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Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan, Mady Christians, Marcel Journet, Art Smith ... see more see more... , Carol Yorke , Howard Freeman , John Good , Erskine Sanford , Otto Waldis , Louis Austin , Sonja Blyden , Betty Blythe , Paul E. Burns , Douglas Carter Beane , Edmund Cobb , Jack Gargan , Lisa Golm , Ilka Gruning , Ramsay Hill , Rex Lease , Will Lee , Arthur Lovejoy , Celia Lovsky , Michael Mark , John McCallum , Torben Meyer , Leo Mostovoy , Fred Nurney , Leo B. Pessin , Shimen Ruskin , Lester Sharpe , Lotte Stein , Hermine Sterler , William Trenk , Roland Varno , Audrey Wilder , Manuel Paris , Jean Ransome , Diane Stewart , Doretta Johnson , Cy Stevens , Vera Stokes

Perhaps the finest American film from the famed European director Max Ophüls, the film stars Joan Fontaine as a young woman who falls in love with a concert pianist. Set in Vienna in 1900, the story i... read more read more...s told in a complex flashback structure as the pianist, Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan), comes upon a letter written to him by Lisa Berndl (Fontaine), a girl who has been in love with him for years. Stefan is in the process of fleeing Vienna on the eve of fighting a duel. As he prepares himself for the nocturnal journey, the letter arrives. It begins, "By the time you read this letter, I may be dead." As Stefan sits back in his study to read this letter, it turns out to be a confession of unrequited love from Lisa. The story flashes backs to when Lisa was 14 years old and Stefan was her neighbor. After following Stefan with a girlish obsession, the romance gets much more serious, and they have a brief encounter. Stefan promises to come back to her after a concert tour, but he never does. Meanwhile, Lisa marries another man when she discovers that she is pregnant with Stefan's child. When she runs into Stefan years later, he doesn't remember her and tries to seduce her. After Stefan reads the letter, he wants to rush to her side, but now poor Lisa is dying from typhus. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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86% liked it

2,237 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

20 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Max Ophüls

Release Date: April 28, 1948

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Flixster Reviews (161)

  • romy861
    May 12, 2009
    romy861
    Very sad, literally could not tear myself away from this one.
  • harrycaul
    April 29, 2009
    harrycaul
    A young girl's infatuation with a womanizing concert pianist ends in tragedy. What I like best about this elegant weepie is the way that it gently subverts Fontaine's typical screen persona. At first glance, her character is every bit as mousy and vulnerable as usual, but behind ... read morethis façade lies a remarkably strong-minded young woman; she knows what she wants and - flouting all respectability, and against her own better judgement - she sets out to get it. Although the film chooses not to dwell on the ensuing scandals, on more than one occasion she sacrifices her good name and social standing for the man she loves. I also like the way that Ophüls credits us with intelligence enough to draw certain parallels for ourselves, without spoon-feeding. A good example of this would be the scene where Fontaine says goodbye to her son at the railway station; many lesser directors would have inserted a flashback to her abandonment by Louis Jourdan at this point, or at the very least a snippet of dialogue from that earlier scene.
  • jjnxn
    April 13, 2007
    jjnxn
    a sad haunting quality hangs over the film which fits the story well
  • jimbotender
    September 10, 2008
    jimbotender
    You have to feel this movie.It's been quite some time and the leftovers are sheer gratitude of the melodrama of our protagonists.Ophuls conquered Hollywood by reversing the stereotypical mechanisms and bringing a fresh air.Fontaine may shine for example yet it's that tormenting t... read morehe personality she possesses ,you can't bare handling her inner burden of her "lost",solid,possibly inapt love.
  • sepio41
    November 29, 2008
    sepio41
    joan fontaine was star and co-producer of this lush, sob-filled film about a woman that loves once and none too wisely in her short life. louis jourdan makes a handsome object of desire. fontaine wears some of travis banton's last designs for film in this piece, which is direct... read moreed with a wonderfully swooshing romantic feel by max ophuls.

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Critic Reviews

Don Druker
January 1, 2000
Don Druker, Chicago Reader

A breathtaking, bitter, exquisitely orchestrated exploration of love and selfishness by Max Ophuls. Full Review

Sean Axmaker
February 19, 2012
Sean Axmaker, Parallax View

[Max] Ophuls' first personal project in Hollywood and he injects this exquisitely stylish romantic melodrama with his continental sensibility. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
February 11, 2012
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A moving weepie woman's picture. Full Review

Anthony Quinn
February 16, 2010
Anthony Quinn, Independent

A weepie like they don't make them like anymore. Full Review

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
July 4, 2009
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies

One of Hollywood's, and cinema's, grandest and most emotionally satisfying tales of unrequited love and self-sacrifice. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
November 18, 2008
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

One of the greatest achievements in American film. Full Review

Michael E. Grost
August 8, 2008
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television

Remarkable romantic drama. Full Review

David Parkinson
September 23, 2006
David Parkinson, Empire Magazine

Does the job of the perfect melodrama and moves the audience to tears. Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

Of all the cinema's fables of doomed love, none is more piercing than this. Full Review

Nell Minow
March 19, 2004
Nell Minow, Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

Heartbreaking.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Letter From an Unknown Woman Trivia

  • In the 1948 melodrama Letter From An Unknown Woman, what illness afflicts Lisa Berndle and her son?  Answer »
  • What French classic actor links the following films? Gigi Letter From An Unknown Woman Three Coins in the Fountain   Answer »
  • in "a letter from an unknown woman", what instrument does Stefan play  Answer »
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