A Letter To Three Wives DVD, 1949

The letter, from one Addie Ross, addressed to the said three wives, states that she has run away with one of their husbands. The three women are trapped away for the day supervising a children's picnic so won't know who has lost her husband until the evening. They spend the day in worried contemplation about their married lives. Deliciously funny and perceptive. Good tagline too - 'All of them wondered, while one of them wandered!'.

I have watched this film on a number of occasions over the last 30 years and each time I find something more to enjoy about it. It is undoubtedly politically incorrect... more >

I have watched this film on a number of occasions over the last 30 years and each time I find something more to enjoy about it. It is undoubtedly politically incorrect by today's standards, emphasising as it does the accepted thinking of the time that a woman was nothing without a successful husband. That aside, it is extremely well acted. Of particular delight is the inimitable Thelma Ritter as Sadie and Celeste Holm doing a superb "voice over" for the unseen Adie Ross. The film has a clever plot, a sharp, snappy script and faultless direction. The casting of Crain, Sothern and Darnell works extremely well, but for me, my favourite character of all has to be Porter Hollingsway, the typical hard nosed businessman with the soft centre, so admirably portrayed by Paul Douglas. I am sure Paul Douglas must have been one of the most under rated actors of his time. Unlike Kirk Douglas, who also appeared in this film, he was not, and did not become, a really "Big Star", possibly due in part to his untimely death in the 1950s. Nevertheless, his excellent portrayal ensures Porter Hollingsway comes over as the most natural and believable of "the three husbands". Overall, a truly super film which never fails to delight and which deserves a much higher profile than it currently receives. < less