The Letter

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Louisa E I really like Jeanne's acting. Reginald Owen was also very good. It was interesting to see how sound was used this early in talkies history. You can tell it was used sparingly as it was "turned off" on parts without dialogue, so that action was still silent. I wonder if the microphone was on a boom because many actors seem to be talking with their noses in the air. The sound was clunky at times, but it is bound to be and this stage. But the beauty of sound is that these courtroom dramas can be made into movies. I liked the blackmail in the movie, which was very well-paced. One of the shorter movies I've seen. Why are there kids in a cage? The ending was very abrupt! I was expecting a little more. This movie isn't technically ground-breaking, but it is a good example of courtroom drama. It has some fairly racist elements and a few plausibility issues, but I found it entertaining, topped off by a beautiful acting display from Jeanne. 6/10. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/09/23 Full Review Audience Member A rare opportunity to see Jeanne Eagels in action. Her signature role on Broadway was rain. The film was made in the last year of her life. There was a tremendous amount of Chinese prejudice at the time so the good roles played by Yoshiwara and Tsen Mei were unusual. The production comes off a bit stagy and a little stilted. There's no music at the beginning and then a few bars come in on repeat about 1000 times. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Steve D Eagels does a great job and shows she could have been a star. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/20/24 Full Review Audience Member The Letters is a film that was long thought lost, until Warner Brothers released the restored version on DVD, albeit missing a few background sounds and scenes. I expected a bad quality film with a great performance by Jeanne Eagels. What I got was a great film with a powerhouse performance from Jeanne Eagels. It is only an hour long, and is rivetting minute after minute! It follows the story of Leslie Crosby (Jeanne Eagels), who is married to a rubber plantation owner Robert (Reginald Owen). One night she invites her old flame, Geoffrey Hammond (Herbert Marshall), to her house to confront him about a Chinese woman (Lady Tsen Mei) he has been seeing. After pushing Leslie's emotions to breaking point, she shoots him several times. The ensuing story is of her trial and her attempt to lie to the courts about what really happened that night. If there is one reason to see this film, it is to see the breathtaking performance of Jeanne Eagels. Her face is the face of a million emotions. There is desperation, love, fear, anger, and contempt in her portrayal of Leslie. I'd go as far as to say it is one of the greatest performances of all time. Eagels died six months after this film finished, which is devastating, for she could have been the Bette Davis of her time. There's no telling where she could have gone with the talent she had, but at least her greatest role in The Letters will always be available to the public. The other thing that is worth a mention is the brilliant supporting performance by Lady Tsen Mei, who was an absolutely striking actress that gave the film much more intrigue. Her facial expressions made her look as if she were a professional silent movie star. If only there were more of a market for foreign actresses in Hollywood back in the 1920s... So yes, this is a great film. It has marvellous dialogue that is spoken in such a way that one can scarcely believe an actress could do a better job than Jeanne Eagels. I give it four stars, because whatever it lacked in film/sound quality, it overcame with its screenplay and perfect performances. This is a must-see film for movie buffs. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member brilliant movie but i really need a better quality in terms of a film Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member the first telling of this tale from paramount, skip this and see the 1940 bette davis version-its far superior Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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