The Letter is an American drama film

Drama film

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

 which was made in both silent

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 and talking

Sound film

A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...

 versions by Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

.

Preservation status

The Letter was long considered to be a lost film

Lost film

A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...

 until an original 35mm nitrate print was recently found and restored. In June, 2011 the restored film was released by Warner Bros. Home Video as a made-on-demand DVD.

Production background

The film was adapted by Monta Bell

Monta Bell

Monta Bell was an American film director, film producer and film editor.-Biography:Starting as a journalist in Washington DC, Bell later played on stage and entered films in 1923 as an actor. Charlie Chaplin employed Bell as a film editor and assistant director and in 1924, he became a...

, Mort Blumenstock, Jean de Limur and Garrett Fort from the 1927 play The Letter

The Letter (play)

The Letter is a play by W. Somerset Maugham dramatised from a short story that first appeared in his 1926 collection The Casuarina Tree. The story is based on a real-life scandal involving the wife of the headmaster of a school in Kuala Lumpur who was convicted in a murder trial after shooting...

by W. Somerset Maugham

W. Somerset Maugham

William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...

. It tells the story of a married woman who kills her secret lover out of jealousy. She later claims he was trying to rape her, and at her trial tries to convince the court of her innocence.

The film stars the famous stage actress Jeanne Eagels

Jeanne Eagels

Jeanne Eagels was an American actress on Broadway and in several motion pictures. She was a former Ziegfeld Follies Girl who went on to greater fame on Broadway and in the emerging medium of sound films....

, O.P. Heggie

O.P. Heggie

O.P. Heggie was an Australian film and theatre actor working in the United States.-Theatre:Before becoming a film actor, he appeared in numerous Broadway-theatre productions in New York City, New York.-Film:...

, Reginald Owen

Reginald Owen

John Reginald Owen was a British character actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American movies and later in television programs.-Personal:...

 and Herbert Marshall

Herbert Marshall

Herbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...

, and was directed by Jean de Limur

Jean de Limur

Jean de Limur was a French film director, actor and screenwriter. His works include La Garçonne and The Letter .-Filmography:* 1929 : The Letter...

. Eagels was posthumously put "under consideration" for nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress

Academy Award for Best Actress

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...

 for her portrayal of the married woman. She was the first performer to be so recognized by the Academy after her death.

Remake

Bette Davis

Bette Davis

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...

 was later to receive an Oscar nomination for playing the same role in William Wyler's 1940 remake

The Letter (1940 film)

The Letter is a 1940 American film noir directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Howard Koch is based on the 1927 play of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham, originally filmed in 1929.-Plot:...

. Herbert Marshall

Herbert Marshall

Herbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...

appeared also in the later film, this time as the husband.