''The Letters'' is a 1973 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

starring

John Forsythe John Forsythe (January 29, 1918 – April 1, 2010) was an American stage, film/television actor, producer, narrator, drama teacher and philanthropist whose career spanned six decades. He also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety s ...

Jane Powell Jane Powell (born Suzanne Lorraine Burce; April 1, 1929 – September 16, 2021) was an American actress, singer, and dancer who first appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1940s and 50s. With her soprano voice and girl-next-door image ...

, Dina Merrill,

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (11 February 192628 November 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. Nielsen was bo ...

and Barbara Stanwyck. It premiered as the ''

ABC Movie of the Week ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

'' on March 6, 1973. It was followed by a sequel, ''

Letters from Three Lovers ''Letters from Three Lovers'' is a 1973 made-for-television drama film directed by John Erman. An ''ABC Movie of the Week'' and a sequel to '' The Letters'' (1973), the film is co-produced by Aaron Spelling, written by Ann Marcus and stars Martin ...

'' (1973).

Plot

The lives of three families (the Andersons, the Parkingtons and the Forresters) are affected by a year-long delay in the arrival of mail.

Cast

The Andersons segment: "Dear Elaine"

as Paul Anderson * Henry Jones as The Mailman *

as Elaine Anderson *

Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in 1963, aged 17, in '' 110 in the Shade''. In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical prod ...

as Laura Reynolds * Trish Mahoney as Stewardess * Gary Dubin as Paul Anderson Jr. * Mia Bendixsen as Lisa

The Parkingtons segment: "Dear Penelope"

* Dina Merrill as Penelope Parkington *

as Derek Childs * Barbara Stanwyck as Geraldine Parkington * Gil Stuart as Michael *

Orville Sherman Orville may refer to: People * Orville (given name), a list of people with the male given name * Howard Thomas Orville (1901–1960), American naval officer and meteorologist * Max Orville (born 1962), French politician * Merlyn Orville Valan ...

as Minister

The Forresters segment: "Dear Mrs. Forrester"

Pamela Franklin Pamela Franklin (born 3 February 1950) is a British former actress. She is best known for her role in the film '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' (1969), for which she won a NBR Award and received a BAFTA Award nomination. Franklin made her a ...

as Karen Forrester *

Ida Lupino Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...

as Mrs. Forrester * Ben Murphy as Joe Randolph * Shelley Novack as Sonny *

Frederick Herrick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederic ...

as Billy *

Ann Noland Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

as Sally *

Brick Huston A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

as Officer * Charles Picerni as 1st Man

References

External links

* *
''The Letters''
at

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1973 television films 1973 films 1973 drama films American drama films ABC Movie of the Week ABC Motion Pictures films Films produced by Aaron Spelling Films directed by Paul Krasny Films directed by Gene Nelson 1970s American films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub