A Letter to Three Wives

Three wives, played by Jeanne Crain, Ann Sothern and Linda Darnell, are about to embark on a boat trip when each receives a letter, written by a mutual friend named Addie, informing her that Addie is about to run off with one of their husbands. In flashback, each wife wonders if it is her marriage that is in jeopardy..

Lora May Hollingsway, who grew up next to the wrong side of the tracks, married her boss who thinks she is just a gold digger. Rita Phipps makes as much money writing radio scripts at night as her school teacher husband does. Deborah Bishop looked great in a Navy uniform in WWII but fears she'll never be dressed just right for the Country Club set. These three wives are boarding a boat filled with children going on a picnic when a messenger on a bicycle hands them a letter addressed to all three from Addie who has just left town with one of their husbands. They won't know which one until that night.

Wealthy Chloe Brasher has three beautiful daughters; Bonnie, Kate, and Jan. Chloe pays attorney Deke Gentry to fix them up with three suitable husbands.

At fifteen, Linda Darnell left her Texas home and normal adolescence to live the Hollywood dream promoted by fan magazine and studio publicity offices. She appeared in dozens of films and won international acclaim for Blood and Sand (playing opposite Tyrone Power), Forever Amber, A Letter to Three Wives, and the original version of Unfaithfully Yours.

In this filmed Chekhov adaptation, Olga is an alluring peasant woman who lures cynical aristocrat Fedor away from his milquetoast fiancee, with tragic consequences.

L’équilibre de légèreté et de profondeur que l’on trouve dans le cinéma hollywoodien des années 40-50 m’a toujours semblé idéal. Sublimes et accessibles, des films comme A letter to three wives de Mankiewicz ou Gilda avec Rita Hayworth ont été ma porte d’entrée vers des films d’auteurs plus difficiles. Aussi, lorsque j’ai commencé à réfléchir à un programme de disque pour faire découvrir la mandoline, c’est cette alchimie hollywoodienne qui m’a inspiré. Le répertoire italien et sud-américain pour mandoline, qui estompe les frontières entre musiques savantes et populaires, s’est alors imposé comme une évidence pour créer ce Paradis Latin.