This invention addresses the problem of providing the following: a thin cellulose-ester film that performs well at producing a phase difference and adheres well to a polarizer via either a PVA-based liquid glue or a UV-curable adhesive; a method for manufacturing said cellulose-ester film; and a polarizing plate. Said cellulose-ester film, which contains, at least, cellulose acetate (resin A) having an acetyl-group substitution degree in the 2.1-2.6 range and a retardation-increasing agent, is characterized in that the contact angle between pure water and the surface of the cellulose-ester film is in the 30-75° range, measuring said contact angle at 20 equally spaced points in the widthwise direction of the film yields a standard deviation in the 0.05-3.0° range, and the transmittance of the cellulose-ester film at a wavelength of 320 nm is at least 80%.