A Letter To Three Wives [HD]

"Three Wives"-Truth, Compassion, Wit
"A Letter to Three Wives" would probably bomb at the box-office these days because it isn't mawkish, vulgar, or depressing. Too bad! It's insightful without being depressing, compassionate without being maudlin, and razor-sharp funny without being sophomoric. In short, it is a film written and directed by an adult aimed at adults. "Three Wives" examines, with wit to spare, the importance placed on money, class distinction, and what women had/still have to deal with concerning the opposite sex, with a couple of jabs at entertainment,advertising, and consumerism thrown in for good measure. All of the performances are excellent, with a remarkable performance by the gorgeous Linda Darnell as a gold-digging dish (with a heart of gold) from the other side of the tracks. Also present are Connie Gilchrist and an unbilled Thelma Ritter,whose presence in a film always guaranteed howls of laughter. (Her roles were written with her in mind, by the way) "Three Wives"...

An Amusing Satire of the Relations Between Men and Women
Three suburban wives board an excursion boat to chaperone an all-day outing with a group of school children. Just before the boat leaves the dock a messenger arrives with a note for the three of them. It's from Addie Ross, an old friend who may not be much of a friend. "Dearest Debby, Lora Mae and Rita," she writes. "As you know, by now, you'll have to carry on without me from here. It isn't easy to leave a town like our town, to tear myself away from you three dear, dear friends who have meant so much to me. And so I consider myself lucky to be able to take with me a sort of memento, something to remind me of the town that was my home, and of my three very dearest friends, who I never want to forget, and I won't. You see, girls, I've run off with one of your husbands. Addie" For the next few hours, unable to get to a telephone, each of the three women can only reflect back on her marriage and wonder if she is the one who has just lost her husband. Only that afternoon when they return...

Sharp, Funny, and Socially Savage
Jeanne Crain was a very pretty girl, Ann Sothern was chiefly noted for her comic turns, and Linda Darnell was a memorable beauty--but although all three appeared in popular films none were particularly celebrated for their acting talents until Joseph L. Mankiewicz tapped them for the roles of three society wives in this poison pen letter to both sexes. Wickedly witty in script, and remarkably acid in tone, A LETTER TO THREE WIVES would put every one involved in the film firmly on the Hollywood map.

Three society wives (Crain, Sothern, and Darnell) are committed to hosting a children's picnic on an isolated island--and as the ferry prepares to depart they receive a letter from town femme fatale Addie Ross (never seen but memorably voiced by Celeste Holm.) Addie informs them that she is leaving town forever... but has decided to take one of their husbands along as a memento. And each of the three wives, cut off from the outside world for the day, is left to wonder: when I go home...

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