A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

As intriguing as the title sounded to me, this is actually a reduction from the John Klempner story A Letter to Five Wives. I don't blame director Joseph L. Mankiewicz for trimming the number; 103 minutes was long enough. It certainly didn't hurt the prestige, netting Academy Awards for both Best Director and Best Screenplay, tho All the King's Men won Best Picture that year. (I might have nominated it for Best Sound, based on a brief Auto-Tune-like effect I didn't think they could make at the time.)

Deborah (Jeanne Crain), Rita (Ann Sothern), and Lora Mae (Linda Darnell) are heading off on a cruise when they receive the titular letter from their shared "friend," Addie (voiced by Celeste Holm but never clearly shown), boasting that she has run off with one of their husbands without saying who. They want to believe it's a sick joke, but each woman reflects on how easily it could her own. Most of the runtime consists of flashbacks to trouble brewing in their relationships, with Addie in the periphery like an ominous apparition. Only after the cruise can they hope to learn the truth.

When I read a shorter summary of the plot, I thought it sounded improbable enough for a comedy premise. Indeed, The Simpsons has parodied it. But for the most part, it's played seriously. The only parts that come close to humor involve either the schlocky radio soap opera producers (Florence Bates and Hobart Cavanaugh) who employ Rita as a writer or Lora Mae's cheap house rattling as a train passes.

Addie narrates just a bit, primarily at the beginning. It's unusual for someone so villainous to fill that role, especially with no added perspective on why she acts this way toward women who seem to have done her no wrong. If she were standing in front of me while talking smugly of her exploits as a treacherous homewrecker, I think I'd deck her. Perhaps it's merciful that we don't see or hear more from her. (The "Bechdel" tag is a bit of a stretch; when the women talk about Addie, they're indirectly thinking about men.)

Part of the viewers' fun, if that's the word, is in trying to guess the answer ahead of time. Deborah is a country bumpkin, self-consciously gawky in the presence of companions to husband Brad (Jeffrey Lynn), so she wouldn't be surprised if he preferred a smooth operator. Rita has obsessed over her career so much that husband George (Kirk Douglas in his sole Best Picture nod!) feels neglected, annoyed, and maybe inadequate. Lora Mae...well, frankly, her courtship of older millionaire Porter (Paul Douglas, no relation to Kirk) never looked promising to begin with. He's more frequently rude than romantic, and his drinking brings out his sexism. (FWIW, Darnell wanted Mankiewicz to leave his wife for her.)

The ending is actually open to interpretation, to the point that Douglas MacArthur asked Mankiewicz what happened. I like to think it's the most pleasant option, but whatever just transpired, there's no guarantee about the future. For an old Hollywood feature, that's a respectably realistic approach.

I agree with the decision to grant the highest award to AtKM instead, partly because ALtTW has no outstanding acting. It's not one of my favorite Mankiewicz efforts either. But it was a worthy use of my time.