7.5
The Letter
1940, 1h 35min -
Six years after exploding to stardom in Of Human Bondage, Bette Davis equaled that excitement with another W. Somerset Maugham role as an adulteress using her sexual wiles to escape a murder conviction in The Letter. Nominated for seven Oscars including "Best Picture," "Best Actress," "Best Director" and "Best Supporting Actor" (James Stephenson, superb as the anguished defense attorney), The Letter remains one of Hollywood's most special deliveries, a peerless example of melodrama as movie art. Directed by Oscar winner William Wyler (Ben-Hur), Davis stars in this suspenseful jungle thriller as a woman who claims to have killed in self-defense, until a blackmailer turns up with incriminating evidence. Co-starring Herbert Marshall (Duel in the Sun) and Oscar winner Gale Sondergaard (Anthony Adverse).
