Cowboys Gone Wild!

And here's my random clip of the week.

Seriously, what was Bette wearing?

The Letter

1940

95 Minutes

Fullscreen: 1.33:1

We open in a quiet, dark Malayan plantation. The workers are sleeping, the clouds are passing, when suddenly – bang! A man stumbles out of a house, shot and followed by Leslie Crosbie who holds a gun and continues to fire. When her husband and lawyer friend arrive, she gracefully tells them it was self defense because he tried to rape her. Leslie is played to perfection by Bette Davis, who we all know is lying. She’s not shaken at all. Heck, she even cooks dinner for her guests! Still, the guys believe her.

The lawyer, Howard Joyce (James Stephenson), arrests Leslie and takes her to town. He accepts the story, but wants to give an honest trial. While looking over the case, his clerk brings him an incriminating letter from Leslie to the murder victim. It seems she invited him to the house (gasp!).

Leslie denies everything and Howard doesn’t know what to do. The owner of the letter wants 10,000 dollars to keep it silent, but should he do what’s right based on friendship or his own beliefs (#2)? Is the letter true (yes)? And what of her husband, chubby, numbskulled Herbert Marshall (his loss)? What does he think and does he deserve to know about the letter (yes)?

The acting is exquisite. I can’t say anything about Bette Davis that hasn’t been said a thousand other times. The supporting characters are also great with lots of help from Marshall and Joyce. If I had to nitpick any, they probably could’ve added a little more pizzazz to the script. It’s a good straightforward movie, but with a little maneuvering, it could’ve been even better.

The only thing I’m having trouble understanding is why Bette was wearing a tablecloth during her trip to Chinatown.



I guess it could’ve been fashionable at the time, but if someone tried to eat off of her, she would’ve had no one to blame but herself.

Grade: B+