The Letters

"The Letters" is an interesting idea for a film and apparently was a pilot for a series that never came to be. You see three separate stories that are all tied together by a common thread...a letter which was sent but not delivered for a year. While you could argue that the Postal Service sucks, this is explained away by a bag of mail being on a plane that crashed in the mountains...and the missing sack of mail was only just discovered. In each story, you see the story up until the letter is written...then a break to show the plane crash...and then later the rest of the story once the letter arrives.

The film has a cast of various A and B list stars including the likes of John Forsythe, Barbara Stanwyck, Dina Merrill, Ida Lupino and many others. One story is about an unfaithful husband, another about a slimy pianist who murders his ancient wife and the final about a man who is killed on the way to doing the right thing and straighten up his life! I was surprised how touching some of the stories were (particularly the first and third) and in hindsight I would have liked to have seen more. Too bad the series never was made. It was well written, had an interesting cast and was quite original.

The 1970s was one of the most prolific in terms of TV productions. Cable channels and VHS rental did not yet exist. Films for cinema were strictly for cinema and television had its own production, with a smaller budget but with great ideas and actors. This film narrates three different stories, the first about a middle-aged couple whose husband decides to run away with a young lover, the second about two sisters who fight for the same man, and the third about a young couple who are very much in love who have to face the refusal of her mother. The three stories coincide in that their protagonists have written letters that end up reaching their recipients 1 year later than expected. This detail gives a dramatic turn to the resolution of each segment. The film is simple but charming, the cast is wonderful, Barbara Stanwick, John Forsithe, Dina Merril, Ida Lupino and Pamela Franklin are just some of the established figures that participate in the telefilm. It is a pity that this, like many other productions of the 70s and 80s, have been practically forgotten.

Very beautiful music. Great actors. Interesting story. Everything about this movie is deliciously perfect. Bravo! I love all about the noirish drama type here. Real life like.

What really drew me to The Letters was the huge cast of interesting actors participating. So many to look forward to I figured it would be kind of fun either way. And it was in that way kind of fun. Good old Henry Jones plays the ever reliable mailman delivering three specific letters that have all been delayed by one year from the original postmark date. It all does have a very 70's era feel to it, which is both kind of good and also kind of not so good too. I did enjoy how parts of it did a good job of capturing a certain segment of society at that time, much of which looked familiar to me from my own childhood. Still, the script and direction are verging on melodrama, which again, is kind of fun and at the same time not completely. For those of you who have not yet seen The Letters and are still curious definitely give it a view and see what you think, as many of the reviewers here seemed to really enjoy it.

I loved "The Letters" (1973, made-for-TV). Why is it never shown on TV or available in video rental? There are lots of people out here with a bent for romantic themes. For example, "Somewhere in Time" is the greatest love story ever made, hated by the critics, but loved by the fans. Today, 20 years later, the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan has an annual "Somewhere in Time" Weekend, and it is always a sell-out.. Shows what the critics know.