The Letter (1982 film)

The Letter
Genre	Drama
Based on	The Letter 1927 play by W. Somerset Maugham
Written by	Lawrence B. Marcus
Directed by	John Erman
Starring	Lee Remick Ian McShane Jack Thompson
Music by	Laurence Rosenthal
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	George Eckstein
Producers	Anna Cottle Kip Gowans
Production locations	Chinatown, Los Angeles, California Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden - 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California Stage 21, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California Stage 6, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California
Cinematography	James Crabe
Editor	Jim Benson
Running time	120 minutes
Production companies	Hajeno Productions Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	May 3, 1982 (1982-05-03)

The Letter is a 1982 American television movie, starring Lee Remick, Ronald Pickup, Jack Thompson, Ian McShane and Christopher Cazenove and directed by John Erman. It is the third film version of the 1927 play of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham.

It screened as part of ABC Theatre.^[1]

Plot

Cast

• Lee Remick as Leslie Crosbie
• Ronald Pickup as Howard Joyce
• Jack Thompson as Robert Crosbie
• Ian McShane as Geoff
• Christopher Cazenove as Officer Withers
• Kieu Chinh as Chinese Woman
• Wilfrid Hyde-White as Judge
• Sarah Marshall as Dorothy Joyce
• Soon-Tek Oh as Ong
• James Hong as Old Man
• Molly Roden as Warden Larkin

Production

Remick's casting was announced in April 1981.^[2] The story had been filmed twice before but Remick said "our version is different because we actually show what happened rather than relying on the woman's explanation."^[3]

Reception

The Chicago Tribune called it "wickedly wonderful."^[4]

The Los Angeles Times called it "quite remarkable...literate, sumptuously produced, beautifully acted."^[5]

Awards

Remick was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film.^[6]

The film won the Primetime Emmy Award for Cinematography for a Limited Series or a Special, Costume Design for a Special, and Art Direction for a Limited Series or a Special.^[7] Laurence Rosenthal was nominated for Music Composition for a Limited Series or a Special (Dramatic Underscore).

References

1. 'ABC Theater' offers Lee Remick in The Letter Los Angeles Times 2 May 1982: m1.
2. LEE REMICK SET FOR 'LETTER' Los Angeles Times 24 Apr 1981: g16.
3. REMICK SHIFTS SCENES IN A TALE OF TWO CITIES: REMICK RETURNS Los Angeles Times 13 Apr 1982: i1.
4. ABC delivers a 'Letter' postmarked intrigue: Marilynn Preston on TV ABC sends a 'Letter' postmarked intrigue Chicago Tribune 3 May 1982: c11.
5. 'THE LETTER': TROPICAL PASSIONS Brown, James. Los Angeles Times 3 May 1982: g
6. "The 40th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1983)". GoldenGlobes.com. Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). Retrieved 2 May 2015.
7. "Nominees/Winners". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved April 13, 2017.

External links

• The Letter at IMDb.com
• ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› The Letter at AllMovie
• The Letter at the TCM Movie Database
• The Letter at Letterbox DVD