# A Letter to Three Wives

A Letter to Three Wives is a 1949 American 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, based on Klempner's 1945 novel.
The film won Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, and it was nominated for 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 operas. 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 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 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, film rights to John Klempner's A Letter to Five Wives were acquired by 20th Century-Fox in February 1946. Melville Baker and Dorothy Bennett wrote the first 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. In October 1946, F. Hugh Herbert was assigned to write the screen adaptation. His final participation was not confirmed.
The project was shelved until Mankiewicz returned to work on drafts of the script between March and late April 1948. 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.$^{:84}$ By June 1948, the project was listed at the top of 20th Century-Fox's films to be produced over the following ten months.

#### 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. To reduce expenses, the studio removed Tierney's role. By May 1948, Anne Baxter, Crain, Darnell and Sothern were set to play the title roles, and Macdonald Carey campaigned for a secondary role. Baxter's part was eliminated when Mankiewicz and studio head Darryl F. Zanuck reduced the number of wives to three. Joan Crawford, Ida Lupino and Tallulah Bankhead all desired to play the unbilled voice role of Addie that was awarded to Celeste Holm.
In October 1946, it was announced that Samuel G. Engel had assumed producer duties, but Sol C. Siegel replaced Engel in 1948.

### Filming

Production began in early June 1948.
The scenes on the riverboat were filmed on the Hudson River in Cold Spring, New York, and the children were underprivileged students from the Paulist School in New York's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood who were each paid $15 per day. Other area filming locations included Lake Mahopac, Stamford, Connecticut and Hook Mountain State Park.
Darnell and Sothern were reported to have feuded on set.

## Differences between novel and film

John Klempner's novel was titled A Letter to Five Wives, but two wives were dropped in the transition to the screen. 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."
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, including the National Legion of Decency, which classified the film as A-III (for adults only).
The film premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York on January 20, 1949.

## Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote:
   [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, scepticism [sic], 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.
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."
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."
Variety's review praised the film, especially its "unique story" being given "a nifty screenplay."

## 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 as George and Ben Gazzara as Porter, with Ann Sothern appearing in a small role.

## In popular culture

The 21st-season episode of The Simpsons titled "Moe Letter Blues" parodies the plot of A Letter to Three Wives.