Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, and William Bendix star in “Detective Story”

Detective Story (1951) is an American drama directed by William Wyler and starring Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, and William Bendix. The supporting cast includes Cathy O’Donnell, George Macready, Lee Grant, and Joseph Wiseman. This was the film debut for both Grant and Wiseman.

The film takes place over one day at a New York City police station. Kirk Douglas plays a tough detective who, in his pursuit of criminals, leads him to discover a secret that could destroy his marriage and career.

Click HERE to watch the film on the Internet Movie Archive

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Click HERE to join the online discussion on May 5, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Kirk Douglas and Eleanor Parker

Detective Story trivia

• The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Eleanor Parker and Best Supporting Actress for Lee Grant.
• Alan Ladd was originally offered the role of Detective McLeod.
• The film is based on the Broadway play that ran for 581 performances. Ralph Bellamy starred as Detective McLeod.
• Joseph Wiseman and Lee Grant recreated their stage roles.
• Cathy O’Donnell and Gladys George were directed by William Wyler in The Best Years of Our Lives.

Discussion questions

1. Do you think the play transferred to film successfully?
2. Eleanor Parker is on screen for just over 20 minutes but it was enough for her to get a Best Actress nod. Do you think she deserved it?
3. What did you think of Kirk Douglas’s performance as the detective?
4. The movie has an amazing supporting cast. Did any one performance stand out to you?
5. Did anything about the film surprise you
6. Would you recommend this movie to a friend?

Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, and Ann Sothern receive “A Letter to Three Wives”

A Letter to Three Wives (1949) is an American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, and Ann Sothern. The supporting cast includes Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas, Jeffrey Lynn, Connie Gilchrist, Barbara Lawrence, and Thelma Ritter.

The film is based on the novel A Letter to Five Wives (1945) by John Klempner. Mankiewicz wrote the screenplay based on an adaptation by Vera Caspary (Laura). The cinematography was by Arthur C. Miller, with music by Alfred Newman. A Letter to Three Wives was one of Twentieth Century-Fox’s most important productions of the year.

The movie tells the story of a woman (Addie Ross) who sends a letter to three of her “dearest friends” (Crain, Darnell, and Sothern) informing them that she has run off with one of their husbands but not revealing which one. The letter is delivered while the women board a riverboat to chaperone a group of underprivileged children. While they cruise up the river and spend the day picnicking with the children, each wife reflects on her marriage and wonders if their husband has run off with Ross.

Linda Darnell, Anne Sothern, and Jeanne Crain

Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1929 – 1972) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz won Academy Awards for directing and writing A Letter to Three Wives (1949), and All About Eve (1950). He is the only director to win back-to-back Academy Awards for writing and directing. Other films directed by Mankiewicz include Dragonwyck (1946), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Julius Caesar (1953), The Barefoot Contessa (1954), and Guys and Dolls (1955). He directed the 1963 crisis-plagued production of Cleopatra which negatively affected his career as a director.

Jeanne Crain (1925 – 2003) was an American actress whose career spanned more than three decades. While still a teenager, she was asked to take a screen test with Orson Welles. He was testing for the part of Lucy Morgan in his production of The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). She didn’t get the part (Anne Baxter did), but she was on her way. She had a bit part in The Gang’s All Here (1943) but had a leading role in Home in Indiana (1944). The film was a box office hit and Crain became a favorite of film fans everywhere. She had another hit with Winged Victory (1944) and co-starred with Dana Andrews in the musical State Fair (1945). That same year, she was the “good girl” opposite Gene Tierney’s “bad girl” in Leave Her to Heaven. More good roles came her way including leads in A Letter to Three Wives (1949), The Fan (1949), and Pinky (1949). The latter won her a Best Actress Oscar nomination. She lost that year to Olivia de Havilland. Crain’s popularity continued into the 1950s but suffered when she was released from her exclusive contract with 20th Century-Fox. She continued to work in films and on television until 1975.

Paul Douglas and Linda Darnell

Linda Darnell (1923 – 1965) was an American film actress. She signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox at age 15 and became a star almost overnight. She was immediately cast opposite Tyrone Power in Day-Time Wife (1939). She made two films with Power in 1940: Brigham Young and The Mark of Zorro. In 1941, she was again paired with Power in Blood and Sand, which also starred an up-and-coming Rita Hayworth. Darnell’s most famous role was that of Amber St. Clair in Forever Amber (1946), which turned out to be the biggest hit of the year. The role of Amber was the most sought-after female role since the casting of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). Other important films she starred in include Unfaithfully Yours (1948), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), and No Way Out (1950). She died tragically at age 41 in a fire while visiting friends in Glenview, Illinois.

Ann Sothern (1909 - 2001) was an American actress who worked on the stage, radio, film, and television. Sothern’s most commercially successful film role was as Maisie Ravier in a series of films while she was at M-G-M. Maisie, a Brooklyn showgirl was based on the short stories by Nell Martin. Films in the series include Congo Maisie (1940), Gold Rush Maisie (1940), and Up Goes Maisie (1946). The character was so popular that Sothern played the character on the radio in The Adventure of Maisie (1939 - 1947) series. At M-G-M, Sothern starred in the film version of Panama Hattie (1942) opposite Red Skelton, which was a box-office success. In 1949, she starred in A Letter to Three Wives which brought her great reviews but did little to advance her career. In 1953, Sothern starred as Susie MacNamara in the television series Private Secretary, (1953 - 1957), and the next year starred in The Ann Sothern Show (1958 - 1961). Sothern continued working on stage, screen, and television. Her last film role was in The Whales of August (1987). For her role she earned her only Best Supporting Academy Award nomination.

Jeanne Crain, Jeffrey Lynn, Kirk Douglas, and Ann Sothern

A Letter to Three Wives trivia

• Originally, the film was going to be called A Letter to Four Wives with the fourth wife being Anne Baxter, but her character wasn’t considered as strong as the other three so her segment was cut.
• Joseph L. Mankiewicz won the Best Director and Best Screenplay Academy Awards for his work on this film and would repeat the wins the next year with All About Eve. No one has ever achieved this feat.
• One of Thelma Ritter’s early roles, so early in fact she doesn't even receive on-screen billing.
• Tyrone Power, Joan Crawford, Gene Tierney, Dorothy McGuire, Maureen O’Hara, and Ida Lupino were all considered for roles.
• Linda Darnell and Mankiewicz were involved in an affair during the production.
• Darnell and Barbara Lawrence played sisters the year before in Unfaithfully Yours.
• Silent film star Mae Marsh has a small role as the women’s washroom attendant at the country club.

Click HERE to watch the movie on YouTube, or click on the link below.

Why watch this movie?

• Another great example of what the studio system could produce at its peak.
• One of writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s best films.
• It’s a showcase for the talents of Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, and Ann Sothern.
• It boasts early performances from Kirk and Paul Douglas and Thelma Ritter.

To join us for a discussion on Zoom, June 1, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click on the link here. Once you RSVP, you’ll receive an email with a link to the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion Questions

1. What did you think of the ensemble cast?
2. Do you think this film is still relevant in the 21st Century?
3. Did you have a favorite wife?
4. A favorite scene or piece of dialogue?
5. How does this film compare with All About Eve released the next year?

Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, and Ann Sothern receive “A Letter to Three Wives”

A Letter to Three Wives (1949) is an American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, and Ann Sothern. The supporting cast includes Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas, Jeffrey Lynn, Connie Gilchrist, Barbara Lawrence, and Thelma Ritter.

The film is based on the novel A Letter to Five Wives (1945) by John Klempner. Mankiewicz wrote the screenplay based on an adaptation by Vera Caspary (Laura). The cinematography was by Arthur C. Miller, with music by Alfred Newman. A Letter to Three Wives was one of Twentieth Century-Fox’s most important productions of the year.

The movie tells the story of a woman (Addie Ross) who sends a letter to three of her “dearest friends” (Crain, Darnell, and Sothern) informing them that she has run off with one of their husbands but not revealing which one. The letter is delivered while the women are getting on board a riverboat to chaperone a group of underprivileged children. While they cruise up the river and spend the day picnicking with the children, each wife reflects on her marriage and wonders if it’s their husband who has run off with Ross.

Linda Darnell, Anne Sothern, and Jeanne Crain

Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1929 – 1972) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz won Academy Awards for directing and writing A Letter to Three Wives (1949), and All About Eve (1950). He is the only director to win back-to-back Academy Awards for writing and directing. Other films directed by Mankiewicz include Dragonwyck (1946), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Julius Caesar (1953), The Barefoot Contessa (1954), and Guys and Dolls (1955). He directed the 1963 crisis-plagued production of Cleopatra which negatively affected his career as a director.

Jeanne Crain (1925 – 2003) was an American actress whose career spanned more than three decades. While still a teenager, she was asked to take a screen test with Orson Welles. He was testing for the part of Lucy Morgan in his production of The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). She didn’t get the part (Anne Baxter did), but she was on her way. She had a bit part in The Gang’s All Here (1943) but had a leading role in Home in Indiana (1944). The film was a box office hit and Crain became a favorite of film fans everywhere. She had another hit with Winged Victory (1944) and co-starred with Dana Andrews in the musical State Fair (1945). That same year, she was the “good girl” opposite Gene Tierney’s “bad girl” in Leave Her to Heaven. More good roles came her way including leads in A Letter to Three Wives (1949), The Fan (1949), and Pinky (1949). The latter won her a Best Actress Oscar nomination. She lost that year to Olivia de Havilland. Crain’s popularity continued into the 1950s but suffered when she was released from her exclusive contract with 20th Century-Fox. She continued to work in films and on television until 1975.

Paul Douglas and Linda Darnell

Linda Darnell (1923 – 1965) was an American film actress. She signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox at age 15 and became a star almost overnight. She was immediately cast opposite Tyrone Power in Day-Time Wife (1939). She made two films with Power in 1940: Brigham Young and The Mark of Zorro. In 1941, she was again paired with Power in Blood and Sand, which also starred an up-and-coming Rita Hayworth. Darnell’s most famous role was that of Amber St. Clair in Forever Amber (1946), which turned out the be the biggest hit of the year. The role of Amber was the most sought-after female role since the casting of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). Other important films she starred in include Unfaithfully Yours (1948), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), and No Way Out (1950). She died tragically at age 41 in a fire while visiting friends in Glenview, Illinois.

Ann Sothern (1909 - 2001) was an American actress who worked on the stage, radio, film, and television. Sothern’s most commercially successful film role was as Maisie Ravier in a series of films while she was at M-G-M. Maisie, a Brooklyn showgirl was based on the short stories by Nell Martin. Films in the series include Congo Maisie (1940), Gold Rush Maisie (1940), and Up Goes Maisie (1946). The character was so popular that Sothern played the character on the radio in The Adventure of Maisie (1939 - 1947) series. At M-G-M, Sothern starred in the film version of Panama Hattie (1942) opposite Red Skelton, which was a box office success. In 1949, she starred in A Letter to Three Wives which brought her great reviews but did little to advance her career. In 1953, Sothern starred as Susie MacNamara in the television series Private Secretary, (1953 - 1957) and the next year starred in The Ann Sothern Show (1958 - 1961). Sothern continued working on stage, screen, and television. Her last film role was in The Whales of August (1987). For her role in that film, she earned her only Best Supporting Academy Award nomination.

Jeanne Crain, Jeffrey Lynn, Kirk Douglas, and Ann Sothern

A Letter to Three Wives trivia

• Originally, the film was going to be called A Letter to Four Wives with the fourth wife being Anne Baxter, but her character wasn’t considered as strong as the other three so her segment was cut.
• Joseph L. Mankiewicz won the Best Director and Best Screenplay Academy Awards for his work on this film and would repeat the wins the next year with All About Eve. No one has ever achieved this feat.
• One of Thelma Ritter’s early roles, so early in fact she doesn't even receive on-screen billing.
• Tyrone Power, Joan Crawford, Gene Tierney, Dorothy McGuire, Maureen O’Hara, and Ida Lupino were all considered for roles.
• Linda Darnell and Mankiewicz were involved in an affair during the production.
• Darnell and Barbara Lawrence played sisters the year before in Unfaithfully Yours.
• Silent film star Mae Marsh has a small role as the womens’ washroom attendant at the country club.

To watch the movie on YouTube, click on the link below.

Why watch this movie?

• Another great example of what the studio system could produce at its peak.
• One of writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s best films.
• It’s a showcase for the talents of Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, and Ann Sothern.
• It boasts early performances from Kirk and Paul Douglas and Thelma Ritter.

To join us for a discussion on Zoom, June 1, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click on the link here. Once you RSVP, you’ll receive an email with a link to the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion Questions

1. What did you think of the ensemble cast?
2. Do you think this film is still relevant in the 21st Century?
3. Did you have a favorite wife?
4. A favorite scene or piece of dialogue?

Review of “I Walk Alone” at #NoirCityChicago

I spent Sunday evening taking in a screening of I Walk Alone at Noir City Chicago at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. I hadn’t seen this film before so it was a real treat. Another treat was the restored digital transfer, which was virtually flawless.

Introduced by Eddie Muller, Film Noir Foundation Founder and President, and host of Noir Alley on Turner Classic Movies, Muller said that this Hal Wallis independent production (released through Paramount) was a way to showcase the stars—Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, Wendell Corey, and Kirk Douglas—he had under contract.

 

Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, and Kirk Douglas

The plot is a simple one: Lancaster and Douglas were partners selling booze during prohibition. During a run, the two were followed by the police so they decide to split up, thinking one of them would be able to make it to safety, but vowing that they would help the other if caught and profits would be split 50/50.

Well, 14 years later, Lancaster is out of prison and anxious to get his share of the profits from the business. Douglas who now runs a successful, but shady, nightclub, dissolved their old partnership and claims that Lancaster’s share amounts to less than $3000. This news sends Lancaster into a rage threatening to kill Wendell Corey, who set up the new corporation and does the books for the club.

In the middle of all this is Lizabeth Scott, a singer at the nightclub. Douglas has been stringing her along, all the while romancing a rich socialite. He plans on marrying her because he thinks she can help bring a higher class clientele to the club. Once this is revealed to Scott, her sympathies end up with Lancaster. She wants to help him, but doesn’t want him to resort to anything that would send him back to jail.

Like all classic films noir, the dialogue is sharp and snappy and delivered by a cast of pros. As the club singer, Scott wears a variety of fashions designed by the legendary Edith Head, and she wears them very well, I might add. Additionally, I don’t think one hair on Scott’s head was out of place through the entire movie, which is remarkable since she gets pushed around a bit.

It was fun to see Lancaster, Scott, and Douglas (Douglas is the only one still with us at 101!) so young. Muller said it looked like there was a bit of a competition between Lancaster and Douglas as to who could chew more scenery! And chew they do, and that’s what makes the movie so enjoyable.

I Walk Alone is now available on DVD in a restored version produced by the Paramount Pictures Archive.

The Chicago Noir City film festival continues through Thursday, August 23. For the remaining films scheduled, click here.     

Goodbye, Patricia Neal

Patricia Neal, movie star

Academy-Award winning actress Patricia Neal died yesterday at her home in Martha's Vineyard. She was 84 years old and succumbed to lung cancer.

Kentucky Born and Tennessee Raised
Neal was born in Packard, Kentucky in 1926, but raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. As an adult, she studied acting at Northwestern University (B.S. 1947). While still a student, Neal stared on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest. For her role as Regina Hubbard, Neal won a Tony for Best Featured Actress. The Tony Award and rave notices, not to mention her stunning good looks, brought Neal to the attention of Hollywood.

Hollywood Comes a Calling

Gary Cooper and Neal in The Fountainhead

Signed to a contract with Warner Bros., Neal starred opposite future president Ronald Reagan in John Loves Mary (1949). She made another film that year with Reagan (The Hasty Heart), but it was the over-the-top film version of Ayn Rand's bestselling novel, The Fountainhead, that received all the attention. Although not a critical or commercial success, the chemistry between Neal and costar Gary Cooper kept the pages of movie fan magazines burning for several years. In reality, Neal and Cooper had a very torrid love affair that almost destroyed Cooper's marriage and Neal's sanity. When the relationship collapsed, Neal suffered a nervous breakdown and abandoned Hollywood for Broadway. Ironically, she starred in another Helman play, a revival of The Children's Hour. During its run, Hellman introduced Neal to children's author Roald Dahl. The two were married in 1953.

The Play's the Thing
During the late 1950s, Neal devoted herself almost entirely to working on the stage, appearing in only one film: Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd (1957), costarring Andy Griffith. Film fans would have to wait until Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) to see Neal on the big screen again.

Oscar Winner

Neal won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Hud.

During the early sixties, the leading-lady roles Neal was used to playing all but dried up. After a series of personal tragedies sidelined her from the screen, Neal played a worn-out housekeeper in Martin Ritt's Hud (1963) costarring Paul Newman in the title role. For what many considered a supporting role, Neal won an Oscar as the best actress of the year. Major film roles started coming Neal's way again including Otto Preminger's big-budget World War II classic In Harm's Way (1965). In a cast of many Hollywood notables, Neal received third billing behind John Wayne and Kirk Douglas.

Tragedy and Triumph

Jack Albertson and Neal in The Subject is Roses

Pregnant with her fifth child in 1965, Neal suffered a number of strokes that nearly killed her. After emergency brain surgery and several weeks in a coma, Neal found herself confined to a wheelchair. Neal's husband helped her with her physical therapy and within two years, she had learned to walk and speak again. So remarkable was her recovery that she was offered the role of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967), but turned it down, thinking it was too soon for her to return to the screen. A year later, she took the lead role in The Subject Was Roses. It was a remarkable comeback; Neal was nominated once again for Best Actress. She lost the award to Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn, who tied that year, but it was a personal and professional triumph for Neal. Although more major film roles didn't come her way, Neal consistently worked in movies and TV, including Flying By released in 2009.

Patricia Neal, star of stage and screen, is survived by four children (daughter Olivia preceded her in death) and seven grandchildren.

Take "A Letter to Three Wives"

A  Letter to Three Wives (1949) is based on a novel by John Klempner. His novel was entitled A Letter to Five Wives. Writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz thought the novel was too long and would be difficult to transfer to the screen. So, he shortened it to four wives and then shortened it again to three. Mankiewicz adapted the screenplay with author and screenwriter Vera Caspary (Laura).

The plot revolves around three wives who, just before going on a boat ride and picnic with some disadvantaged children, receive a letter from a society friend named Addie Ross. In the letter, Addie says she’s run off with one of their husbands. While the women spend the afternoon volunteering, each looks back on her marriage and wonders if hers is the husband who ran off with Addie.

Is it Deborah Bishop’s (Jeanne Crain) husband Brad (Jeffrey Lynn)? Deborah, a poor farm girl, met her husband in the Navy during World War II. Somewhat insecure and naïve, she thinks Brad is attracted to Addie because she is beautiful and sophisticated. Is it Rita Phipps’s (Ann Sothern) husband George (Kirk Douglas)? Rita has a career writing radio soap operas, the quality of which, her schoolteacher-husband disapproves. She wonders if her job, which brings in some much-needed cash, is somehow intimidating to George and ruining their marriage. Is it Lora Mae Hollingsway’s (Linda Darnell) husband Porter (Paul Douglas)? Lora Mae is a girl literally from the wrong side of the tracks who tries her best to marry up by marrying her boss, in part, to help provide for her widowed mother (the wonderful Connie Gilchrist) and younger sister Babe (Barbara Lawrence).

Like Mankiewicz’s All About Eve a year later, A Letter to Three Wives has witty dialogue delivered by a cast of pros. Crain, Sothern, and Darnell are all wonderful as the three wives, with Darnell a standout. As Lora Mae, Darnell has a tough exterior, but in many ways is more vulnerable than either Crain or Sothern.

For Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1949 was an extraordinary year. Not only did he win the Academy Award for Best Director, but he also won for Best Writing as well. Writing and directing was something Mankiewicz had always wanted to do and A Letter to Three Wives showcases Mankiewicz at the height of his creativity.

Classic film of the week: "A Letter to Three Wives" (1949)

A Letter to Three Wives (1949) is based on a novel by John Klempner. His novel was entitled A Letter to Five Wives. Writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz thought the novel was too long and would be difficult to transfer to the screen. So, he shortened it to four wives and then shortened it again to three. Mankiewicz adapted the screenplay with author and screenwriter Vera Caspary (Laura).

The plot revolves around three wives who, just before going on a boat ride and picnic with some disadvantaged children, receive a letter from a society friend named Addie Ross. In the letter, Addie says she’s run off with one of their husbands. While the women spend the afternoon volunteering, each looks back on her marriage and wonders if hers is the husband who ran off with Addie.

Is it Deborah (Jeanne Crain) Bishop’s husband Brad (Jeffrey Lynn)? Deborah, a poor farm girl, met her husband in the Navy during World War II. Somewhat insecure and naïve, she thinks Brad is attracted to Addie because she is beautiful and sophisticated. Is it Rita (Ann Sothern) Phipps’s husband George (Kirk Douglas)? Rita has a career writing radio soap operas, the quality of which, her schoolteacher-husband disapproves. She wonders if her job, which brings in some much-needed cash, is somehow intimidating to George and ruining their marriage. Is it Lora Mae (Linda Darnell) Hollingsway’s husband Porter (Paul Douglas)? Lora Mae is a girl literally from the wrong side of the tracks who tries her best to marry up by marrying her boss, in part, to help provide for her widowed mother (the wonderful Connie Gilchrist) and younger sister Babe (Barbara Lawrence).

Like Mankiewicz’s All About Eve a year later, A Letter to Three Wives has witty dialogue delivered by a cast of pros. Crain, Sothern, and Darnell are all wonderful as the three wives, with Darnell a standout. As Lora Mae, Darnell has a tough exterior, but in many ways is more vulnerable than either Crain or Sothern. Her battles with Paul Douglas are wonderfully scripted; they make a very believable married couple struggling to keep their relationship together. Also believable are character actresses Gilchrist and Thelma Ritter as Sadie Dugan, Rita and George’s maid.

For Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1949 was an extraordinary year. Not only did he win the Academy Award for Best Director, but he also won for Best Writing as well. Writing and directing was something Mankiewicz had always wanted to do and A Letter to Three Wives showcases Mankiewicz at the height of his creativity.


Classic Movie Man Trivia: Who was set to play the fourth wife before her part was cut?
Answer: Ann Baxter