Editing A Letter to Three Wives

{{short description|1949 film by Joseph L. Mankiewicz}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = A Letter to Three Wives
| image          = A letter to three wives movie poster.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]
| producer       = [[Sol C. Siegel]]
| screenplay     = Joseph L. Mankiewicz<br>{{Infobox|decat=yes|child=yes|label1=Adaptation|data1={{Ubl|[[Vera Caspary]]}}}}
| based_on       = {{based on|''A Letter to Five Wives''<br>1945 novel in ''[[Hearst's International Cosmopolitan]]''|John Klempner}}
| starring       = [[Jeanne Crain]]<br/>[[Linda Darnell]]<br/>[[Ann Sothern]]<br/>[[Kirk Douglas]]<br/>[[Paul Douglas (actor)|Paul Douglas]]<br/>[[Jeffrey Lynn]]
| music          = [[Alfred Newman (composer)|Alfred Newman]]
| cinematography = [[Arthur C. Miller]]
| editing        = [[J. Watson Webb Jr.]]
| studio         = 20th Century Fox
| distributor    = [[20th Century Fox]]
| released       = {{Film date|1949|01|20|New York City|ref1=<ref name="nytreview"/>|1949|02|03|U.S.}}
| runtime        = 103 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = 
| gross          = $2,750,000<ref name="top">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety177-1950-01#page/n58/mode/1up|title=Top Grossers of 1949|magazine=Variety|date=4 January 1950|page=59}}</ref>
}}

'''''A Letter to Three Wives''''' is a 1949 American [[Romance film#Romantic drama|romantic drama]] directed by [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]] and starring [[Jeanne Crain]], [[Linda Darnell]] and [[Ann Sothern]]. The film was adapted by [[Vera Caspary]] and written for the screen by Mankiewicz from ''A Letter to Five Wives'', a story by John Klempner that appeared in [[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|''Cosmopolitan'']], based on Klempner's 1945 novel.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stern|first=Sydney Ladensohn|title=The Brothers Mankiewicz: Hope, Heartbreak, and Hollywood Classics|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|year=2019|isbn=978-1617032677|location=Jackson|pages=}}</ref><ref>''Picturegoer'', 4 June 1949, p.16</ref>

The film won [[Academy Awards]] for [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] and [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]], and it was nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]].

==Plot==
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 taken one of their husbands as a lover. However, Addie does not specify which woman's husband is involved in the affair. In flashbacks, each woman considers reasons why it might be her husband.

The first flashback involves Deborah, who was raised 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 Brad. When they return to civilian life, Deborah does not feel welcome in Brad's sophisticated social circle. Adding to her insecurity, she learns that everyone expected Brad to marry Addie, a woman on whom all three husbands lavish their attention.

Deborah is comforted by Brad's friend Rita, who writes stories for radio [[soap opera]]s. Her husband George is an English teacher. While Rita wishes that George would be 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 [[Johannes Brahms|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 that she wants her picture on a piano and his home to become hers. He tells her that he is not interested in marriage, and she ends the relationship. 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 reconcile and she vows to not allow herself to be at Mrs. Manleigh's mercy any longer.

Porter is late coming home, causing Lora Mae to think he has left with Addie. When he appears and hears his wife's suspicions, he accuses her of being happy at the thought of establishing grounds to divorce him and reap a big chunk of his fortune.

A domestic worker tells Deborah that Brad will not be coming home that night. Heartbroken at her perceived loss, she visits the country club dance unaccompanied along with the two other couples.

When Porter complains about Lora Mae dancing with another man, Deborah tells him that he has no idea how much she really loves him; still, Porter is certain that Lora Mae only sees him as a money source. Unable to take the strain any longer, Deborah decides to leave, announcing that Brad has left with Addie. Porter stops her, confessing it was he who planned to flee with Addie, but had changed his mind. As Deborah happily 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 claim everything she wants. To his shock, she declares that she did not hear a word he said. Finally convinced of her love, Porter is overjoyed and asks her to dance.

The melancholy voice of the still unseen Addie Ross then bids the audience a good night.

==Cast==
* [[Jeanne Crain]] as Deborah Bishop 
* [[Jeffrey Lynn]] as Bradbury "Brad" Bishop
* [[Linda Darnell]] as Lora Mae Hollingsway 
* [[Paul Douglas (actor)|Paul Douglas]] as Porter Hollingsway
* [[Ann Sothern]] as Rita Phipps
* [[Kirk Douglas]] as George Phipps
* [[Barbara Lawrence]] as Georgiana "Babe" Finney, Lora Mae's sister
* [[Connie Gilchrist]] as Mrs. Ruby Finney
* [[Florence Bates]] as Mrs. Manleigh
* [[Hobart Cavanaugh]] as Mr. Manleigh
* [[Thelma Ritter]] as Sadie Dubin (uncredited)
* [[Celeste Holm]] as Addie Ross (uncredited voice)

==Production==

=== Script ===
Seven months after it was first published in a magazine,<ref name="notes">{{cite web |title=Notes for A Letter to Three Wives (1949) |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/81295/a-letter-to-three-wives#notes|access-date=2024-08-20 |work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]}}</ref> film rights to John Klempner's ''A Letter to Five Wives'' were acquired by [[20th Century-Fox]] in February 1946.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hutchens |first=John K. |date=1946-02-24 |title=People Who Read and Write |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0910F7385D107A93C6AB1789D85F428485F9 |access-date= |work=[[The New York Times Book Review]] |page=22}}</ref> [[Melville Baker]] and Dorothy Bennett wrote the first [[Film treatment|treatments]] of the script. Although he was not credited for the final film, Baker offered the idea for the character of Addie to be heard but not seen.<ref name="notes" /> In October 1946, [[F. Hugh Herbert]] was assigned to write the screen adaptation.<ref>{{cite news |date=1946-10-29 |title=Paramount Names Lake, Ladd to Film |url= |access-date= |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=33}}</ref> His final participation was not confirmed.<ref name="notes" />

The project was shelved until Mankiewicz returned to work on drafts of the script between March and late April 1948.<ref name="notes" /> Studio head [[Darryl F. Zanuck]] and Mankiewicz decided in mid-1948 to reduce the number of marriages to three, and [[Vera Caspary]] adapted the story to ''A Letter to Four Wives''.<ref name="notes" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lower |first1=Cheryl Bray |title=Joseph L. Mankiewicz: critical essays with an annotated bibliography and a filmography |last2=Palmer |first2=R. Barton |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2001}}</ref>{{rp|84}} By June 1948, the project was listed at the top of 20th Century-Fox's films to be produced over the following ten months.<ref>"Hollywood Highlights", ''[[Oakland Tribune]]'', June 14, 1948, p. 21</ref>

==== Casting ====
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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Parsons |first=Louella O. |date=1946-10-26 |title=Engel Wants 5 Stars For His Coming Film |work=[[Deseret News]] |location=[[Salt Lake City, Utah]] |page=10}}</ref> To reduce expenses, the studio removed Tierney's role.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Clary |first=Patricia |date=1948-09-09 |title=Odd Methods Used to Cut Movie Costs |work=[[Hollywood Citizen-News]] |page=19}}</ref> By May 1948, [[Anne Baxter]], Crain, Darnell and Sothern were set to play the title roles, and [[Macdonald Carey]] campaigned for a secondary role.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Bob |date=1948-05-04 |title='Babe Ruth' Release Scheduled in August |work=[[Corpus Christi Caller-Times]] |page=8}}</ref><ref name="notes" /> Baxter's part was eliminated when Mankiewicz and studio head [[Darryl F. Zanuck]] reduced the number of wives to three.<ref name=":1" /> [[Joan Crawford]], [[Ida Lupino]] and [[Tallulah Bankhead]] all desired to play the unbilled voice role of Addie that was awarded to [[Celeste Holm]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1949-01-16 |title=An Invisible Star Writes 'A Letter to Three Wives' |work=[[Brooklyn Eagle]] |page=32}}</ref>

In October 1946, it was announced that [[Samuel G. Engel]] had assumed producer duties,<ref name="notes" /> but [[Sol C. Siegel]] replaced Engel in 1948.<ref name="notes" />

=== Filming ===
Production began in early June 1948.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Production Schedule |work=[[Hollywood Citizen-News]] |page=17}}</ref>

The scenes on the riverboat were filmed on the [[Hudson River]] in [[Cold Spring, New York]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Sheaffer |first=Lew |date=1948-06-02 |title=Screen |work=[[Brooklyn Eagle]] |page=10}}</ref> and the children were underprivileged students from the Paulist School in New York's [[Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan|Hell's Kitchen]] neighborhood who were each paid $15 per day.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Berg |first=Louis |date=1948-10-24 |title=3 Girls on a Boat |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=10, ''This Week'' section}}</ref> Other area filming locations included [[Mahopac, New York|Lake Mahopac]], [[Stamford, Connecticut]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=1948-05-30 |title=Coming Here For Shooting |work=[[New York Daily News]] |page=B8}}</ref> and [[Hook Mountain State Park]].<ref name=":0" />

Darnell and Sothern were reported to have feuded on set.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kilgallen |first=Dorothy |date=1948-06-26 |title=The Voice of Broadway |work=[[Washington Times-Herald]] |location= |page=29}}</ref>

==Differences between novel and film==
{{original research|section|date=February 2024}}
John Klempner's novel was titled ''A Letter to Five Wives'', but two wives were dropped in the transition to the screen.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schallert |first=Edwin |date=1948-06-21 |title=Paul Henreid Likely Star in Monarch Role |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=17}}</ref> Joseph L. Mankiewicz intended for the fourth wife to be the granddaughter of the state's governor but said "we never got around to her."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Scheuer |first=Philip K. |date=1949-02-13 |title=Mankiewicz Sees New Film Targets After Dissecting Home and Marriage |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |pages=1, 3 (Part IV)}}</ref>

All of the major characters differ substantially between the novel and film, as do the nature of the problems with their marriages. In the novel, Lora May is not a gold-digger but a woman who has always been dominated by her wealthy husband; Rita is trying to succeed in a second marriage with a man about whom she has never felt passionate; and Deborah is a former [[spinster]] whose husband is disappointed by her lack of success in society. The two wives who do not appear in the film are Martha, who argues with her husband about child-rearing issues, and Geraldine, who devotes herself to her singing career with meager results.

The novel also provides no indication that any of the couples will work through their problems, and the identity of the unfaithful husband is different from that within the film, although his rationale is the same.

== Release ==
''A Letter to Three Wives'' was made available for preview by critics in December 1948,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fidler |first=Jimmie |date=1948-12-13 |title=Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood |work=[[Montgomery Advertiser]] |page=11}}</ref> including the [[National Legion of Decency]], which classified the film as A-III (for adults only).<ref>{{Cite news |title=Legion Of Decency |work=[[The Southwest Courier]] |page=4}}</ref>

The film premiered at [[Radio City Music Hall]] in New York on January 20, 1949.<ref name="nytreview" />

==Reception==
In a contemporary review for ''The New York Times'', critic [[Bosley Crowther]] wrote:<blockquote>[I]n the reflections of these ladies, Mr. Mankiewicz cleverly evolves an interesting cross-sectioned picture of the small-town younger-married set. And as writer as well as director, he has capably brought forth a film which has humor, {{Sic|scepticism}}, satire and gratifying romance. The fact that so many paces are put on display in this film forewarns that a certain unevenness is likely to occur. And it must be admitted frankly that the whole thing is not in perfect time. The earlier phases are draggy and just a bit obvious. ... But the final romantic remembrance—that of the hard-boiled wife—is a taut and explosive piece of satire, as funny and as poignant as it is shrewd. ... It wouldn't be fair to tell you whose husband it is that runs away. But the outcome is thoroughly satisfactory—and so is the film—by us.<ref name="nytreview">{{cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |date=1949-01-21 |title=The Screen in Review: 'A Letter to Three Wives' Opens at Music Hall—'Man From Colorado' at Capitol |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=24}}</ref></blockquote>In the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', reviewer Mae Tinee wrote: "Here's a picture that actually deserves some of the adjectives so often lavished on Hollywood products. It's smart, cute and funny—well- rounded entertainment of a sort that's all too rare these days. ... The conclusion is a clever mixture of humor and pathos—and the film so expert that you hate to see it end."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tinee |first=Mae |date=1949-02-08 |title='Letter to Three Wives' Is Really Clever Comedy |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |page=20}}</ref>

Critic Edwin Schallert of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote: "Its ultimate message is to put trust in your husband, though it never states this with any bald emphasis. ... The picture is likely to score a noteworthy hit especially with the feminine audience."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schallert |first=Edwin |date=1949-02-23 |title='Letter to Three Wives' Rich in Feminine Appeal |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=7, Part II}}</ref>

''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'''s review praised the film, especially its "unique story" being given "a nifty screenplay."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/1947/film/reviews/a-letter-to-three-wives-1200415905/ |author=Variety Staff |title=A Letter to Three Wives |date=December 31, 1947 |magazine=Variety}}</ref>

The February 2020 issue of ''[[New York Magazine]]'' lists ''A Letter to Three Wives'' as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."<ref>{{cite news|title=The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-oscar-best-picture-losers.html|magazine=[[New York Magazine]]|access-date=March 17, 2025}}</ref>

==Adaptations==
In 1985, the film was remade as a television movie of the same name starring [[Loni Anderson]] as Lora Mae, [[Michele Lee]] as Rita, [[Stephanie Zimbalist]] as Debra, [[Charles Frank]] as Brad, [[Michael Gross (actor)|Michael Gross]] as George and [[Ben Gazzara]] as Porter, with [[Ann Sothern]] appearing in a small role.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last=O'Connor |first=John J. |date=December 16, 1985 |title=TV Reviews; 'Letter to Three Wives' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/16/arts/tv-reviews-letter-to-three-wives.html |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="Schwartz">{{cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Dennis |date=5 August 2019 |title=A Letter to Three Wives |url=https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/alettertothreewives/ |website=dennisschwartzreviews.com}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The 21st-season episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' titled "[[Moe Letter Blues]]" parodies the plot of ''A Letter to Three Wives''.<ref name="A.V.">{{cite web |last=VanDerWerff |first=Emily |author-link=Emily VanDerWerff |date=2010-05-10 |title="Moe Letter Blues"/"Brown History Month"/"Quagmire's Dad"/"An Incident at Owl Creek" |url=https://www.avclub.com/moe-letter-blues-brown-history-month-quagmires-dad-1798165037 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113180435/https://www.avclub.com/moe-letter-blues-brown-history-month-quagmires-dad-1798165037 |archive-date=January 13, 2022 |access-date=2022-01-13 |website=[[The A.V. Club]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=81295}}
* {{IMDb title|0041587}}
* {{AFI film|id=25619|title=A Letter to Three Wives}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|letter_to_three_wives|A Letter to Three Wives}}
* [https://archive.org/download/Lux_Fills_and_Upgrades/Lux-500220-54m29s-691-LettertoThreeWives-LDarnellPaulDouglas.mp3 ''A Letter to Three Wives''] on [[Lux Radio Theater]]: February 20, 1950

{{Joseph L. Mankiewicz}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Letter To Three Wives, A}}
[[Category:1949 films]]
[[Category:1949 romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American romantic drama films]]
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Alfred Newman]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]
[[Category:Films shot in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]
[[Category:Films produced by Sol C. Siegel]]
[[Category:1940s American films]]
[[Category:Three girls movie]]
[[Category:English-language romantic comedy films]]