Watching this version of the letter brought back plenty of memories of the 1929 version I watched back then, which I found to be a terrible film with a great leading performance. Undeniably, I found this the superior version, and I thought it was quite enjoyable, though nothing special. There are some scenes that are really well directed, such as the use of wind chimes in a tension filled scene, or even the intense opening with Bette Davis’ Leslie coldly firing her gun away at her lover in the plantation. The acting by the supporting cast is also universally better throughout, especially by the victim’s widow and also in James Stephenson’s portrayal of Howard Joyce, the sharp and conflicted lawyer who defends Leslie despite knowing the truth. I think he deserved his nomination.
Bette Davis is such a talented actress that I knew she was going to give a good performance at the very least. And essentially, that’s what I got here. To me, this performance isn’t on the same level as her Baby Jane or Margo Channing, but it’s still solid and watchable nonetheless. She’s actually a lot restrained here than usual, and also as compared to Jeanne Eagels’ fiery portrayal of a volatile woman consumed by her passion. Davis portrays Leslie as a coolly calculative woman who knows what she’s doing right from the start, where she, in my opinion, not very convincingly cooks up a story to explain her crimes. It’s always fascinating to see how 2 different portrayals of the same character can work well, but I’d would also admit that there’s something about Davis’ performance that I feel less engaged with as compared to Eagels. She does a lot of acting with her eyes, and it works well. We can constantly see her plotting away to cover up her tracks, and also the palpable fear in her eyes when faced with the threat of being exposed. The scene where she meets her victim’s widow was also very well played, and you can truly sense the fear and vulnerability Leslie is feeling. However, I do think the direction plays a huge role in making that scene work too, even more than Davis’ acting.
Her revelation scene to her husband was also great, and probably my favourite part of her performance. I loved the way she delivered the line “let him see it” with resignation , and the way she revealed her affair to her husband was also really good, where she excellently portrays her exhaustion and guilt for not loving him.
With all that said, I still prefer Jeanne Eagels explosive performance of that scene (can never forget the way she hissed “so I FIRED AND FIRED AND FIRED”). I know I shouldn’t be making comparisons, and I liked how Bette Davis tried to give Leslie a softer and more sympathetic edge but this is one instance where I very much preferred the more unlikeable portrayal of a character. Rewatching Jeanne Eagels’ confession scene to her husband again was truly exciting – the way she spat out her words with venom and revealed that she has no guilt whatsoever in what she did. I think she took more risks with her performance, and the result was a more raw, electrifying and fascinating result. While Davis’ performance is obviously the more calculated and polished one, I have to say I respect it more than I love it. There are no false notes, and she’s always interesting to watch, but it’s just solid and not extremely exciting work. 4/5
Filmfreak! 