A Letter to Three Wives

US (1949): Drama/Comedy

Lora May Hollingsway (Linda Darnell), who grew up next to the wrong side of the tracks, married her boss (Paul Douglas) who thinks she is just a gold digger. Rita Phipps (Ann Sothern) makes as much money writing radio scripts at night as her school teacher husband (Kirk Douglas) does. Deborah Bishop (Jeanne Crain) looked great in a Navy uniform in WW II but fears she'll never be dressed just right for her husband's (Jeffrey Lynn) Country Club set. These three wives are boarding a boat filled with children going on a picnic when a messenger on a bicycle hands them a letter addressed to all three from Addie Ross, who has just left town with one of their husbands. They won't know which one until that night. Cast also includes Connie Gilchrist, Barbara Lawrence, Florence Bates, Hobart Cavanaugh and Thelma Ritter (who was uncredited). That's Celeste Holm supplying Addie Ross' uncredited voice-over narration.

Based on John Kempner's novel A Letter to Five Wives, two wives were lost in the transition to the screen. At one point, the film was called A Letter to FOUR Wives and would have featured Anne Baxter as the fourth wife. Darryl F. Zanuck didn't feel Baxter's segment was as strong as the other three, so it was cut. To get the proper look of derision from Linda Darnell in the scene where she stares at a photo of Addie Ross, director Mankiewicz used a picture of Otto Preminger, the director who had given Darnell such a hard time on the set of Forever Amber (1947). Incidentally, Ann Sothern also appears in the 1985 made-for-TV remake of the film, this time in Connie Gilchrist's part, Ma Finney, mother to Loni Anderson's Lora Mae. (IMDb)

· Best Directing 1949: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
· Writing (Best Screenplay) 1949: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

· Best Picture 1949: Sol C. Siegel, producer (20th Century-Fox)

3 nominations, 2 Awards