In the stultifying heat, outside of her husband's Malayan rubber plantation home, a woman (Bette Davis) guns down her lover in a fit of blind rage. As the blood leaves her eyes and the wheels start turning in her ever conniving mind, she begins to calculate her tearful defense, taking in her considerate husband (Herbert Marshall) and just about everyone else in the community except for her lawyer (James Stephenson) who grows wary of her all too convenient story, the title epistle figuring most prominently into his suspicions. The Letter is a dark and moody, taut little picture, amazingly crafted by William Wyler and featuring a superbly wicked performance from Davis who gets great support from Marshall and Stephenson.
