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The Letter Photos

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Movie Info

The wife (Jeanne Eagels) of a plantation owner (Reginald Owen) in Malaysia shoots a man (Herbert Marshall) and claims that the act was in self-defense, however during the ensuing trial, a lawyer (O.P. Heggie) becomes aware of her love letter to the victim, which changes the face of the case.

Genre:

drama
Original Language:

English
Director:

Jean de Limur
Producer:

Monta Bell
Writer:

Garrett Fort, Monta Bell
Release Date (Streaming):

Dec 20, 2020
Runtime:

1h 2m
Production Co:

Paramount

Cast & Crew

Jeanne Eagels
Leslie Crosbie

O.P. Heggie
Howard Joyce

Reginald Owen
Robert Crosbie

Herbert Marshall
Geoffrey Hammond

Irene Brown
Mrs. Joyce

Lady Tsen Mei
Li-Ti

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Critic Reviews for The Letter

All Critics (3) | Fresh (2) | Rotten (1)

Jeanne Eagels received Oscar nomination for playing the leading part in this early, primitive talkie, based on Somerset Maugham's play; Bette Davis played the part in 1940.

October 31, 2012 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
... a revelation of a performance and an illustration of the challenges filmmakers faced in the early sound era.

September 14, 2011 | Full Review…

Sean Axmaker
Parallax View
Jeanne Eagels' performance in The Letter secures her legendary reputation.

February 2, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Dan Callahan
ToxicUniverse.com

View All Critic Reviews (3)

Audience Reviews for The Letter

Aug 26, 2008

Eagels only existing sound film shows her to be a unique talent well equipped to make her characters live on screen with a minimum of overblown stage theatrics common to early sound films. Similar to the more renown Bette Davis version but with some content that would never have passed the censor board after the code went into effect. The last scene is riveting.

jay n Super Reviewer