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Movies / On DVD / A Letter to Three Wives
A Letter to Three Wives

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A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

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Reviews Counted:10

Fresh:10

Rotten:0

Average Rating:8.5/10

Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Of three suburban couples suffering marital difficulties, one finds itself unexpectedly splitting when Addie Ross (Celeste Holm) runs off with one of the husbands while the wives are away on a... Of three suburban couples suffering marital difficulties, one finds itself unexpectedly splitting when Addie Ross (Celeste Holm) runs off with one of the husbands while the wives are away on a trip--but which husband? Addie's note to the wives doesn't say. Entangled in suspense as to who has flown the coop, the three wives reflect on their marriages and the stresses within them: one wife met her upper-crust hubby while in the service and fears that she doesn't belong in his social class; another is a radio soap opera writer whose career is interfering with her marriage to a university professor; and the last is a gold digger from the wrong side of the tracks, in a turbulent marriage to a coarse businessman. Sympathetic insights into the strains and insecurities inherent in every marriage bear the genuine touch of director and screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz, whose renditions of complex relationships also shine in his other movies, including ALL ABOUT EVE. Kirk Douglas, Thelma Ritter, Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, and Ann Sothern star in this film that won Best Screenplay and Best Director Oscars for Mankiewicz. [More]

Starring: Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas

Starring: Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas, Thelma Ritter, Celeste Holm, Barbara Lawrence

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Producer: Sol C. Siegel
Screenwriter: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Story: Vera Caspary
Composer: Alfred Newman

[See More Credits]

Reviews for A Letter to Three Wives

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1 - 14 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Reviews
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N/R

Geoff Andrew

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 24 2006 03:39 AM

Time Out

N/R

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 24 2003 08:15 AM

Channel 4 Film

N/R

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 26 2009 03:18 AM

Variety

tomato
A-

Emanuel Levy

Mankiewicz's plot device is brilliant and intriguing: On the way to an annual picnic, three housewives learn through a letter that the town's most desirable woman had run off with one of their husbands--flashbacks reveal the state of their marriages.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 24 2007 03:06 PM

EmanuelLevy.Com

tomato
4/5

Steve Crum

Star-loaded film with innovative plot.

comment Comment | Oct., 30 2004 06:26 PM

Kansas City Kansan

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Matt Bailey

Much of what makes All About Eve such a brilliant film was used previously (and to good effect) in A Letter to Three Wives.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 10 2004 02:12 PM

Not Coming to a Theater Near You

tomato
4/5

Robin Clifford

No review available.

comment Comment | May., 14 2004 12:29 PM

Reeling Reviews

tomato
5/5

Ken Hanke

Sharp and bright multi-character film from Mankiewicaz at his best.

comment Comment | Mar., 29 2004 06:24 PM

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

tomato
5/5

Carol Cling

No review available.

comment Comment | Sep., 05 2003 11:33 AM

Las Vegas Review-Journal

N/R

Bosley Crowther

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 20 2003 05:18 PM

New York Times

tomato
4/5

David Poland

No review available.

comment Comment | Jul., 26 2002 06:27 PM

Hot Button

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4/5

Christopher Null

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 22 2001 12:30 AM

Filmcritic.com

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Dave Kehr

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.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 01 2000 12:00 AM

Chicago Reader

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9/10

Wesley Lovell

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 01 2000 12:00 AM

Oscar Guy

 
 
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