The 13th Letter

The 13th Letter
The 13th Letter
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Otto Preminger
Screenplay by	Howard Koch
Based on	Le Corbeau ; by Louis Chavance
Produced by	Otto Preminger
Starring	Linda Darnell; Charles Boyer; Michael Rennie; Constance Smith
Cinematography	Joseph LaShelle
Edited by	Louis R. Loeffler
Music by	Alex North
Production; company	20th Century Fox
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	January 19, 1951 (United States); February 19, 1951 (New York City); February 19, 1951 (Los Angeles);
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,075,000

The 13th Letter is a 1951 American film noir mystery film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Linda Darnell, Charles Boyer, Michael Rennie, and Constance Smith.^[1]^[2] The film is a remake of the French film Le Corbeau (The Raven, 1943) directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot.

Plot

Doctor Pearson (Michael Rennie), who works at a hospital in Quebec, Canada, receives a series of poison pen letters. More letters, all signed with the mysterious picture of a feather, are delivered to others in the small Canadian town. Cora Laurent (Constance Smith), the wife of the main doctor - Dr. Laurent (Charles Boyer) - at the hospital, receives a letter accusing her of having an affair with Pearson. Another letter informs a shell-shocked veteran Mr. Gauthier that he is dying of cancer, causing the distraught man to commit suicide. Quickly, the townsfolk begin pointing fingers at all possible suspects.

Cast

Linda Darnell as Denise Tourneur
Charles Boyer as Dr. Laurent
Michael Rennie as Dr. Pearson
Constance Smith as Cora Laurent
Françoise Rosay as Mrs. Gauthier
Judith Evelyn as Sister Marie Corbin
Guy Sorel as Robert Helier
June Hedin as Rochelle Turner

Reception

Channel 4's review of the film praised the cinematography and music score: "The movie is redolent with atmosphere: Joseph LaShelle's photography accentuates the black and shadows, and there's dark shading too in Alex North's music. The film is dominated by death and melancholy, and by Françoise Rosay as the matriarch responsible for the trouble."^[3]

References

^ "The 13th Letter". FilmAffinity. filmaffinity.com. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
^ "The 13th Letter". AFI. afi.com. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
^ Channel 4, film review.

External links

The 13th Letter at IMDb
The 13th Letter at AllMovie
The 13th Letter at the TCM Movie Database

[1] "The 13th Letter". FilmAffinity. filmaffinity.com. Retrieved 24 December 2015.

[2] "The 13th Letter". AFI. afi.com. Retrieved 24 December 2015.

[3] Channel 4, film review.

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