Linda Darnell

Charles Boyer

Michael Rennie

Constance Smith

Françoise Rosay

Judith Evelyn

Guy Sorel

June Hedin

George Alexander

Jacques Auger

Lucie Boitres

C. Bosvier

Sheila M. Coonan

Wilford Davidson

Camille Ducharme

J. Léo Gagnon

Blanche Gauthier

Arthur Groulx

Paul Guèvremont

L.P. Herbert

Robin Hughes

Odie Lemire

Ovila Légaré

Stanley Mann

Patrick O'Moore

Gilles Pelletier

Otto Preminger

Louis Chavance

Alex North

Joseph LaShelle

Louis R. Loeffler

Howard Koch

Maurice Ransford

Lyle R. Wheeler

Thomas Little

Walter M. Scott

Edward Stevenson

Ben Nye

Richard Maybery

Roger Heman Sr.

Arthur von Kirbach

Fred Sersen

Charles LeMaire

Maurice De Packh

Lionel Newman

Paul L'Anglais

Crime

Mystery

Thriller

The 13th Letter

20th Century Fox

United States of America

CinemaSerf

This film is probably more notable for it's distinctive voices than for it's action or story. You can instantly recognise the dulcet tones of Charles Boyer and Michael Rennie long before we get into the nitty gritty of what is quite a complex plot. Building on the innate nosiness of small town folks, we find ourselves in a small Quebecois town where Rennie ("Dr. Pearson") arrives to set up his practice. Now there is already a doctor here (Boyer) but he is getting on a bit and his wife "Denise" (Linda Darnell) starts to visit the new fella to treat her never ending list of (largely fictitious) ailments. "Pearson" is not remotely interested in any form of assignation with the younger woman - he has demons of his own on that from, but when egregious letters start arriving signed only with the sign of a quill, the tongues start to wag at the new physician's expense. He determines to get to the bottom of this mystery before what's left of his reputation goes the way of the dodo. Otto Preminger could have dug a bit deeper into the mystery and immersed us a bit better in this quite intriguing story, but as it is it is all just a little bit light and actually quite slow at times. A sort of private detective story that moves in fits and starts with a great deal of score. Still, Boyer is on quite good form and even if Rennie is a slightly unlikely romantic hero, this film still holds the attention well enough before an ending that I wasn't quite expecting.

English