A Letter to Three Wives

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A Letter to Three Wives

1949

1h 43m

Drama

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100%

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20 Reviews

86%

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2,500+ Ratings

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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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

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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

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Nell Dodson Russell

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

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

Jan 14, 2022

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

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

Rated: 10/10

Aug 13, 2020

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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

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A sophisticated and witty slice of life drama.

Rated: B+

Mar 29, 2015

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rr f

The acting was good. The cast was excellent. However, the script was pretty bad. Joseph Mankiewicz has a bad habit of writing characters that sound like they're written by a playwright who are giving monologues on the stage. They sound fake and unrealistic. Everyone is constantly giving a speech. It's horrible. The dialogue is very unnatural. The worst parts are you just hear the voice of Addie. You never see her! Stupid scam! Also, you never find out the ending of if she took away the husband, or if it was just a joke. Stupid Mankiewicz! The lady playing the maid Sadie is extremely annoying. She's supposed to be wry and relatable, but she's just annoying (just like she is in Pickup on South Street).

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/09/24

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Mark B

Terrific writing. Each of these characters has depth far beyond most films of this era. Even some of the supporting cast is fleshed out. So when I looked it up and saw that it was a Joseph L. Mankiewicz screenplay, I wasn't surprised. Didn't know who the "killer" was in this "whodunit," and when I guessed, I was wrong. Really good film. #451 in my "Watch all BP nominees" Bucket List

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/20/24

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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

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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

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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

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Ogn D

RT loves the dramas.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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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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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
Producer: Sol C. Siegel
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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