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''The Letter'' began life as a short story by Creator/WSomersetMaugham, published in 1926. In 1927 it was made into a play, also written by Maugham. It was then twice adapted into films: an early talkie in 1929, starring stage actress Jeanne Eagels, and a 1940 adaptation starring Creator/BetteDavis.
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''The Letter'' began life as a short story by Creator/WSomersetMaugham, published in 1926. In 1927 it was made into a play, also written by Maugham. It was then twice adapted into films: an early talkie in 1929, starring stage actress Jeanne Eagels, and a 1940 adaptation by director Creator/WilliamWyler starring Creator/BetteDavis.
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No longer a trope.
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* YellowPeril: The overt racism by the white colonials towards the Malay and Chinese natives in both films is overwhelming. Given that most of the white characters are despicable people, however, it's somewhat unclear to what extent either film expects the audience to agree with this point of view.
* YourCheatingHeart: Leslie has been having an affair for years.
* YourCheatingHeart: Leslie has been having an affair for years.
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* YellowPeril: The overt racism by the white colonials towards the Malay and Chinese natives in both films is overwhelming. Given that most of the white characters are despicable people, however, it's somewhat unclear to what extent either film expects the audience to agree with this point of view.
* YourCheatingHeart: Leslie has been having an affair for years.view.
* YourCheatingHeart: Leslie has been having an affair for years.
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* RemakeCameo: Remake Starring Role, actually. Herbert Marshall, who played the murdered lover in the 1929 film, plays the cuckolded husband in the 1940 film.
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* RemakeCameo: Remake Starring Role, actually. Herbert Marshall, Creator/HerbertMarshall, who played the murdered lover in the 1929 film, plays the cuckolded husband in the 1940 film.
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Both film versions earned AcademyAward nominations for their lead actresses, Eagels and Davis. Eagels, who died of a drug overdose not long after ''The Letter'' was released, remains the only person in history to receive a posthumous nomination for Best Actress.
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Both film versions earned AcademyAward UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations for their lead actresses, Eagels and Davis. Eagels, who died of a drug overdose not long after ''The Letter'' was released, remains the only person in history to receive a posthumous nomination for Best Actress.
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** The 1929 film preserves Maugham's original ending, in which Leslie gets away with murder. It ends with her defiantly shouting that she's still in love with the man she killed. By 1940 TheHaysCode dictated that a movie couldn't have a character get away with murder, so an additional scene was tacked on in which Hammond's lover comes to the plantation and kills Leslie.
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** The 1929 film preserves Maugham's original ending, in which Leslie gets away with murder. It ends with her defiantly shouting that she's still in love with the man she killed. By 1940 TheHaysCode UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode dictated that a movie couldn't have a character get away with murder, so an additional scene was tacked on in which Hammond's lover comes to the plantation and kills Leslie.
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Both film versions earned AcademyAward nominations for their lead actresses, Eagels and Davis. Eagels, who died of a drug overdose not long after ''The Letter'' was released, remains the only person in history to receive a posthumous UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Actress.
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Both film versions earned AcademyAward nominations for their lead actresses, Eagels and Davis. Eagels, who died of a drug overdose not long after ''The Letter'' was released, remains the only person in history to receive a posthumous UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Actress.
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'''''The Letter''''' began life as a short story by Creator/WSomersetMaugham, published in 1926. In 1927 it was made into a play, also written by Maugham. It was then twice adapted into films: an early talkie in 1929, starring stage actress Jeanne Eagels, and a 1940 adaptation starring Creator/BetteDavis.
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Both film versions earned Best Actress nominations for their lead actresses, Eagels and Davis. Eagels, who died of a drug overdose not long after ''The Letter'' was released, remains the only person in history to receive a posthumous UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Actress.
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Both film versions earned Best Actress AcademyAward nominations for their lead actresses, Eagels and Davis. Eagels, who died of a drug overdose not long after ''The Letter'' was released, remains the only person in history to receive a posthumous UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Actress.
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'''''The Letter''''' began life as a short story by Creator/WSomersetMaugham, published in 1926. In 1927 it was made into a play, also written by Maugham. It was then twice adapted into films: an early talkie in 1929, starring stage actress Jeanne Eagels, and a 1940 adatation starring Creator/BetteDavis.
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'''''The Letter''''' began life as a short story by Creator/WSomersetMaugham, published in 1926. In 1927 it was made into a play, also written by Maugham. It was then twice adapted into films: an early talkie in 1929, starring stage actress Jeanne Eagels, and a 1940 adatation adaptation starring Creator/BetteDavis.
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Changed line(s) 4,5 (click to see context) from:
''The Letter'' began life as a short story by Creator/WSomersetMaugham, published in 1926. In 1927 it was made into a play, also written by Maugham. It was then twice adapted into films: an early talkie in 1929, starring stage actress Jeanne Eagels, and a 1940 adatation starring Creator/BetteDavis.
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_letter_davis_gun.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Bette Davis, murdering people.]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Bette Davis, murdering people.]]
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Both film versions earned Best Actress nominations for their lead actresses, Eagels and Davis. Eagels, who died of a drug overdose not long after ''The Letter'' was released, remains the only person in history to receive a posthumous AcademyAward nomination for Best Actress.
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Both film versions earned Best Actress nominations for their lead actresses, Eagels and Davis. Eagels, who died of a drug overdose not long after ''The Letter'' was released, remains the only person in history to receive a posthumous AcademyAward UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Actress.
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* OpiumDen: The club that Mrs. Hammond lures Leslie to in the 1940 film is pretty clearly an opium den. In the 1929 film it's a little more vague.
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* OpiumDen: The club that Mrs. Hammond lures Leslie to in the 1940 film is pretty clearly an opium den. In the 1929 film it's a little more vague.
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Added DiffLines:
''The Letter'' began life as a short story by Creator/WSomersetMaugham, published in 1926. In 1927 it was made into a play, also written by Maugham. It was then twice adapted into films: an early talkie in 1929, starring stage actress Jeanne Eagels, and a 1940 adatation starring Creator/BetteDavis.
Leslie Crosbie, the wife of Howard Crosbie, who manages a rubber plantation in Malaya, puts six bullets into one Geoffrey Hammond, when he visits her house. Mrs. Crosbie insists that Hammond, a friend of the family, had come to the house uninvited and attempted to rape her. Everyone believes her, and it seems that she will win an easy acquittal at the ensuing trial, until Howard Joyce, her attorney, receives a disurbing message from his Chinese assistant. It seems that Hammond's lover (in the 1929 film) or wife (in the 1940 film) is in possession of a letter that indicates that Hammond came to the house at Mrs. Crosbie's invitation, and that in fact they were lovers.
Both film versions earned Best Actress nominations for their lead actresses, Eagels and Davis. Eagels, who died of a drug overdose not long after ''The Letter'' was released, remains the only person in history to receive a posthumous AcademyAward nomination for Best Actress.
----
!!Tropes:
* AsianSpeekeeEngrish: Happens with various Chinese characters in both films, including Hammond's mistress/wife and Joyce's devious assistant.
* {{Blackmail}}: Hammond's mistress/wife sells Leslie the incriminating letter, but not without humiliating her first.
* BlatantLies: In the 1929 film, as Leslie tells a ridiculous story about an AttemptedRape. In the 1940 film it is not obvious that Leslie is lying until the letter is mentioned.
* DemotedToExtra: The 1929 film starts off with some establishing scenes in which Hammond, Leslie's lover, receives the letter and goes to Leslie's house. He breaks up with her, and she shoots him. The 1940 film deletes these scenes and opens with Leslie emptying a revolver into Hammond. In this version the actor playing Hammond does not have any dialogue.
* DragonLady: Hammond's mistress/wife, dressed up in Chinese garb, who is overtly threatening towards Leslie.
* {{Fainting}}: In the 1940 film Leslie pulls this stunt after her lawyer's questions start getting uncomfortable.
* GreenEyedMonster: Leslie murders Hammond in a jealous rage after he breaks up with her.
* InscrutableOriental: Joyce's Chinese assistant, who maintains his air of obsequious politeness even while blackmailing Joyce and Leslie with the incriminating letter.
* KarmaHoudini: 1929 film (see Lighter and Softer below).
* LaserGuidedKarma: 1940 film (see Lighter and Softer below).
* LighterAndSofter:
** The 1929 film preserves Maugham's original ending, in which Leslie gets away with murder. It ends with her defiantly shouting that she's still in love with the man she killed. By 1940 TheHaysCode dictated that a movie couldn't have a character get away with murder, so an additional scene was tacked on in which Hammond's lover comes to the plantation and kills Leslie.
** Additionally, while in both the play and 1929 film Hammond has a Chinese lover, in the 1940 film she is his secret wife.
* MalignedMixedMarriage: Leslie feels no shame in saying that she excluded Hammond from their social circle after finding out about his Chinese mistress/wife. Everyone else agrees that the revelation about Hammond's personal life changed opinion against him and resulted in Leslie's acquittal.
* MightyWhiteyAndMellowYellow: Hammond and his Chinese mistress in the 1929 film. He tells Leslie that he doesn't love her, he loves Li Ti. (Also true in the backstory of 1940 film, but not shown, as the film starts with Hammond's murder.)
* RaceLift: Hammond's Chinese mistress is made "Eurasian" in the 1940 film.
* OpiumDen: The club that Mrs. Hammond lures Leslie to in the 1940 film is pretty clearly an opium den. In the 1929 film it's a little more vague.
* RemakeCameo: Remake Starring Role, actually. Herbert Marshall, who played the murdered lover in the 1929 film, plays the cuckolded husband in the 1940 film.
* SexSlave: In easily the weirdest scene in the 1929 film, Li Ti pulls a curtain and reveals to Leslie a bunch of Chinese women being kept in a cage. They seem to be in good spirits, though, laughing when Li Ti embarrasses Leslie.
* VillainProtagonist: Leslie Crosbie, adulterer and murderer.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Everyone is only too eager to believe that Leslie was justified in shooting Hammond--six times.
* {{Yellowface}}: Gale Sondegaard as a half-Chinese woman in the 1940 film.
* YellowPeril: The overt racism by the white colonials towards the Malay and Chinese natives in both films is overwhelming. Given that most of the white characters are despicable people, however, it's somewhat unclear to what extent either film expects the audience to agree with this point of view.
* YourCheatingHeart: Leslie has been having an affair for years.
Leslie Crosbie, the wife of Howard Crosbie, who manages a rubber plantation in Malaya, puts six bullets into one Geoffrey Hammond, when he visits her house. Mrs. Crosbie insists that Hammond, a friend of the family, had come to the house uninvited and attempted to rape her. Everyone believes her, and it seems that she will win an easy acquittal at the ensuing trial, until Howard Joyce, her attorney, receives a disurbing message from his Chinese assistant. It seems that Hammond's lover (in the 1929 film) or wife (in the 1940 film) is in possession of a letter that indicates that Hammond came to the house at Mrs. Crosbie's invitation, and that in fact they were lovers.
Both film versions earned Best Actress nominations for their lead actresses, Eagels and Davis. Eagels, who died of a drug overdose not long after ''The Letter'' was released, remains the only person in history to receive a posthumous AcademyAward nomination for Best Actress.
----
!!Tropes:
* AsianSpeekeeEngrish: Happens with various Chinese characters in both films, including Hammond's mistress/wife and Joyce's devious assistant.
* {{Blackmail}}: Hammond's mistress/wife sells Leslie the incriminating letter, but not without humiliating her first.
* BlatantLies: In the 1929 film, as Leslie tells a ridiculous story about an AttemptedRape. In the 1940 film it is not obvious that Leslie is lying until the letter is mentioned.
* DemotedToExtra: The 1929 film starts off with some establishing scenes in which Hammond, Leslie's lover, receives the letter and goes to Leslie's house. He breaks up with her, and she shoots him. The 1940 film deletes these scenes and opens with Leslie emptying a revolver into Hammond. In this version the actor playing Hammond does not have any dialogue.
* DragonLady: Hammond's mistress/wife, dressed up in Chinese garb, who is overtly threatening towards Leslie.
* {{Fainting}}: In the 1940 film Leslie pulls this stunt after her lawyer's questions start getting uncomfortable.
* GreenEyedMonster: Leslie murders Hammond in a jealous rage after he breaks up with her.
* InscrutableOriental: Joyce's Chinese assistant, who maintains his air of obsequious politeness even while blackmailing Joyce and Leslie with the incriminating letter.
* KarmaHoudini: 1929 film (see Lighter and Softer below).
* LaserGuidedKarma: 1940 film (see Lighter and Softer below).
* LighterAndSofter:
** The 1929 film preserves Maugham's original ending, in which Leslie gets away with murder. It ends with her defiantly shouting that she's still in love with the man she killed. By 1940 TheHaysCode dictated that a movie couldn't have a character get away with murder, so an additional scene was tacked on in which Hammond's lover comes to the plantation and kills Leslie.
** Additionally, while in both the play and 1929 film Hammond has a Chinese lover, in the 1940 film she is his secret wife.
* MalignedMixedMarriage: Leslie feels no shame in saying that she excluded Hammond from their social circle after finding out about his Chinese mistress/wife. Everyone else agrees that the revelation about Hammond's personal life changed opinion against him and resulted in Leslie's acquittal.
* MightyWhiteyAndMellowYellow: Hammond and his Chinese mistress in the 1929 film. He tells Leslie that he doesn't love her, he loves Li Ti. (Also true in the backstory of 1940 film, but not shown, as the film starts with Hammond's murder.)
* RaceLift: Hammond's Chinese mistress is made "Eurasian" in the 1940 film.
* OpiumDen: The club that Mrs. Hammond lures Leslie to in the 1940 film is pretty clearly an opium den. In the 1929 film it's a little more vague.
* RemakeCameo: Remake Starring Role, actually. Herbert Marshall, who played the murdered lover in the 1929 film, plays the cuckolded husband in the 1940 film.
* SexSlave: In easily the weirdest scene in the 1929 film, Li Ti pulls a curtain and reveals to Leslie a bunch of Chinese women being kept in a cage. They seem to be in good spirits, though, laughing when Li Ti embarrasses Leslie.
* VillainProtagonist: Leslie Crosbie, adulterer and murderer.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Everyone is only too eager to believe that Leslie was justified in shooting Hammond--six times.
* {{Yellowface}}: Gale Sondegaard as a half-Chinese woman in the 1940 film.
* YellowPeril: The overt racism by the white colonials towards the Malay and Chinese natives in both films is overwhelming. Given that most of the white characters are despicable people, however, it's somewhat unclear to what extent either film expects the audience to agree with this point of view.
* YourCheatingHeart: Leslie has been having an affair for years.
