Maps of Movies

The Letter (1940)

Where The Letter says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

A Malayan plantation and a Singapore courtroom, all built on one Burbank studio lot

Scenes and places

The shooting on the veranda (1940)

Leslie Crosbie empties a revolver into Geoffrey Hammond on the veranda of her plantation bungalow. She then sends a servant to fetch the district officer and her husband.

Set in Crosbie bungalow veranda, rubber plantation — The plantation house where Leslie Crosbie shoots Geoffrey Hammond.

A planter's bungalow on a British-run rubber estate in Malaya, a setting invented for the film.

Filmed at Warner Bros. Studios lot, Burbank — The film was shot on the Warner Bros. studio lot, and this opening shot was the first scene filmed; which exact set stood in for the veranda is not recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Robert loading rubber (1940)

Robert is busy getting a rubber shipment onto the cars when word of the killing reaches him. He is brought home by the family attorney, a close friend.

Set in Rubber loading yard — Where Robert Crosbie is loading rubber for shipment when the news reaches him.

A working rubber estate, the trade that pays for the Crosbies' life in Malaya.

The lawyer's office (1940)

Howard Joyce is sure Leslie will be acquitted, but his clerk Ong Chi Seng tells him a letter exists that Leslie wrote to Hammond the day of the shooting. Ong says the original is held by Hammond's widow and is for sale.

Set in Howard Joyce's law office, Singapore — The attorney's office where his clerk Ong first mentions a letter.

A British-run law practice in colonial Singapore.

Leslie in custody (1940)

Leslie is placed under arrest on the way into Singapore and held on a murder charge. Everyone around her expects an easy acquittal.

Set in Singapore jail — Where Leslie is held after giving herself up.

The colonial jail in Singapore where the film places her; no real site is named.

The Chinese quarter (1940)

Leslie is taken to the Chinese quarter to pay for the letter in person. The angry widow hands it over, but only after making her humiliating demands.

Set in Mrs. Hammond's shop, Chinese quarter — The Singapore shop where Mrs. Hammond keeps the letter.

The Chinese quarter of Singapore, as the film calls it.

The trial (1940)

Leslie stands trial for murder and the court waits on the jury. When the verdict comes, she is found not guilty.

Set in Courtroom, Singapore — The court where Leslie is tried for murder.

A colonial courtroom; the film names no real building.

The acquittal party (1940)

As the party for her acquittal gets under way, Leslie slips away to her lacework. Robert, bursting with plans for a new plantation in Sumatra, drinks and sinks into misery.

Set in Crosbie house, living room — The Crosbie home where friends gather to celebrate the acquittal.

The family home, back on the estate.

Characters

• Leslie Crosbie — The wife of a rubber plantation manager in Malaya, who shoots a man dead on her veranda.
• Robert Crosbie — Leslie's husband, a plantation manager trusting her story.
• Howard Joyce — The family attorney, who alone suspects there is more to the case.