A Letter to Three Wives (1949) on Netflix
Deborah Bishop, Rita Phipps and Lora Mae Hollingsway set off on a riverboat picnic. A letter from Addie Ross says she is leaving with one of their husbands, but not which one.
- Netflix4.4/5
- IMDb7.6/1011,901 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
Three couples in a small town are close friends. Brad Bishop came home from the war married to Deborah, a farm girl he met while she served in the Navy WAVES, and she has never felt at ease in his social circle. Rita Phipps writes radio soap operas and earns more than her husband George, a teacher. Lora Mae Hollingsway grew up poor and worked for Porter Hollingsway, the department store owner she later married. All three women resent Addie Ross, the elegant friend their husbands admire. Setting out by riverboat to a picnic with local children, the wives receive a letter from Addie: she is leaving town with one of their husbands, and she does not name him. Across the day, each wife looks back on moments that may have strained her marriage.
Cast
- James Adamsonas Porter's Butler (uncredited)
- Joe Bautistaas Thomasino (uncredited)
Show all 20 cast
- Ralph Brooksas Bookie Dancer at Country Club (uncredited)
- Sam Finnas Second Waiter (uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Joan Crawford, Ida Lupino and Tallulah Bankhead all wanted the unbilled voice role of Addie, the friend heard but never seen, but Celeste Holm was cast in it instead.
- General Douglas MacArthur was so confused by the film's ending that he phoned director Joseph L. Mankiewicz for clarification, a story Mankiewicz's son Christopher tells on the Blu-ray commentary track.
- The riverboat scenes were shot on the Hudson River at Cold Spring, New York, and the children in them were underprivileged students from the Paulist School in Hell's Kitchen, each paid $15 a day.
