Review of The Letter (1940) by John M — 24 Sep 2009
Bette Davis as a femme fatale who gets away with murder. That basically sums it up. Her story gets told and retold: to her husband, her attorney, the jury, etc.; to the point that it's difficult to keep things straight.
In that way THE LETTER is effective in leaving the audience in the dark just as much as the characters are and we become unaware of what exactly happened, until the third act when things spiral out of control.
It was difficult not to enjoy the deceit-filled ride, but I was left fairly lukewarm with the way things wound up. I understand Bette Davis's motivations being left unclear, as that is what the movie pivots on, but all of the other characters seemed to be similarly shady (the murdered man's Chinese wife who protects Davis's reputation by selling evidence, the attorney who puts his career on the line for whatever reason, the assistant who facilitates the destruction of the evidence, etc.
) and it felt more contrived than effective.
This review of The Letter (1940) was written by John M on 24 Sep 2009.
The Letter has generally received very positive reviews.
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