The Letter

E144658

The Letter is a 1940 film noir drama starring Bette Davis as a woman accused of murder in colonial Malaya, renowned for her powerful performance and the film’s tense, atmospheric storytelling.

All labels observed (3)

Label Occurrences
The Letter canonical 7
The Letter (1940 film) 2
The Letter (play) 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf drama film
film
film noir
adaptationOf 1927 play The Letter
artDirectionBy Carl Jules Weyl
basedOn The Letter (play)
linked to: The Letter
basedOnWorkAuthor W. Somerset Maugham
blackAndWhite true
cinematography Tony Gaudio
costumeDesignBy Orry-Kelly
countryOfOrigin United States
director William Wyler
distributedBy Warner Bros.
distributorRegion United States theatrical release
era Golden Age of Hollywood
filmEditingBy Warren Low
genre drama
film noir
leadCharacter Leslie Crosbie
linked to: Renée Asherson
musicBy Max Steiner
narrativeLocation rubber plantation in colonial Malaya
nominatedFor Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Academy Award for Best Director
Academy Award for Best Film Editing
Academy Award for Best Original Score
Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
notableFor Bette Davis’s powerful lead performance
opening scene of a shooting on a moonlit plantation
tense atmospheric storytelling
originalLanguage English
plotSummary A married woman in colonial Malaya is tried for the murder of her lover after claiming self-defense.
portraysCharacter Bette Davis as Leslie Crosbie
Gale Sondergaard as Mrs. Hammond
Herbert Marshall as Robert Crosbie
James Stephenson as Howard Joyce
previousAdaptation The Letter (1929 film)
producer Hal B. Wallis
productionCompany Warner Bros.
releaseDate 1940-11-02
releaseYear 1940
runtimeMinutes 95
screenwriter Howard E. Koch
settingLocation British Malaya
starring Bette Davis
Bruce Lester
Frieda Inescort
Gale Sondergaard
Herbert Marshall
James Stephenson

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (10)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Bette Davis notableWork The Letter
William Wyler notableWork The Letter
William Wyler directed The Letter
Herbert Marshall notableWork The Letter
The Letter (1940 film) basedOn The Letter (play)
subject linked to: The Letter
linked to: The Letter
The Letter title The Letter
Ruth Elizabeth Davis notableWork The Letter
Gale Sondergaard performedIn The Letter (1940 film)
linked to: The Letter
Victor Sen Yung appearedIn The Letter (1940 film)
linked to: The Letter
Elizabeth Inglis notableWork The Letter