A Letter for Evie

This charming comedy caught me completely by surprise. Though the story borrows from "Cyrano de Bergerac," director Jules Dassin puts a modern comedic spin on it, and is ably assisted thanks to a knockout comedy performance by Hume Cronyn. In it, Cronyn plays a soldier who writes to a working girl Marsha Hunt, but sends her a photo of his handsome Lothario buddy (John Carroll). Hunt is lovely as Evie, and it's easy to see why Cronyn would fall for her. The movie also didn't end exactly as I expected, which was another pleasant surprise. TCM seems to be the only place to find this movie, so eye its schedule for an upcoming showing. Definitely worth seeking it, especially for Cronyn, who is brilliant in this film.

Marsha Hunt (Evie) works for a company that makes shirts for soldiers. After witnessing a fellow worker finding true love after slipping a note into a shirt consignment and communicating with an unknown man in uniform - he turns up at the office one day and they walk off together for a life of romance - she tries the same trick. She picks a shirt size - size 16 1/2 collar, writes a note, slips it into the pocket and waits to see what happens. John Carroll (Wolf) gets the shirt but isn't interested and throws the note away. However, his buddy Hume Cronyn (Johnny), who is a lot smaller than Carroll, retrieves the letter and starts to correspond with Hunt. What will happen when Cronyn comes face to face with Hunt, after all, he is not what she is expecting. Cronyn decides to pretend to be someone else and so begins a series of misunderstandings.

The film moves along nicely and the cast are good, particularly Hunt and Cronyn. Occasionally, Carroll mangles his words but you can still make out what he is saying. It's a heart-warming romance peppered with light humour and it succeeds as we find ourselves rooting for the small guy.

This wartime rom-com starts with an employee of a shirt company putting a letter in the pocket of a uniform shirt supplied to the military in hopes that a soldier might find it and begin a romance with her.

That scheme might sound preposterous now, but eligible women in 1945 knew well that millions of dating-aged men had been out of circulation for four years due to the war. Imagine you had turned eighteen in 1941. In 1945, the end of hostilities could be just around the corner, but it was probably frustrating to have missed "normal" dating and courtship during your prime years for marriage. The idea of finding a man via the hidden letter probably seemed romantic.

In the film, Evie (Marsha Hunt) "pockets" the letter and when a soldier finds it, he pretends to be someone who better fits Evie's dreams. We call this catfishing today. John McPherson (Hume Cronyn) is the soldier who writes back. The story has elements of "Cyrano" and "The Shop Around the Corner", but it still has many original features. Eventually, the two correspondents have to meet and things go awry.

It's a well-written story and the leads are excellent in their roles. Kudos to director Jules Dassin, who uses a light touch.

The incidental music is very enjoyable. The score also includes the romantic song "All the Things You Are", which had been used in a few other films during the forties.

The plot is like a million others before and since, but it doesn't feel like it somehow. Perhaps it's because Marsha Hunt and Hume Cronyn are both so charming (I've never seen the often villain-ized Cronyn play a role like this before). The rest of the actors do a good job too, with John Carroll particularly well-cast. It's amusing and somewhat touching without being sappy. I wish it wasn't so seldom shown.

Crisply paced, expertly directed, and boasting jewel-like performances by Marsha Hunt and Hume Cronyn, A Letter for Evie stands out among the wartime romances of the 1942-45 era.

The plot is self-consciously breezy. A secretary for the Trojan Shirt Company, Evie O'Conner longs for romance. She places a "Dear Soldier" letter in the pocket of an extra-large shirt bound for the army training camps of Texas in the hopes that the soldier who finds it will be a strapping, heroic man. It falls into the hands of a decidedly short and bookish Private Johnnie McPherson. As they say in the business, hijinks ensue in a case of mistaken identity. But that's where the banality ends. In the guise of a light romp, Dassin explores themes of heroism, self-sacrifice, and honesty. In one plot point, Cronyn's comic turn pretending to be drunk to save Evie from the lecherous advances of his handsome army buddy is hilarious and deft.

This movie is difficult to find, but fans of the genre should make the effort.