The Letter Analysis

The Letter, the 1940 film by William Wyler and starring Bette Davis, was a product of its time. Between the Hays Code resulting in the death of the central character and the Asian stereotypes and whitewashing, and that it was considered a melodramatic women’s film, it would be near impossible to recreate it today. The movie featured two strong female characters, but neither are portrayed particularly well, especially the “Eurasian” woman (who was played by a white actress). This discord between the lack of accurate representation and the art of film during this era of Hollywood is best shown through The Letter.

It was interesting to see women leading a film, especially in a movie from the 1940s. When thinking of this era of film, I think solely of male led films such as Citizen Kane, and I had never heard of this movie or that there was a whole genre of movies for women in the 40s, albeit they were extremely melodramatic and if the women did something considered bad, they would have to be punished for it according to the code that movies made by Hollywood had to follow at this time. The main character of the film, Leslie, almost gets away with committing murder after falsely claiming that she killed the main in self defense. This plot point reinforces that white women can do no wrong, especially as a white woman with money. However, Leslie does end up paying the ultimate price for cheating on her husband and killing the man she was sleeping with. This shows that representation, especially during this time, was almost a double-edged sword.

For example, technically, there was Asian representation within the film, but as previously mentioned, the Eurasian woman was played by a white actress. There was an Asian male character, named Ong, but the writing of his character relies mostly on stereotypes. The scene with the lawyer’s car versus Ong’s plays on stereotypes on Asian men and Ong’s character is made to seem wily and untrustworthy.Overall, this was such a weird but interesting movie to watch. Some of the technical work was great, such as as the continuing theme of shades and characters’ faces in the shadows. This continues Caligari’s influence and shows what black and white film can accomplish. It has elements of film noir common during movies of this time period. Although not anywhere near perfect, The Letter expands and outperforms the genre it was subjected to during the time in which it was made. Women led films were looked down upon (and still are), so it was heartbreaking to see a strong female character be made into a racist, murdering woman that ended up having to be killed to fit the rules of movies. It was also horrible to watch another strong female character be reduced to stereotypes and whitewashing and also having to turn to murder. The Letter is a movie almost forgotten by modern film audiences, especially overshadowed by another movie that came out in 1940, Citizen Kane. I think more people need to view and appreciate this film for what it is- a product of its time that serves as a reminder of how far film has gone.