Letter, The (1940): William Wyler’s Superb Oscar-Nominated Melodrama, Starring Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Gale Sondergaard

William Wyler's “The Letter,” a remake of the 1929 film based on Somerset Maugham's tale of an adulteress wife who shoots her lover in a jealous rage, was marked by distinctive visual style, nuanced mise-en-scene, and superlative acting by Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, and James Stephenson.