A Letter to Three Wives

**A Letter to Three Wives** is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz which was released on January 20, 1949 by 20th Century Fox.

It was adapted from John Klempner's story, "A Letter to Five Wives" that appeared in Cosmpolitan magazine, based on a 1945 novel written by Klempner.

## Plot

Three female friends (Deborah, Lora Mae and Rita) all receive letters from another friend of theirs, Addie Ross, telling them that she is about to leave town with one of their husbands, and the women have to find out which one of their husbands has been unfaithful.

## Cast

* Jeanne Crain as Deborah Bishop
* Jeffrey Lynn as Bradford "Brad" Bishop
* Linda Darnell as Lora Mae Hollingsway
* Paul Douglas as Porter Hollingsway
* Ann Sothern as Rita Phipps
* Kirk Douglas as George Phipps

## Production

The film rights to John Klempner's A Letter to Five Wives were acquired by 20th Century Fox in February 1946 (seven months after it was first published in a magazine).

Melville Baker and Dorothy Bennett wrote the first treatments of the script. Even though he was not credited for the final film, it was Baker who had the idea that the character Addie was only to be heard, and not seen.

In October of 1946, F. Hugh Herbert was assigned to write the screen adaptation. His final participation was not confirmed. During that same month, it was announced that Samuel G. Engel took over as producer from Joseph L. Mankiewicz.

Even before a script was finished, Gene Tierney, Linda Darnell, Maureen O'Hara, Dorothy McGuire & Alice Faye were cast in A Letter to Five Wives in November of 1946.

For a while, the project was shelved until Mankiewicz returned, working on drafts of the script between March and late April 1948; around this time, Sol C. Siegel was assigned to replace Engel as the film's producer.

Vera Caspary adapted the story to "A Letter to Four Wives." Then studio head Darryl F. Zanuck and Mankiewicz eventually decided in mid-1948 to focus on only three marriages, thus retitling it to "A Letter to Three Wives."

In June of 1948, it was on the top of 20th Century Fox' list of films to be produced over the following 10 months.

In addition to the actresses already named as cast members, Anne Baxter and Tyrone Power were also at one point cast. Furthermore, Joan Crawford and Ida Lupino were considered for the (eventually offscreen) role of Addie.

When Anne Baxter was cast in April 1948, the film was still known under its working title, "A Letter to Four Wives." She was cast a day after Jeanne Crain, who signed on for the role after months of rumors of her participation.

By May of 1948, Baxter, Crain, Darnell, and Sothern were the four actresses to portray the title roles, and Macdonald Carey campaigned for a secondary role.

### Filming

Principal photography for "A Letter to Three Wives" began on June 1, 1948 and ended in August of 1948.

Filming took place in Lake Mahopac, New York; Cold Spring, New York; Hook Mountain, New York; Beverly Hills, California; and 20th Century Fox Studios in Century City, Los Angeles, California.

## Box Office

"A Letter To Three Wives" grossed $14,768 at the box office.

## Critical Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, "A Letter to Three Wives" has an approval rating of 94% based on 18 reviews with an average rating of 8.30/10.

Richard Brody of The New Yorker said: *"Despite its emotional intensity, the film is comic, effervescently so."*

Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader wrote: *"[Joseph] Mankiewicz's writing is bright and hard -- he's sharpening his teeth for All About Eve, made the next year -- but his acid wit is almost too much for his fragile characters to bear."*

James Plath from Movie Metropolis said: *"If this were a comedy it might be considered a comedy of manners, because it's all about the social customs of an age-and all the actors do a fine job of bringing the age's nuances to their characters."*

Writing for the Examiner.com, Jeff Beck called "A Letter to Three Wives" a *"very poignant and universal story"* and a *"good old fashioned and entertaining experience."*

Steve Krum of the Kansas City Kansan called it a *"star-loaded film with innovative plot."*

## Remake

"A Letter To Three Wives" was remade in 1985.