Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Actress 1945

The Contenders:

Ingrid Bergman: The Bells of St. Mary’s
Gene Tierney: Leave Her to Heaven
Jennifer Jones: Love Letters
Joan Crawford: Mildred Pierce (winner)
Greer Garson: The Valley of Decision

Love Letters (1945)

Film: Love Letters
Format: Turner Classic Movies on rockin’ flatscreen.

When looking through the full list of films that I have in the Oscar categories I’m following, I’ve found a number that are difficult to locate, making this enterprise similar in many ways to the 1001 Movies List. My secret weapon is Turner Classic Movies. I’ve been finding multiple difficult to locate films every month on Turner and my DVR is my new best friend. When Love Letters cropped up on Turner, I knew I had to record it, and since there are a bunch of films I want to see in February, I’m being diligent in watching and erasing films from the DVR when I can. I can’t say I was thrilled about Love Letters going in, but it was watch it now or watch it later.

This is a very strange movie. It’s essentially two slices of romantic bread with a creamy mystery filling. We start during World War II. Roger Morland (Robert Sully) has met a young woman named Victoria on leave. Unable to compose a convincing letter himself, he enlists the aid of fellow soldier Allen Quinton (Joseph Cotten) to write the letters for him. Quinton, already virtually engaged Helen Wentworth (Anita Louise), pours his heart into these romantic letters, calling Victoria a “pin-up girl of the soul.” He’s disturbed by what he considers Roger’s callous attitude toward the poor girl, so when Roger is returned to England and eventually marries the girl, Allen is visibly upset.