MovieChat Forums > The Letter (1940) Discussion > The dagger

The dagger

posted 18 years ago by lsgmusic
16 replies | jump to latest

When Leslie saw that the exotic dagger had disappeared from her doorstep, did she know that Mrs. Hammond was inviting her to her own murder? How did all of that work, and was that gesture included in the original story?

[–] zachhh 18 years ago

i really think it was just a matter of curiousity.

[–] Harold_Robbins 18 years ago

The final scenes were written as a compromise to the Production Code - the original play ends with Leslie's admission "With all my heart, I still love the man I killed!" The Code demanded that a movie audience never leave a theater with any doubts that someone who committed murder eventually paid for their crime! This nonsense persisted into the 1950s, when Warners was forced to modify the ending of THE BAD SEED, totally robbing the story of its brilliant irony.

When the internet was invented, suddenly everyone became a critic!

[–] TheManInOil 17 years ago

It seems hard to imagine she doesn't know she's going to her death, but it's played ambiguously by Davis and she seems genuinely alarmed when the man grabs her.

"I can only express puzzlement bordering on alarm."

[–] bobcan653 17 years ago

I think she knew that something was up out there in the yard, and probably her own death. Remember she had just said (aside from her famous line of killing the man she loved), that she "didn't deserve to live". The dagger was the coming attraction, but I think that, maybe, she was hopeful that it wouldn't actually happen. She seemed almost relieved when the dagger was gone the second time she checked. But she just had to find out, she was compelled to see if her death was waiting for her, and indeed, her end was at hand.

I certainly agree...one of the 100 best American films. And like so many great American films, it had wonderful British actors. James Stephenson was extraordinary, and made his life mark. I know I shall always remember his performance. He should have won the Oscar, and if they had known he would shortly be dead, he would have won.

[–] BillyFisher 16 years ago

I thought it was quite clever of Mrs Hammond to play upon Leslie's sense of guilt like that. Must admit, though, when I saw the dagger, I thought it had been left so that she could commit suicide.

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[–] kellypaul 16 years ago

She really seemed to be in a trance as she walked towards the outside wall of the house. And what a superb shot as the camera shows us her dead body then moves up over the wall back into a shot of the house where the party is still going on. Breathtaking!

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[–] Chiscully 15 years ago

Good comments. Leslie has just, finally, lost her husband, for good, and she knows it. She's killed the one good thing left in her life by destroying him with her confession. On some level, she knows the knife seen earlier was an invitation; she knows her fate awaits - whatever it is. Bette is so remarkable in that scene where she walks out to meet it. You try to discern what her eyes and face are conveying and it seems such a mix of resignation and ambivalence. She screams, but that's what this woman does when confronted with the real and imminent horror or her punishment. That final shot is very damning of Leslie, the narcissist. The party - life; they go on without her.

[–] gearhart 10 years ago

I'm going with Chiscully's interpretation -- the resignation and ambivalence.

The scream was a natural reaction. Even if she knew what was coming, being quiet was impossible.

But suicide wouldn't have surprised me. She wanted to die.

[–] HOHNancy 11 years ago

I think Mrs. Hammond put the dagger there to let her know she was there somewhere around the outside of the house....when Leslie came back to the door later, it was missing, so out of curiosity, she wanted to know where the widow was (since the same kind of dagger was at the same place where she last saw the widow)....then she saw the shadow of the big guy so she went past the gate and saw the widow...

I don't think Leslie realized at that time she will be killed since she was surprised by the guy overpowering her though...but she obviously knew the widow was out there somewhere.

[–] ScreenwriterVA 10 years ago

I thought her husband had left by that door, so when the dagger was gone, she was worried that he had taken it and might do himself harm. I thought she was looking for her husband.