**Part of the Best Picture Project**

Despite an unnecessary narrator, A Letter to Three Wives is a smart and relatively insightful drama about the social malaise of the traditional marriage as well as the idea of specific gender roles.

The film is kick started by three friends, all married, going on a retreat. While on the way, they get a letter from one of their single friends who tells them that she has run off with one of their husbands. This plot device causes them to reflect back on their marriages and look at the strengths and weaknesses of them.

A Letter to Three Wives is at its best when its looking at the roles these different women play in their marriages, which makes for some great social commentary. These actresses are great in their roles, and the writing is intelligent and varied to give them a proper voice. It's a damn good drama, and smart at that.

favorite scene: rich guy clenching the counter in terror as train passes, poor women stare at him calmly and annoyed.

Took a little while to get going but once it did it was humming right along.

Loved Kirk Douglas and his anti-radio rant.

Absolutely amazing aural scene transitions, especially Rita Phipp's transitions which were these awesome, digital robot-like phrases that totally reminded me of Daft Punk!

Great film that JLM did right before ALL ABOUT EVE too. Quite a streak he was on in late 40's/early 50's.

Oh, and loved the casual misogyny too, especially from Paul Douglas's character Porter Hollingsway.

Some great dialogue and a few choice moments of real imagination and eccentricity (I was wrong on Twitter -- it's a talking drainpipe, not a talking faucet, MY BAD) but this just doesn't feel very substantive -- a great idea that ends up feeling like three weakly connected episodes of a dramatic anthology series. I'd like either more information and exploration about Rebec-- I mean Addie, or for the enjoyable interaction between the three lead characters (Mankiewicz really was good at writing strong female characters, even if Jeanne Crain throws herself on the bed a few too many times) to take up as much time as the exhaustingly dull business about their husbands. Some real vitriol toward radio ads, though, in case you were curious to know what nerds were angry about in the late '40s.

BTW: most restrained Kirk Douglas performance ever?

An effortlessly entertaining and riveting tale of deception and mystery. Wonderful directorial choices from Mankiewicz and three fantastic leading ladies, and A Letter to Three Wives is an unsung old Hollywood master work.

favorite scene: rich guy clenching the counter in terror as train passes, poor women stare at him calmly and annoyed.

Picks up as it goes along. The film's feeble and somewhat absurd first flashback yields to the two expertly written and played flashbacks that follow. No doubt some of the movie's success in those later scenes has to do with the presence of uncredited Thelma Ritter, but the Rita/George and Lora Mae/Porter arcs are just so much more engaging than Deborah's 'woe is me' opening. The end is a bit abrupt, but it offers a clever twist away from the initial set up.

**Part of the Best Picture Project**

Despite an unnecessary narrator, A Letter to Three Wives is a smart and relatively insightful drama about the social malaise of the traditional marriage as well as the idea of specific gender roles.

The film is kick started by three friends, all married, going on a retreat. While on the way, they get a letter from one of their single friends who tells them that she has run off with one of their husbands. This plot device causes them to reflect back on their marriages and look at the strengths and weaknesses of them.

A Letter to Three Wives is at its best when its looking at the roles these different women play in their marriages, which makes for some great social commentary. These actresses are great in their roles, and the writing is intelligent and varied to give them a proper voice. It's a damn good drama, and smart at that.

I always like the setup of this story very much. I saw it when I was about 13 and thought it was pretty cool.

One of the many movies from the forties which makes me question why I bother to watch movies from any other decade. The script is simultaneously smart and down to earth. Linda Darnell is stunning.