The Letters (1973 film)

The Letters is a 1973 American made-for-television drama film starring John Forsythe, Jane Powell, Dina Merrill, Leslie Nielsen and Barbara Stanwyck. It premiered as the ABC Movie of the Week on March 6, 1973.^[1]

The Letters
Genre	Drama
Written by	James G. Hirsch Ellis Marcus Hal Sitowitz
Directed by	Paul Krasny Gene Nelson
Starring	John Forsythe Jane Powell Dina Merrill Leslie Nielsen Barbara Stanwyck
Music by	Pete Rugolo
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Leonard Goldberg Aaron Spelling
Producer	Paul Junger Witt
Cinematography	Leonard J. South Tim Southcott
Editors	David Berlatsky Carroll Sax Robert L. Swanson
Running time	74 minutes
Production company	ABC Circle Films
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	March 6, 1973 (1973-03-06)

It was followed by a sequel, Letters from Three Lovers (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"

• John Forsythe as Paul Anderson
• Henry Jones as The Mailman
• Jane Powell as Elaine Anderson
• Lesley Ann Warren 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
• Leslie Nielsen as Derek Childs
• Barbara Stanwyck as Geraldine Parkington
• Gil Stuart as Michael
• Orville Sherman as Minister

The Forresters segment: "Dear Mrs. Forrester"

• Pamela Franklin as Karen Forrester
• Ida Lupino as Mrs. Forrester
• Ben Murphy as Joe Randolph
• Shelley Novack as Sonny
• Frederick Herrick as Billy
• Ann Noland as Sally
• Brick Huston as Officer
• Charles Picerni as 1st Man