A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
Wives Out: A Class Onion Mystery
Dearest ILTBTA Readers,
The contents of this post might be fictitious, and any resemblance to your life might be purely coincidental. It’s come to you right after work, or an hour before dinner, but that doesn’t matter. It’s the first Tuesday in December, and this movie, my dearest friends, is going to run off with one of your imaginations! Or, hopefully, it’ll run off with several of them. Please read on, and discover if the real torrid affair was with The Academy all along!
Previews
What, if anything, did we know about this coming attraction before we watched it?
Ellen: I’ve suggested this so many times for a pick three that I was starting to believe I had already watched it. I’m excited to finally fulfill this particular prophecy!
Tyler: I remember stumbling across this movie during my Joseph L. Mankiewicz Wiki-Wiki-Whaaat? rabbit hole research for the Cleopatra post, but subsequently forgot everything I learned about it in the meantime. Time to find out if it’s worth occupying space in my brain!
Plots & Feelings
This one’s pretty self-explanatory.
Short Version (courtesy of IMDb): A letter is addressed to three wives from their "best friend" Addie Ross, announcing that she is running away with one of their husbands - but she does not say which one.
Long Version (modified from Wikipedia and formatted to fit your screen):
On the first Saturday in May, the melodic voice of Miss Addie Ross welcomes us to her town. Its name is unimportant, but it’s not far from a big city and has stores and houses and people. Six of these people are Addie’s friends, Deborah, Rita, and Lora Mae, along with their husbands, Brad, George, and Porter, respectively. As the three women prepare to chaperone a group of children for their Women’s Club’s 18th Annual Picnic and Weenie Roast, they gossip about their “dear friend” Addie. Just as they’re all about to board a riverboat (conveniently far away from any public telephones1), a messenger comes bearing a letter. It’s from Addie herself, announcing that she’s left town for good, and she’s taking one of their husbands with her.
Ellen: I really love this intro, not least of which because Addie has a wonderfully smooth voice. The non-specificity of it puts the viewer slightly on edge: this town could be anywhere, and while similarities to your life might be a coincidence, they also might not. This could happen to anyone: even you!
Tyler: I thought the same thing about the lack of specificity2! It gave slight Twilight Zone intro vibes, which is always a win in my book. And that Addie Ross voice could read me the phone book. That casting process must’ve sure been something.
Tyler: Also, I would like to register that my guess for the ending is that she didn’t actually run away with anyone and she’s using that as a way to force them to take a critical look at their marriages and how they gossip about Addie all the time.
With no way to contact their husbands, the women turn inward, each considering why it might be their husband. Our first flashback involves Deborah, who was raised on a farm and met Brad while they were serving in the Navy. On her first night in town, she feels extremely out of place with the country club set. Add to that the fact that Addie Ross was her husband Brad’s first kiss, and it’s small wonder she downs too many martinis at the pregame. Before heading to the dance, Brad’s friends Rita and George come over! Deborah is self-conscious about everything, but especially her out-of-fashion dress. To Rita’s credit, she’s very kind to this drunk, insecure mess of a woman she just met. The foursome head to the club to meet Lora Mae and Porter, and Deborah is too drunk to be dancing, and a huge hole rips in her dress! She emerges from the dressing room to discover Addie (who is conveniently obscured from view) talking with Brad on the veranda. Back in the present, Deborah wonders, “is it Brad?”
Tyler: As I wrote in my notes: “Damn … she's drinking all of Oscar NomNomNomz.”
Rita, for her part, thinks back to a recent evening when her boss, Mrs. Manleigh, was coming to dinner. Rita, who writes stories for radio soap operas, wants everything to be perfect for Mrs. Manleigh, who cares very much about advertising and radio, in that order. George, who is an English teacher, doesn’t care much for either and also doesn’t particularly like putting on the pretenses of dressing up and having their maid Sadie cook fancier food for the city couple. As it happens, this dinner is scheduled for George’s birthday, and Rita just plum forgot! But Addie Ross didn’t! She sends George a rare Brahms record with a quote from Twelfth Night in the card, which she and George performed together in high school.
Ellen: In Addie’s words, Rita works for 100 pieces of “the most restful shade of green in the world” a week3.
George forgives Rita, but this evening is not his idea of a good time, especially when in her haste to turn on the radio, Mrs. Manleigh breaks his new record and makes them listen to two hours of inane radio plays. Lora Mae and Porter are present as well, because Rita is trying to set up an advertising deal for Porter’s stores and get George an editing job. Unfortunately, Mrs. Manleigh baits George into sharing his real opinions on radio, advertising, and the lowest common denominator. Rita is upset that he was so rude to her boss, but he’s upset that she’s groveling to her in the first place. He says it’s not about taste, class, or Addie Ross: he just wants his strong, wonderful wife back!
Tyler: George is surprisingly feminist for the 40s, especially compared to Porter and Brad.
Ellen: Suppose that happens when you’re intellectually enlightened!
At the picnic, Lora Mae claims that she doesn’t even care if it’s Porter, and she’s already got everything she wants, but the girls don’t buy it. In her flashback, we learn that Lora Mae grew up poor, and she decides to pursue Porter, the older, divorced owner of a statewide chain of department stores where she works. On their first date, she exhibits a deft display of confidence, coyness, and irresistibility that compels Porter to come back for more, even though she doesn’t put out. The only fly in the ointment4 is that Porter is completely distracted by the discovery that Addie Ross was just a few booths over.
By Christmas, Lora Mae and Porter have been out a few times, and at his house, she notices a framed silver portrait of Addie Ross (turned away from us, of course). She apparently gave it to him last Christmas after he helped her with some investments. Lora Mae makes clear this won’t continue if they don’t get married, and she’s going to quit. By New Year’s Eve, she’s defiantly sitting home with nowhere to go when Porter shows up. He says that she wins, and they decide to get married.
It’s finally time to go home and face facts. We go with Rita first, and George is there! It turns out, he’s directing Twelfth Night at the high school, which he hadn’t had a chance to announce yet with the Mrs. Manleigh situation. Rita resolves to stand up for herself and tell the boss that she won’t be working the weekends again, and George is thrilled.
Deborah is informed that Brad won’t be home tonight. She puts on a brave face and the dress he saw in Vogue that he liked and heads out to the country club.
Lora Mae returns home, and Porter isn’t there, but her mother is. Her mom insists that Porter is crazy about her, but Lora Mae won’t let herself believe it. He’s much later than usual, but lo and behold, he turns up! Lora Mae is relieved, but she picks a fight with him instead, resulting in accusations that she sees him as a cash register, and he sees her as inventory.
At the club, there’s a weird vibe at the table that Porter can’t place. Deborah is so distraught with her loss that she speaks plainly to him for probably the first time that they’ve known each other: Lora Mae is so in love with him, but she’s terrified he’ll laugh in her face if she says anything. Rita and George return from dancing in their still-wedded bliss, wondering what the issue is until Deborah announces that Brad isn’t coming home. Porter is deeply confused, so they explain the letter. He’s like “oh sweetie, Brad didn’t run off; I did!” He was supposed to go with Addie, but he changed his mind. He’s worried Lora Mae will be furious, but she chooses to focus on the fact that he changed his mind.
Tyler: Do you think that there’s any chance Porter is lying to Deborah to make her feel better and test his own marriage with Lora Mae? After she leaves excitedly, all of their friends act like he just did this valiant thing and he says to one of them “She was gonna find out in the morning anyways,” which is just vague enough to mean a couple different things.
Ellen: I think part of the brilliance is that you could interpret it that way (plus it would also mean that if Brad comes back, your theory about Addie not running away with any of them can still be right). But all told, I just don’t think Porter is that wily.
Deborah rushes home in relief, knowing that Brad will be back from his business meeting in the morning. Back at the dinner table, a wine glass mysteriously tips over, and a melancholy Addie bids us good night!
Ellen: What an excellent choice to not show her to us.
Intermission
Even though ILTBTA is free, please indulge us further and enjoy this quick “advertisement.”
This installment of ILTBTA is brought to you by … hugging your spouse close!
Let’s all take this opportunity to appreciate our spouses and partners, maybe work out some lingering resentments, insecurities, or misunderstandings that might make you think they’re about to abscond with your best friend. After all, it could happen in your town!
Wiki-Wiki-Whaaat?
Love a good Wikipedia rabbit hole in search of some fun facts? Us too.
A Letter to Three Wives’ Wikipedia page has some interesting facts and anecdotes that we recommend you read through, but here are a few of our favorites:
A Letter to Three Wives is based on a novel by writer John Klempner called A Letter to Five Wives. The two wives who got cut out were Martha, who constantly argues with her husband about “child-rearing issues,” and Geraldine, who is passionate about her singing career despite “meager results.”
Tyler: Wikipedia describes the deletion of two of the wives in the film adaptation by saying they “were lost in the transition to the screen” which sounds like two of the women just took a wrong turn or something.
Ellen: “Meager results” is absolutely gutting.
Director and screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz (whom we first met in our Cleopatra post) initially wanted to have a fourth wife be the granddaughter of the governor, but couldn’t make it work.
A Letter to Three Wives was remade into a TV-movie in 1985. Ann Sothern, who played Rita in the original, played Lorna Mae’s mother in the remake.
Born Harriette Lake before Hollywood execs made her change it, Southern starred in the successful Maisie Ravier movies and Private Secretary TV show. Upon her death in 2001, Lucille Ball (who Sothern worked with many times on The Lucy Show) called her “the best comedienne in the business, bar none.”
Paul Douglas, who played Porter Hollingsway, gained acclaim as a Broadway actor for his portrayal of Harry Brock in Born Yesterday (which inspired a film adaptation that was a recent post of ours).
Douglas was the host of the 22nd Academy Awards, at which A Letter to Three Wives was nominated for Best Picture (duh), Best Director (which it won), and Best Screenplay (which it won). Jeanne Crain, who played Deborah, was nominated for her work in Pinky. Also nominated for another movie that year was …
Ellen: I’m sure Pinky was great, but did you see how good she was at pretending to be drunk??
Kirk Douglas (no relation to Paul), who played Rita’s husband George, is considered one of the greatest stars of Classic Hollywood. Often known for his prolific acting career (and his son Michael), he was also a successful producer, notably the 1960 film Spartacus directed by then-unknown Stanley Kubrick and starring Douglas. He also acquired the film rights to One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and gave them to his son Michael, who went on to turn it into an Oscar-winning movie.
Finally, the question you’re all wondering: who was the voice of Addie Ross? Despite interest from Hollywood heavy-hitters like Joan Crawford and Tallulah Bankhead, the voice role went to actress Celeste Holm. Holm is known for her Oscar-winning performance in future ILTBTA post Gentleman’s Agreement, reuniting with Mankiewicz in another future ILTBTA post All About Eve, and originating the role of Ado Annie in the musical Oklahoma! For her work in film and television, Holm earned two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Oscar NomNomNomz
Since we all know a movie is nothing without the food and drink it incorporates.
It’s now time to award the Oscar for Best Snacktor in a Supporting Role5. And the nomnomnominees are:
Two martinis, a couple glasses of wine, some brandy, and a glass of champagne before your first party with your husband’s friends
A hot dog at the picnic
Two dozen canapes and a duck made by Sadie for an important work dinner
A glass of creme de menthe courtesy of Porter
And the Oscar goes to … the hot dog at the picnic! Unfortunately Basil stole it because she thought it was a real dog and wanted to play with it, so we will accept this award on its behalf.
Fill In The Blank
How did we really feel about The Academy nominating this?
Ellen: I’d like to treat The Academy to a weenie roast, because we hate men!! Jk jk, but we’d still have a fun time. I was surprised and delighted by this movie. On the surface, there’s good acting and quick banter, the likes of which I’m sure inspire Amy Sherman-Palladino. Each of the women have a kind of inciting incident to point to when they consider their husband may leave them for Addie Ross specifically, but when you dig a layer deeper, it’s not about Addie at all. It very easily could have been a one-dimensional story three times, but instead we get a three-dimensional story that builds on itself as we progress. I think trying to juggle five wives would have been tough in a movie format, so I’m glad it was trimmed, but it makes me want to read the book! While I have some tiny nitpicks that are more a factor of the film’s time than anything else, I don’t think I have any actual complaints. A toast to Addie Ross!
Tyler: I’d like to take The Academy to a rollicking party at the country club, regardless what kind of dress it’s wearing. I was intrigued by the plot before watching this and I’m happy to say it followed through on that. While it did drag a little in the middle, the plot kept things moving enough to not get too bogged down on any one storyline. And on a micro level, the banter in the script was surprisingly quick and clever. I was not expecting to laugh or smile this much! I also found it interesting that the three of them are different types of women trying to please their husbands and move up in the world in different ways: Lora Mae is basically a gold digger but knows exactly what she's doing; Deborah is trying to be the perfect housewife in an unfamiliar environment; and Rita is stretching herself thin to be an equal with her husband. Mix these insecurities with a (presumed) hottie from their husbands’ pasts, and it makes the plot all the more complex and believable. A lesser movie would’ve also found a way for the three titular wives to somehow turn against each other. This is not a lesser movie.
Let The Credits Roll
Thanks for reading! Some quick housekeeping as you exit the theatre:
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Post-Credits Scene
Get a sneak peek at the next ILTBTA installment.
Rejoice black-and-white movie lovers, because our essentially-random selection for our next post is the 1942 romantic drama Random Harvest. The film stars Ronald Colman as a WWI veteran with amnesia and Greer Garson as his showgirl love interest. What could go wrong! Random Harvest is randomly available to rent on YouTube, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video.
Until then, we’ll be practicing our handwriting to look just like Addie’s!
P.S. Happy second anniversary to us!
Tyler: This is the old-fashioned equivalent of the modern horror trope of going somewhere with no cell reception.
Later in the movie, someone says “... three states adjoining this one," which serves as a clue about where they could possibly be. Thanks to this nifty map, it looks like the options are: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
That’s around $1,300 a week in today’s restful shades of green!
Sounds like my ex-wife!
Results tabulated and certified by the accountants at Ernst & Yum™.