{"id":12807,"date":"2023-04-07T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-07T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/derangedlacrimes.com\/?p=12807"},"modified":"2023-04-06T14:39:59","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T21:39:59","slug":"film-noir-friday-the-letter-1929-1940","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/derangedlacrimes.com\/?p=12807","title":{"rendered":"Film Noir Friday: The Letter [1929 &#038; 1940]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/derangedlacrimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/la-carta_bette-davis-1940.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12813\" srcset=\"https:\/\/derangedlacrimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/la-carta_bette-davis-1940.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/derangedlacrimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/la-carta_bette-davis-1940-768x525.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Welcome! &nbsp;The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open! Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tonight we&#8217;re going to take a deep dive into two movies based a story by W. Somerset Maugham. An actual murder in Kuala Lumpur in 1911, inspired Maugham to write <strong>THE LETTER<\/strong>.  If you are interested in the crime that provided the inspiration, search for Ethel Proudlock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, we&#8217;ll check out Eddie Muller&#8217;s (the Czar of Noir), introduction to the 1940 version of the film for TCM&#8217;s Noir Alley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Eddie Muller&#039;s intro to  The Letter  1940 on TCM Noir Alley\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HRBQdS-o_oY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The 1940 version stars Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall (who appeared in the 1929 version in the role of the lover). Directed by William Wyler, the movie opens with an unforgettable scene. The tension never lets up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>TCM says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Leslie Crosbie, the wife of a British rubber planter in Malay, shoots and kills Jeff Hammond, and claims that she was defending her honor. To defend Leslie, her husband Robert sends for family friend and attorney Howard Joyce, who questions Leslie&#8217;s story.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Letter, The 1940 Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, William Wyler, Crime, Drama, Film\" width=\"584\" height=\"438\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CeFgeJo4QgY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The 1929 version of THE LETTER, stars Jeanne Eagels and Herbert Marshall.  Jeanne Eagels&#8217; life was tragically cut short by drug addiction. She was nominated posthumously for her work in THE LETTER. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"647\" height=\"488\" src=\"https:\/\/derangedlacrimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/The_Letter_Jeanne-Eagels-poster-1929.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12815\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>TCM says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Marooned on a rubber plantation in the East Indies, Leslie Crosbie turns to Geoffrey Hammond for the love and diversion that she does not find with her husband. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Letter-- directed by Jean de Limur, 1929 \u2014 Jeanne Eagels, Herbert Marshall, O. P. Heggie\" width=\"584\" height=\"438\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Zv3fS4Z3Xqg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome! &nbsp;The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open! Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight we&#8217;re going to take a deep dive into two movies based a story &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/derangedlacrimes.com\/?p=12807\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[646,2,6,248],"tags":[2945,269,663,1547,2946,2257,2949,2947,2944,2948],"class_list":["post-12807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1910s","category-1920s","category-1940s","category-film-noir-friday","tag-2945","tag-269","tag-bette-davis","tag-eddie-muller","tag-ethel-proudlock","tag-herbert-marshall","tag-jeanne-eagels","tag-tcm-noir-alley","tag-w-somerset-maugham","tag-william-wyler"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.11 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Film Noir Friday: The Letter [1929 &amp; 1940] - Deranged LA Crimes \u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/derangedlacrimes.com\/?p=12807\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Film Noir Friday: The Letter [1929 &amp; 1940] - Deranged LA Crimes \u00ae\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Welcome! &nbsp;The lobby of the Deranged L.A. 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