"A Letter to Three Wives" is a Calcified Piece of Dross

 

by Daniel White

Recently, after unfavorably comparing A Letter to Three Wives with another movie, I was urged by a fellow social media film aficionado to revisit the flick. His hope was that my stance might soften with a second viewing. Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, the 1949 comedy-drama is a smart, stylish telling about three suburban housewives, one of whose husbands has run off with a fourth gal pal. It's a witty, at times thoughtfully-crafted piece of work, but also calculating, contained and airless. Nary a false step but rarely any moments of brilliance. I admire A Letter to Three Wives but I don't harbor any great affection for it.

I do harbor enormous affection for the great Ann Sothern. Of the six main players, only she breathes some much-needed life into this stagey, nothing-left-to-chance soap opera mixed with satire. As Rita Phipps, an accomplished writer for radio, married to an easygoing high school teacher (Kirk Douglas), Sothern sparkles and actually feels genuine. That is a feat of near miraculous proportions in a movie where the illusion of spontaneity has been abandoned in favor of canned cleverness.

The beautiful Linda Darnell holds her own against more experienced farceurs as the ambitious Lora Mae. She may not have Sothern's zest for comedy but she's satisfying nonetheless. Of the three female stars, only Jeanne Crain disappoints. Crain possesses a pretty face and competently performs the tasks assigned to her. But if there is a less inspiring leading lady from the Golden Age of Hollywood, I'd love to have someone point her out to me. Mankiewicz is lucky to have three of the best character actresses around in support roles. Connie Gilchrist and Thelma Ritter shine as a couple of wisecrackin', tell-it-like-it-is broads who are only too happy to stick the pin of reality into the balloon of pretense. Likewise, Florence Bates is wonderful as Sothern's smarmy, self-important boss.

With everything so near-perfectly right about this movie, why does it strike me as a calcified piece of entertaining dross? Very watchable most of the time, but in the end still dross. Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox, with Paul Douglas, the forgettable Jeffrey Lynn, and an unseen Celeste Holm, A Letter to Three Wives is currently available on YouTube.