A Letter to Three Wives is a 1949 American romantic drama that tells the story of a woman who sends a letter to three women, saying she has left town with one of their husbands without revealing which one. It stars Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Paul Douglas (in his film debut), Kirk Douglas, and Jeffrey Lynn. Thelma Ritter as "Sadie" and Celeste Holm (the voice of "Addie Ross", the unseen woman who wrote the letter) have key supporting roles.
The film was adapted by Vera Caspary and written for the screen by Joseph L. Mankiewicz from A Letter to Five Wives, a story by John Klempner that appeared in Cosmopolitan, based on a 1945 novel by Klempner.[2][3] It was directed by Mankiewicz, who directed All About Eve the following year.
Friends Deborah Bishop, Rita Phipps, and Lora Mae Hollingsway are just about to take a group of children on a riverboat outing when they receive a message from Addie Ross informing them that she has run off with one of their husbands, but leaves them in suspense as to which one. In flashbacks, each woman considers reasons why it might be her husband.
The first flashback involves Deborah, who grew up on a farm. Her first experience with the outside world came when she joined the Navy WAVES during World War II, where she met her future husband, upper-crusty Brad. When they return to civilian life, Deborah is ill at ease in Brad's social circle. Adding to her insecurity, she learns that everyone expected Brad to marry Addie, whom all three husbands seem to fawn over.
Deborah is comforted by Brad's friend Rita, who writes stories for radio soap operas. Her husband, George, is an English teacher. While Rita wishes George were more ambitious, he is disappointed that his wife caters to her boss, Mrs. Manleigh. Rita is so intent on pleasing Mrs. Manleigh that she forgets her husband's birthday and invites the Manleighs for dinner. George forgives Rita's mistake but, to George's delight, a birthday gift of a rare Brahms recording arrives from Addie.
Lora Mae grew up in poverty. She pursues Porter, the older, divorced, owner of a statewide chain of department stores where she works. Matters come to a head when Lora Mae sees a picture of Addie on the piano in Porter's mansion. She tells him she wants her picture on a piano: her own piano in her own home. He tells her he isn't interested in marriage and she breaks things off. However, he proposes to Lora Mae and skips a party at Addie's house.
Back in real time, the women return from the outing. Rita is overjoyed to find George at home after attending a play rehearsal. They work things out and she vows not to let herself be pushed around by Mrs. Manleigh.
Porter is late coming home, causing Lora Mae to think he has gone off with Addie. When he shows up and hears his wife's suspicions, he accuses her of being happy at the thought of getting grounds to divorce him and a big chunk of his fortune.
A domestic worker gives Deborah the message that Brad will not be coming home that night. Heartbroken at her perceived loss, she goes alone to the country club dance with the two other couples.
When Porter complains about Lorna Mae dancing with another man, Deborah tells him he has no idea how much she really loves him; still, Porter is certain Lora Mae only sees him as a "cash register." Unable to take the strain anymore, Deborah gets up to leave, announcing that Brad has run off with Addie. Porter stops her, confessing it was he who started to run away with Addie, but had changed his mind. As Deborah leaves to find her late-working husband, Porter tells Lora Mae that admitting his intended abandonment in front of witnesses is enough for her to divorce him and get everything she wants. To his shock, she parries it off by saying she did not hear a word he said. Finally convinced of her love, Porter is overjoyed, and asks her to dance.
The voice of the still unseen Addie Ross then bids all a rueful good night.
Seven months after it was first published in a magazine,[4] film rights to John Klempner's A Letter to Five Wives were acquired by 20th Century-Fox in February 1946.[5]Melville Baker and Dorothy Bennett wrote the first treatments of the script. Even though he was not credited for the final film, it was Baker who had the idea for the character Addie only to be heard, never seen.[4] In October 1946, F. Hugh Herbert was assigned to write the screen adaptation.[6] His final participation was not confirmed.[4] In the same month, it was announced that Samuel G. Engel took over as producer from Joseph L. Mankiewicz.[4] Even before a script was finished, Gene Tierney, Linda Darnell, Maureen O'Hara, Dorothy McGuire, and Alice Faye were cast in the proposed A Letter to Five Wives in November 1946.[7]
In spite of this, the project was shelved until Mankiewicz returned a year and a half later, working on drafts of the script between March and late April 1948.[4] Around this time, Sol C. Siegel was assigned to replace Engel as the film's producer.[4]Vera Caspary adapted the story to A Letter to Four Wives, and more new cast names appeared, including Anne Baxter and Tyrone Power,[4] Baxter's a day after Jeanne Crain had signed on following months of rumors.[8] By May 1948, Baxter, Crain, Darnell, and Sothern were set to play the title roles, and Macdonald Carey campaigned for a secondary role.[9][4] Then studio head Darryl F. Zanuck and Mankiewicz eventually decided in mid-1948 to reduce the number of marriages to three.[4][10]: 84 By June 1948, it was on the top of 20th Century-Fox' list of films to be produced over the following ten months.[11] Along the way, Joan Crawford and Ida Lupino were considered for the role of Addie,[12] which ultimately became voice-only and went to Celeste Holm.[4]
Klempner's novel was 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 Zanuck felt about shortening the movie. "Take out one of the wives", Zanuck replied. Originally, the movie would have featured Anne Baxter as Martha. Zanuck did not feel Baxter's segment was as strong as the other three, so it was cut.
All the 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 former 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 as per the prevailing social mores and film censorship code), and the identity of the errant husband is different although not his rationale.
Reception
Variety's December 31, 1947, review praised the film, especially its "unique story" being given "a nifty screenplay". All principal actors were saluted, with Paul Douglas singled out for his "blustery" character.[13]
In 1985, John J. O'Connor, longtime critic for The New York Times, described it as a "minor classic" and "a witty vehicle for looking at the institution of marriage in postwar America."[12]
In 2012, Michał Oleszczyk called it "a terrific triplicate of a melodrama."[15]
In 2019, Dennis Schwartz gave the movie a B+, describing it as "a sophisticated and witty slice of life drama, that has clever framing devices and is most entertaining."[16]
^Stern, Sydney Ladensohn (2019). The Brothers Mankiewicz: Hope, Heartbreak, and Hollywood Classics. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN978-1617032677.
^Lower, Cheryl Bray; Palmer, R. Barton (2001). Joseph L. Mankiewicz: critical essays with an annotated bibliography and a filmography. McFarland & Company.
