A Letter to Three Wives

1949

1h 43m

Drama

List

100%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Deborah Bishop, Lora Mae Hollingsway and Rita Phipps are three friends who all receive letters from another friend, Addie Ross, telling them that she is about to leave town with one of their husbands. Deborah, Lora Mae and Rita have to find out which of their spouses, Brad, Porter and George respectively, have been unfaithful.

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Aldo G

This is one of those Hollywood movies stitched together with didacticism and melodrama. It's too much for me, although there is a clever construction that keeps you interested for its 100 minute running-time.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/01/24

Full Review

Ashley H

A Letter to Three Wives is a decent film. It is about Addie Ross who runs with the husband of one of her three friends. Jeanne Crane and Linda Darnell give good performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. Joseph L. Mankiewicz did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the humor and romance.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/24

Full Review

Alec B

Compelling melodrama, no doubt due to the unconventional voice-over narration and those odd little transitions to the flashbacks.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/24

Full Review

Ogn D

RT loves the dramas.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

darcy h

Hard to see the comedic side until we meet Lora Mae's family, but the movie grows on one; by the end we were charmed and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Compelling melodrama, no doubt due to the unconventional voice-over narration and those odd little transitions to the flashbacks.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

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Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Director

Jeanne Crain

Deborah Bishop

Linda Darnell

Lora Mae Hollingsway

Ann Sothern

Rita Phipps

Kirk Douglas

George Phipps

Paul Douglas

Porter Hollingsway

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

Despite its emotional intensity, the film is comic, effervescently so, and its magical ending lends wit a metaphysical dimension.

Oct 6, 2014

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

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.

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Nell Dodson Russell

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

This film takes a poke at radio soap operas in a slyly pointed fashion.

Jan 14, 2022

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Movies this mature, this powerful, this moving, are incredibly rare.

Rated: 10/10

Aug 13, 2020

Full Review

Lewis Porteous

The Skinny

A brilliantly handled exercise in building understanding of three highly strung characters and the men in their lives.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 6, 2015

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A sophisticated and witty slice of life drama.

Rated: B+

Mar 29, 2015

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Deborah Bishop, Lora Mae Hollingsway and Rita Phipps are three friends who all receive letters from another friend, Addie Ross, telling them that she is about to leave town with one of their husbands. Deborah, Lora Mae and Rita have to find out which of their spouses, Brad, Porter and George respectively, have been unfaithful.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Screenwriter: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Vera Caspary
Production Co: 20th Century Fox
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Runtime: 1h 43m

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