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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Once you've seen the opening
moments of William Wyler's superb "The Letter" you
aren't apt to forget what great Hollywood
filmmaking is all about for a very, very long
time. Bette Davis stars in this potent,
diabolically delicious melodrama as Leslie
Crosbie, the unscrupulous wife of a Malaysian
rubber plantation owner. After packing six slugs
into a man exiting her home at night, while her
husband was away, Leslie embarks on a deeply
disturbing odyssey to vindicate her murder. To
this end, Leslie is ably aided by the naiveté of
her husband, Robert (Herbert Marshall) and by her
popular following of fair weather friends and
their family lawyer.
The play by Somerset Maugham on which the film is
based must have seemed like old hat to Davis. For
there can be no other reason why she's so cleverly
fiendish and stylishly sinister as Leslie. But
then all is not to be realized in sweet escapism
when a letter surfaces that could blow the whole
truth wide open and send Leslie to prison for
life. Superbly crafted with the fine animal
instincts of a jungle cat at every turn, "The
Letter" was nominated for seven Oscars, including
best picture but won not a single statuette.
Wyler's impeccable direction, and Davis's
mesmerizing and unsympathetic performance are what
transform this standard melodrama into movie art.
Unfortunately all is not well with the transfer
from Warner Brothers. Seemingly contrasting a bit
on the overly dark side, fine details are
generally lost in the deep and foreboding
blackness. Yes, most of the picture was designed
to have a very dark image, but contrast and
tonality in the gray scale here are what seem to
be lacking over all throughout this black and
white image. Also, the image is not very stable.
Long shots tend to be a bit blurry and out of
focus. There's also an annoying amount of edge
enhancement on the horizontal slats of the bamboo
blinds that figure into the mood of the piece
throughout the film -– making certain scenes seem
unnecessarily harshly contrasted. Age-related
artifacts crop up now and then. Film grain becomes
obtrusive and dense at moments, and practically
non-existent at other moments. The audio is mono
and overall nicely balanced. But occasionally
dialogue is somewhat muffled. Extras include a
fascinating alternative ending only recently
discovered, as well as 2 Lux Radio Theater audio
adaptations (a 1941 one with Davis, Marshall and
James Stephenson and a 1944 one with starring
Davis and Marshall) and the film's original
theatrical trailer.
"The Letter" comes highly recommended as a
melodrama par excellence from a studio, director
and a star who definitely understood the subtly of
the art. However, as a DVD you may find the
presentation somewhat disappointing. |
