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glitteryvThis post happened cuz the YT algorithm showed me that there was a "modern" retelling of A Letter to Three Wives. I had to watch it, BUT I also wanted to compare it to the original and so here we are! :P
A Letter to Three Wives (1949) (I own this movie on DVD and digital formats)
Based on a short story by John Klempner called A Letter to Five Wives that had originally been published on Cosmopolitan back in 1945, this movie was adapted for the screen by Vera Caspary and based on a script by Joseph L. Mankowitz (who was also the movie's director.)
This is the perfect example of what ppl talk abt when they mention "women's films". Obvs, 'women's films' exist today, but I'm specifically talking abt those movies that dropped in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. It's a melodrama that, on the surface level, centers around the romantic entanglements of a group of women. However, it also tackles some aspects of post-WWII life for (white) women. In regards to how they re-establish their place in society, what the expectations are for them, and the way women compromise their dreams vs. societal pressures.
The movie begins with three women heading out to run an all-day picnic at a small island that close to their town as part of their women's club activities. There's a 4th women named Addie Ross (the only single member in the group) that's supposed to participate. However, she sends a letter to them in which she says good-bye AND lets them know that she's left town with one of their husbands. She doesn't say whom, but does mention that the woman who's now single will know cuz her husband won't be home to greet her. By the time they finish the letter, the boat has already left the pier and the women can't do anything abt the news.
From there, the majority of the movie is a series of flashbacks where each woman reflects on their marriages, what issues each marriage has, and what level of involvement does Addie Ross has in each of their lives (as far as their husbands are concerned.)
The first marriage is that of Deborah (Jeanne Crain) and Brad (Jeffrey Lynn). They met during WW2, she's basically the 'new kid in town' (because everyone else has lived in the same town forever). A lot of Deborah's insecurities w/r/t her marriage bubble up because of that and due to everyone else being at a higher socio-economic strata than her. Frex, her husband and his circle of friends are members of the country club and attend a lot of galas. Meanwhile, Deborah's background is much more modest (she's a farmgirl who joined the army with the hope of seeing more of the world). ANOTHER insecurity is based on her comparing herself to the wonderful, beautiful, and elegant Addie Ross. One thing that doesn't help is that Brad (just like the other husbands) tends to talk Addie Ross up. It's clear that all three male protagonists not only have individual backstories with Addie, but also appear to have some type of crush on her.
Theirs is the one couple that has the friendliest vibes, tho. Deborah's really in love with Brad. I'm still on the fence as to how Brad feels abt his wife. Especially since afterhe and Addie had dated then broken up, he enlisted and married Deborah rather quickly…
The second couple is Rita (Ann Sothern) and George (Kirk Douglas). She's a successful scriptwriter for radio dramas, he is a high school teacher. They're childhood sweethearts. The issue between them is that Rita's ambition + her workaholic tendencies has put a heavy strain on their marriage. George is A-OK with Rita pursuing her dreams, but he also chafes at how much time Rita puts in her work. It's messing up with their home life. The Addie - George connection is that Addie tends to talk abt literature and other arts related things with George to the point that it's become one of the things that irritates Rita. On top of that, Rita is the main breadwinner and, though he claims to be fine with that, George does snark at Rita abt her position in the family…
The third couple is Lora Mae (Linda Darnell) and Porter (Paul Douglas--no relation to Kirk). Lora Mae lives in the literal wrong side of the tracks and she's also extremely beautiful. Her dream is to be rich. Meanwhile, Porter is not only older than Lora Mae, but has already gone thru a divorce. So he's jaded abt the entire marriage thing. ON TOP OF THAT, he owns the department stores chain that Lora Mae works at. The topic of boss/employee dynamic IS something they talk abt. I liked that the film didn't romanticize it.
Out of the three marriages, Lora Mae/Porter is the most fascinating one to me. They've got this delicious push-and-pull thing going on in which she's trying to land a husband and he's trying to figure out how to avoid getting into another marriage. Their mutual cynicism continues even AFTER they get married, LOL. Their two main problems have to do with Porter's attraction to Addie Ross (it's v. implied that she rejected his advances) AND that, during one nasty fight, Porter throws it in Lora Mae face that he basically bought her affections. Watching a marriage that has such a blatant transactional aspect was kinda !!!, NGL. Thing is both of them are still ppl seeking affection, so the gist of their character arcs is abt both of them being willing to show their vulnerability to each other.
The cast is pretty solid. Jeanne Crain is ridic talented in everything she appears. Unfortch, I don't recall seeing Jeffrey Lynn in anything else (but he does seem to have a reputation for playing "good guy" roles.) Ann Sothern was fine. She's one of those classic actors who has never left me with any kind of impression. Unfortunately for me (because he was a rather terrible person IRL), Kirk Douglas during his B&W era was AMAZING in every movie he appeared in circa my ult fave Out of the Past. I really like him in this movie. Linda Darnell is FANTASTIC as Lora Mae. I'm deffo game for watching more of her movies. Paul Douglas is really good too.
I LOVED the scenes between Connie Gilchrist (Lora Mae's mother) and Thelma Ritter (as Sadie, Lora Mae's mother and also a maid-for-hire).
Speaking of, the DIALOGUE, Y'ALL! It's snappy and funny but can turn sharp and vicious.Good pacing and camerawork. Oh, and there are some audio cues that were v. cool too.
One thing I keep changing my mind is the dang ending. There are two ways of interpreting what really happened. IMO, the ambiguity is nice and doesn't take anything away from the movie. If anything, it makes it a lot more interesting.
Do I have any criticisms?
I'd say that Jeffey Lynn's role as Brad has the least amount of screentime out of everyone in the main cast. So I didn't see that much character development there.
Do I recommend it?
100%. Everything abt this movie works. I know it's available to rent everywhere (there might also be copies uploaded to YT?) I own both a DVD and a digital copy of this movie, so I just cast the movie to my TV.
I'm giving it a 4 out of 5
Queerness level
Nonexistent.
A Letter to Three Wives (1985) (YouTube)
This time around Debra and Brad are played by Stephanie Zimbalist and Charles Frank; Lora Mae and Porter are played by Loni Anderson and Ben Gazzara; Rita and George are played by Michelle Lee and Michael Gross. The movie first aired on NBC.
Since this is set in the 80s, there are certain things that have been added to the film in order to "modernize" it. There's a lot more kissing and more sexy innuendos. Frex, in Debora and Brad's segment, there's a longish sequence of the two of them (fully clothed) making out in bed.
Another thing is that, in the 1949 version, they'd met while they'd both been part of the military. In this version, Brad had a skiing accident that resulted in a broken leg. Debra was one of the nurses at the hospital he was at. They fell in love and now they're living in his giant mansion.
The cast is so-so. The only two actors who stand out are Stephanie Zimbalist (who was, by the time this movie aired, a fairly popular actor due to her starring role in Remington Steele.) Her portrayal of Debra's insecurity is convincing.
Loni Anderson's take on Lora Mae doesn't make the best first impression. However, she does a really good job with the role. When the movie goes into her backstory and how her relationship with Porter came to be, acting-wise, Anderson is the most interesting wife to follow. Her version of Lora Mae is someone who is genuinely scared of showing her feelings. She's grown up protecting herself from being hurt by others. Sure, she's pretty and she's aware of how desirable she is, but she's still a person with thoughts and feelings. Anderson manages to show all sides of a character in a way that registers as real. And that is what makes watching her story so deeply satisfying.
A small tip of the hat goes to Michael Gross' George. By the time this movie aired, he'd been portraying Steve Keaton in Family Ties for a couple of years. Although I wasn't a fan of the show, I did feel like some of that character's personality influenced his portrayal of George in this movie. His George is given to speechifying in a way that gave me serious deja vu, YMMV.
Oh, and the voice of Addie Ross is Kate Mulgrew! (In the 1949 version, it was Celeste Holm). I did chuckle once I recognized her, NGL. A final cute tidbit: Ann Sothern (who played Rita in the 1949 version) portrays Lora Mae's mother.
Do I have any criticisms?
Well, the movie is NOT good, LOL.
To me, the least interesting couple was Rita/George. A big part of it was what I feel was the suggestions that the director gave Michelle Lee. My best guess is that a lot of the directions were "JUST YELL YOUR LINES!". Whether she's on the phone or having a conversation that escalates to a full-blown argument, Lee's Rita has to say everything at the highest volume ever. It doesn't help that she's so busy all the time that she comes across as extremely frazzled. So there's an additional layer of tension to her marital problems that I found unnecessary. I also don't like the couple cuz they're too talky for my taste.
Which leads me to one of the biggest problems I had with this version. A good 70% of the dialogue was a c&p of the 1949 movie (that wasn't the problem.) Instead of coming up with new dialogue for the remaining 30%, what the script did was add SIXTY PERCENT new dialogue. This meant that every character has more lines and THAT leads to an overexplanation of everything and anything that happens onscreen.
And, like, this movie does not have a complicated plot. It's not a heist, a mystery or spy thriller. So there's zero need for every character to be so fucking chatty. It read to me as the production team didn't trust the audience to understand a v. straightforward plot. IJS.
I totes cringed at the additional dialogue. Especially the bits that were meant to be 'funny' banter. Like in a scene between Brad and George where they're discussing Deborah and what marriage life is like… I was internally facepalming all through it.
Do I recommend it?
LOL, no! Watching this to the end was a STRUGGLE AND A HALF. This movie was a HUGE waste of time. Stick to the 1949 version. I'm giving it a 1 out of 5 (and that was only based on Loni Anderson.)
The video quality is really, really bad. Think a copy of a copy of someone's VHS tape. It's BELOW standard definition, LOL. I mean, you CAN see their faces and whatnot, but it was far from enjoyable.
Queerness level
There's absolutely nothing here and that's a true blessing!
And with this, I'm (temporarily) closing the book on adaptation comparisons, LOL. There deffo are other movies I've got my eye on, but I want to move onto something new for next month. ;)
A Letter to Three Wives (1949) (I own this movie on DVD and digital formats)
Based on a short story by John Klempner called A Letter to Five Wives that had originally been published on Cosmopolitan back in 1945, this movie was adapted for the screen by Vera Caspary and based on a script by Joseph L. Mankowitz (who was also the movie's director.)
This is the perfect example of what ppl talk abt when they mention "women's films". Obvs, 'women's films' exist today, but I'm specifically talking abt those movies that dropped in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. It's a melodrama that, on the surface level, centers around the romantic entanglements of a group of women. However, it also tackles some aspects of post-WWII life for (white) women. In regards to how they re-establish their place in society, what the expectations are for them, and the way women compromise their dreams vs. societal pressures.
The movie begins with three women heading out to run an all-day picnic at a small island that close to their town as part of their women's club activities. There's a 4th women named Addie Ross (the only single member in the group) that's supposed to participate. However, she sends a letter to them in which she says good-bye AND lets them know that she's left town with one of their husbands. She doesn't say whom, but does mention that the woman who's now single will know cuz her husband won't be home to greet her. By the time they finish the letter, the boat has already left the pier and the women can't do anything abt the news.
From there, the majority of the movie is a series of flashbacks where each woman reflects on their marriages, what issues each marriage has, and what level of involvement does Addie Ross has in each of their lives (as far as their husbands are concerned.)
The first marriage is that of Deborah (Jeanne Crain) and Brad (Jeffrey Lynn). They met during WW2, she's basically the 'new kid in town' (because everyone else has lived in the same town forever). A lot of Deborah's insecurities w/r/t her marriage bubble up because of that and due to everyone else being at a higher socio-economic strata than her. Frex, her husband and his circle of friends are members of the country club and attend a lot of galas. Meanwhile, Deborah's background is much more modest (she's a farmgirl who joined the army with the hope of seeing more of the world). ANOTHER insecurity is based on her comparing herself to the wonderful, beautiful, and elegant Addie Ross. One thing that doesn't help is that Brad (just like the other husbands) tends to talk Addie Ross up. It's clear that all three male protagonists not only have individual backstories with Addie, but also appear to have some type of crush on her.
Theirs is the one couple that has the friendliest vibes, tho. Deborah's really in love with Brad. I'm still on the fence as to how Brad feels abt his wife. Especially since afterhe and Addie had dated then broken up, he enlisted and married Deborah rather quickly…
The second couple is Rita (Ann Sothern) and George (Kirk Douglas). She's a successful scriptwriter for radio dramas, he is a high school teacher. They're childhood sweethearts. The issue between them is that Rita's ambition + her workaholic tendencies has put a heavy strain on their marriage. George is A-OK with Rita pursuing her dreams, but he also chafes at how much time Rita puts in her work. It's messing up with their home life. The Addie - George connection is that Addie tends to talk abt literature and other arts related things with George to the point that it's become one of the things that irritates Rita. On top of that, Rita is the main breadwinner and, though he claims to be fine with that, George does snark at Rita abt her position in the family…
The third couple is Lora Mae (Linda Darnell) and Porter (Paul Douglas--no relation to Kirk). Lora Mae lives in the literal wrong side of the tracks and she's also extremely beautiful. Her dream is to be rich. Meanwhile, Porter is not only older than Lora Mae, but has already gone thru a divorce. So he's jaded abt the entire marriage thing. ON TOP OF THAT, he owns the department stores chain that Lora Mae works at. The topic of boss/employee dynamic IS something they talk abt. I liked that the film didn't romanticize it.
Out of the three marriages, Lora Mae/Porter is the most fascinating one to me. They've got this delicious push-and-pull thing going on in which she's trying to land a husband and he's trying to figure out how to avoid getting into another marriage. Their mutual cynicism continues even AFTER they get married, LOL. Their two main problems have to do with Porter's attraction to Addie Ross (it's v. implied that she rejected his advances) AND that, during one nasty fight, Porter throws it in Lora Mae face that he basically bought her affections. Watching a marriage that has such a blatant transactional aspect was kinda !!!, NGL. Thing is both of them are still ppl seeking affection, so the gist of their character arcs is abt both of them being willing to show their vulnerability to each other.
The cast is pretty solid. Jeanne Crain is ridic talented in everything she appears. Unfortch, I don't recall seeing Jeffrey Lynn in anything else (but he does seem to have a reputation for playing "good guy" roles.) Ann Sothern was fine. She's one of those classic actors who has never left me with any kind of impression. Unfortunately for me (because he was a rather terrible person IRL), Kirk Douglas during his B&W era was AMAZING in every movie he appeared in circa my ult fave Out of the Past. I really like him in this movie. Linda Darnell is FANTASTIC as Lora Mae. I'm deffo game for watching more of her movies. Paul Douglas is really good too.
I LOVED the scenes between Connie Gilchrist (Lora Mae's mother) and Thelma Ritter (as Sadie, Lora Mae's mother and also a maid-for-hire).
Speaking of, the DIALOGUE, Y'ALL! It's snappy and funny but can turn sharp and vicious.Good pacing and camerawork. Oh, and there are some audio cues that were v. cool too.
One thing I keep changing my mind is the dang ending. There are two ways of interpreting what really happened. IMO, the ambiguity is nice and doesn't take anything away from the movie. If anything, it makes it a lot more interesting.
Do I have any criticisms?
I'd say that Jeffey Lynn's role as Brad has the least amount of screentime out of everyone in the main cast. So I didn't see that much character development there.
Do I recommend it?
100%. Everything abt this movie works. I know it's available to rent everywhere (there might also be copies uploaded to YT?) I own both a DVD and a digital copy of this movie, so I just cast the movie to my TV.
I'm giving it a 4 out of 5
Queerness level
Nonexistent.
A Letter to Three Wives (1985) (YouTube)
This time around Debra and Brad are played by Stephanie Zimbalist and Charles Frank; Lora Mae and Porter are played by Loni Anderson and Ben Gazzara; Rita and George are played by Michelle Lee and Michael Gross. The movie first aired on NBC.
Since this is set in the 80s, there are certain things that have been added to the film in order to "modernize" it. There's a lot more kissing and more sexy innuendos. Frex, in Debora and Brad's segment, there's a longish sequence of the two of them (fully clothed) making out in bed.
Another thing is that, in the 1949 version, they'd met while they'd both been part of the military. In this version, Brad had a skiing accident that resulted in a broken leg. Debra was one of the nurses at the hospital he was at. They fell in love and now they're living in his giant mansion.
The cast is so-so. The only two actors who stand out are Stephanie Zimbalist (who was, by the time this movie aired, a fairly popular actor due to her starring role in Remington Steele.) Her portrayal of Debra's insecurity is convincing.
Loni Anderson's take on Lora Mae doesn't make the best first impression. However, she does a really good job with the role. When the movie goes into her backstory and how her relationship with Porter came to be, acting-wise, Anderson is the most interesting wife to follow. Her version of Lora Mae is someone who is genuinely scared of showing her feelings. She's grown up protecting herself from being hurt by others. Sure, she's pretty and she's aware of how desirable she is, but she's still a person with thoughts and feelings. Anderson manages to show all sides of a character in a way that registers as real. And that is what makes watching her story so deeply satisfying.
A small tip of the hat goes to Michael Gross' George. By the time this movie aired, he'd been portraying Steve Keaton in Family Ties for a couple of years. Although I wasn't a fan of the show, I did feel like some of that character's personality influenced his portrayal of George in this movie. His George is given to speechifying in a way that gave me serious deja vu, YMMV.
Oh, and the voice of Addie Ross is Kate Mulgrew! (In the 1949 version, it was Celeste Holm). I did chuckle once I recognized her, NGL. A final cute tidbit: Ann Sothern (who played Rita in the 1949 version) portrays Lora Mae's mother.
Do I have any criticisms?
Well, the movie is NOT good, LOL.
To me, the least interesting couple was Rita/George. A big part of it was what I feel was the suggestions that the director gave Michelle Lee. My best guess is that a lot of the directions were "JUST YELL YOUR LINES!". Whether she's on the phone or having a conversation that escalates to a full-blown argument, Lee's Rita has to say everything at the highest volume ever. It doesn't help that she's so busy all the time that she comes across as extremely frazzled. So there's an additional layer of tension to her marital problems that I found unnecessary. I also don't like the couple cuz they're too talky for my taste.
Which leads me to one of the biggest problems I had with this version. A good 70% of the dialogue was a c&p of the 1949 movie (that wasn't the problem.) Instead of coming up with new dialogue for the remaining 30%, what the script did was add SIXTY PERCENT new dialogue. This meant that every character has more lines and THAT leads to an overexplanation of everything and anything that happens onscreen.
And, like, this movie does not have a complicated plot. It's not a heist, a mystery or spy thriller. So there's zero need for every character to be so fucking chatty. It read to me as the production team didn't trust the audience to understand a v. straightforward plot. IJS.
I totes cringed at the additional dialogue. Especially the bits that were meant to be 'funny' banter. Like in a scene between Brad and George where they're discussing Deborah and what marriage life is like… I was internally facepalming all through it.
Do I recommend it?
LOL, no! Watching this to the end was a STRUGGLE AND A HALF. This movie was a HUGE waste of time. Stick to the 1949 version. I'm giving it a 1 out of 5 (and that was only based on Loni Anderson.)
The video quality is really, really bad. Think a copy of a copy of someone's VHS tape. It's BELOW standard definition, LOL. I mean, you CAN see their faces and whatnot, but it was far from enjoyable.
Queerness level
There's absolutely nothing here and that's a true blessing!
And with this, I'm (temporarily) closing the book on adaptation comparisons, LOL. There deffo are other movies I've got my eye on, but I want to move onto something new for next month. ;)
no subject
Date: 2025-02-24 04:03 pm (UTC)It sure was fun reading about this terrible remake that I never, ever intend to watch!
no subject
Date: 2025-02-24 04:24 pm (UTC)LOL, I'm glad my rant abt that TERRIBLE adaptation was entertaining. :P
no subject
Date: 2025-03-03 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-03-12 03:40 pm (UTC)FWIW, I was a literal child when Remington Steele was a thing and, for whatever reason, I never watched Stephanie Zimbalist in anything else until recently. She was better in this movie than in the Hitchcock adaptation of The Man in the Brown Suite...but that's not saying much? In any case, her character in this remake is likable (if a bit too naive? #Unsure). The 1985 movie is a bore, tho. IJS.