Jeanne Eagels

Reginald Owen

Herbert Marshall

Irene Browne

O. P. Heggie

Lady Tsen Mei

Tamaki Yoshiwara

Fredi Washington

Isabel Washington

Jean de Limur

Garrett Fort

W. Somerset Maugham

Monta Bell

George J. Folsey

Irvin Talbot

Drama

The Letter

Paramount Pictures

United States of America

CinemaSerf

This is a superb character-driven performance from Jeanne Eagels as the bored wife who turns from her indifferent husband "Robert" (Reginald Owen) to the caddish "Geoffrey" (Herbert Marshall). When the latter shows her his true colours, he gets his comeuppance and a trial ensues. Provocation bordering on attempted rape is cited and she looks set for acquittal until it emerges that his Chinese mistress is in possession of a letter that might not quite support her version of the story - and she wants £10,000 for it! The production is quite heavily styled, very theatrical without very much visual intensity (the print I saw was really rather dark and gloomy) - but it's the performance from the star that sets this apart. She is enthralling, her stage background helping to provide us with an excellent tour de force that is really good to watch.

English

THE LETTER (Preview Clip)