.

The novel also gives no indication that any of the couples will work through their problems (the film, ambiguities notwithstanding, has a decidedly happy ending), and the identity of the errant husband is different (though not his rationale).

The rights of John Klempner's Letter to Five Wives was acquired by 20th Century Fox in February 1946, seven months after it was first published in a magazine. Melville Baker and Dorothy Bennett wrote the first treatments of the script. Even though he was not credited for the final film, Baker was responsible for coming up with the idea that the character Addie was only to be heard, and not seen. In October 1946, F. Hugh Herbert was assigned to write the screen adaptation. His final participation was not confirmed. In the same month, it was announced that Samuel G. Engel took over production from Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Even before a script was finished, Gene Tierney, Linda Darnell, Maureen O'Hara, Dorothy McGuire and Alice Faye were cast in A Letter to Five Wives in November 1946.

For a while, the project was shelved, until Mankiewicz started working on the first drafts of the script between March and late April 1948. Around this time, Sol C. Siegel was assigned to replace Engel as the film's producer. Vera Caspary adapted the story to A Letter to Four Wives, and Mankiewicz eventually decided in mid-1948 to focus on only three marriages, thus retitling it to A Letter to Three Wives.: In June 1948, it was on the top of 20th Century Fox list of films to be produced over the following ten months. In addition to the actresses already named as cast members, Anne Baxter, Tyrone Power were also at one point cast. Furthermore, Joan Crawford and Ida Lupino were considered for the (eventually offscreen) role of Addie.

When Baxter was cast, in April 1948, the film was still known under its working title A Letter to Four Wives. She was cast a day after Jeanne Crain, who signed on for the role after months of rumors of her participation. By May 1948, Baxter, Crain, Darnell en Ann Sothern were the four actresses to portray the title roles, and Macdonald Carey campaigned for a secondary role.