A letter to three women

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Movie
German title A letter to three women
Original title A letter to three wives
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1949
length 101 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz
script Joseph L. Mankiewicz,
Vera Caspary
production Sol C. Siegel
for 20th Century Fox
music Alfred Newman
camera Arthur C. Miller
cut James Watson Webb Junior
occupation

A Letter to Three Women is a 1949 American film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz .

action

The wealthy wives Deborah, Rita and Lora Mae are best friends. They meet one Saturday in May and accompany a school class on a boat trip with a picnic. A country club dance dinner is planned for the evening. Shortly before the ship departs, they receive a letter from Addie Ross, a friend. She left town - together with a husband of the three friends. The three women consider which husband will not wait for his wife when they return home.

Deborah met her husband, Brad, in the Army during World War II, and they both got married in a hurry. Before he was drafted, he was with Addie. Later, as a child from the country, Deborah felt out of place in Brad's circle of friends for a long time. That May day, Brad pretended to have to go to a conference and not know if he could come to the dance in the evening.

As a love story writer for the radio, Rita was always the earner in the house, while her husband George earned little as a teacher . He submitted to her career. When Rita invited a woman who was important to her career to dinner one evening, she even forgot George's birthday. Addie had thought of the birthday and had sent George records with a supposedly hidden declaration of love. George was off that May day, but he didn't go fishing as he usually did, and had put on his best suit.

Lora Mae comes from a poor background and was executed one day by her boss Porter. She immediately made it clear to him that she would only accept advances from a man if he wanted to marry her. She explained his reluctance to say that he would rather marry Addie Ross, whose picture is on his wing. Lora Mae's cool and dismissive demeanor put Porter off for a long time, but when he realized that he could not live without her, he proposed marriage to her. Lora Mae considers Porter left with Addie, but she doesn't seem to care.

The women come home. Rita meets George and is overjoyed. She will no longer let her work disrupt her relationship. Lora Mae only meets her mother at home. She thinks Porter disappeared with Addie, but he appears a short time later. Deborah receives a message that Brad will not be home that evening.

The two couples and Deborah meet again at a dance in the evening. Deborah appeases Porter, who sees himself only as a sponsor for Lora Mae's extravaganzas and believes she never loved him. When Deborah wants to go and tells her friends that her husband has left with Addie, Porter interrupts her: He wanted to leave with Addie, but has returned to Lora Mae. While Deborah now knows that her husband is really "only" at a conference, Lora Mae Porter's confession does not use it to part with him. She claims not to have heard any of his words and thus refutes his image of the greedy wife. They both dance together and finally kiss.

production

A Letter to Three Women is based on the novel A Letter to Five Wives by John Klempner . The film was originally supposed to be called A Letter to Four Wives , with the fourth wife being played by Anne Baxter . Since her scenes were not strong enough and the film should be shortened, her part was completely omitted. Celeste Holm appears as Addie Ross only as a narrator; she is never seen in the film.

A letter to three women was filmed in Cold Spring , New York, and 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles . It was released in cinemas on January 20, 1949, and opened in Germany on June 16, 1950.

A US remake of the film under the title A letter with consequences (Engl. A Letter to Three Wives ) came to television 1985th Screenwriter Vera Caspary developed a variant of the material in which letters were sent to the spouses. The film version of this variant was released in 1950 under the title Three Husbands .

criticism

The lexicon of international films described a letter to three women as "intelligent ..., wise ... comedy".

Cinema saw the film as "an intelligent character study".

Awards

At the Academy Awards in 1950 , the film won the Oscar in the categories of “ Best Director ” and “Best Adapted Screenplay”. In the “ Best Film ” category , he couldn't prevail against The Man Who Wanted to Rule .

The film won a WGA Award for Best Written American Comedy in 1950 , while Joseph L. Mankiewicz received a DGA Award for the film in 1949 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See imdb.com
  2. ↑ Klaus Brühne (Ed.): Lexicon of International Films . Volume 1. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1990, p. 430.
  3. ↑ See cinema.de