Three wives, played by
Jeanne Crain,
Ann Sothern and
Linda Darnell,
are about to embark on a boat trip when each receives a letter, written
by a mutual friend named Addie, informing her that Addie is about to
run off with one of their husbands. In flashback, each wife wonders if
it is her marriage that is in jeopardy. Deborah (
Crain) recounts her fish-out-of-water relationship with her up-and-coming hubby (
Jeffrey Lynn); businesswoman Rita (
Sothern) asks herself if she's been too rough on her professorial spouse (
Kirk Douglas); and Lora May (
Darnell), a girl from (literally) the wrong side of the tracks, questions the security of her marriage to a brash business executive (
Paul Douglas). The voice of Addie, who is never seen, is provided by
Celeste Holm.
Thelma Ritter shows up in a hilarious unbilled bit as a slatternly domestic, while an equally uncredited
Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer makes a quick entrance and exit as a bellhop. Written with perception and not a little witty condescension by director
Joseph L. Mankiewicz,
A Letter to Three Wives won two Oscars ,both for
Mankiewicz. Based on a novel by John Klempner, the property was remade for television in 1985, with
Ann Sothern back again in a supporting part.
