(wikipedia)THE LETTER-1929-First version of the classic story, later filmed with Bette Davis in 1940. In Singapore, Leslie Crosbie (Jeanne Eagels) a plantation owner's wife shoots her lover (Herbert Marshall in his US film debut) in a jealous rage after being jilted. Her jolly English husband Robert (Reginald Owen) stands by her when she pleads self-defense but the Chinese assistant to the judge on the case (Peter Chong) finds a love letter in possession of the murdered man's “half caste” mistress (Lady Tsen Mei). Mr. Joyce (O.P. Heggie; later the blind hermit in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN) defends her. 3 weird looking women do a kind of striptease and footage of a mongoose fighting a cobra is briefly shown (the crowd is supposed to be betting on the outcome). When Leslie goes to buy the letter back from the mistress, they exchange all sorts of hateful racist dialogue. After Leslie is acquitted, the judge spills the beans to the husband about the letter. He decides her punishment will be to remain in Singapore forever (since she wanted to go back to England). She tells her husband the truth: that she “still loves the man I killed”. The End.
THE LETTER was star Jeanne Eagels' last movie and she was Oscar nominated for her performance. Unfortunately, she died soon after completing the film at age 39 after several years of alcohol and heroin abuse. French director Jean De Limur may have also directed Eagels in a lost movie JEALOUSY the same year.
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