The Letter (1940 film)

The Letter
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam Wyler
Screenplay byHoward E. Koch
Based on1927 play The Letter
by W. Somerset Maugham
Produced byHal B. Wallis (Exec)
StarringBette Davis
Herbert Marshall
James Stephenson
CinematographyTony Gaudio
Edited byGeorge Amy
Warren Low
Music byMax Steiner
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • November 22, 1940 (1940-11-22) (New York City)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish, Cantonese

The Letter is a 1940 American crime film noir melodrama directed by William Wyler, and starring Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall and James Stephenson.[1] The screenplay by Howard E. Koch is based on the 1927 play of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham derived from his own short story. The play was first filmed in 1929, by director Jean de Limur. The story was inspired by a real-life scandal involving the Eurasian wife of the headmaster of a school in Kuala Lumpur who was convicted in a murder trial after shooting dead a male friend in April 1911. She was pardoned by the local sultan after a public furor.