A Letter to Three Wives



""It's a man's world. Yeah! See something you want, go after it and get it! That's nature. It's why we're made strong and women weak. Strong conquer and provide for the weak. That's what a man's for! Teach our kids that, there'd be more men!""

- Porter Hollingsway

A Letter to Three Wives is a 1949 film adapted from the novel Letter to Five Wives by John Klempner. Three women: Lora Mae, Rita and Deborah, receive a letter from a friend telling that she's run-off with one of their husbands. The thing is that she's not telling whose husband it is; she's letting them guess for themselves. Won Oscars for Best Director and Best Screenplay, both for Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and was nominated for Best Picture.

"Lora Mae: Open it up. Debra: No, wait...Knowing it's Addie, I mean, why let her spoil our day? Rita: Not my day. Addie Ross never saw the day she could spoil my day."
 * Adaptation Distillation: This was based on the novel Letter to Five Wives. Two wives were taken out, one at the start, the other after the first draft, in order to help tighten the film.
 * The Atoner:
 * Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other:
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Addie Ross. Whether they were ever in love with her or not, all 3 husbands think Addie is simply wonderful. She knows this. Which is why she didn't say which husband she ran off with, knowing it will torment all three wives equally.
 * Foreshadowing: A subtle one, at the start, the 3 wives' initial reaction to the letter before it's open.


 * Happily Married: Wondering just how "happily married" the 3 wives are is the whole point of the movie.
 * Debra desperately hopes that she and Brad are this.
 * What Rita and George are most of the time. Except they did have that nasty fight just the night before...
 * What Lora Mae and Porter are most definitely not.
 * Henpecked Husband: None of the 3 main husbands, but the ironically named Mr. Manleigh.
 * How We Got Here: The three wives reminisce on their lives as they try to figure out whose husband was the one.
 * Moral Guardians: The Manleighs.
 * The Perry Mason Method: An out of court variant.
 * Pretty in Mink: Debra has a sable coat, and Lora has a white mink wrap.
 * Stylistic Suck: The radio commercials and soap operas (two apiece) are all hilariously awful.
 * Take That: An In-Universe example where George goes off about how what he thinks is wrong with advertising.
 * The Unfair Sex: Averted; the film has us sympathize with both the men and the women.
 * Viewers are Morons: George goes on a rant about how advertising treats customers like this.
 * The Voice: Addie Ross, the author of the titular letter.