
Letter From an Unknown Woman
1948, Romance, 1h 30m
23 Reviews 2,500+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
Golden Age Hollywood romance doesn't get much better than Letter From an Unknown Woman, a powerful tale of doomed love. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Lisa Berndl
Stefan Brand
Mrs. Berndl
Johann Stauffer
John
Marie
Critic Reviews for Letter From an Unknown Woman
All Critics (23) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (23)
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A weepie like they don't make them like anymore.
February 16, 2010 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review… -
Quote not available.
January 18, 2008 | Rating: 6/6 -
Does the job of the perfect melodrama and moves the audience to tears.
September 23, 2006 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
Of all the cinema's fables of doomed love, none is more piercing than this.
June 24, 2006 | Full Review… -
Heartbreaking.
March 19, 2004 | Rating: 5/5 -
In the hands of Max Ophuls, the stuff of penultimate melodrama becomes the stuff of exquisite observation and contemplation.
October 1, 2003 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Letter From an Unknown Woman
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Jul 05, 2014A man receives a letter from a woman he's known, wooed, seduced ... and forgotten. A classic Hollywood melodrama set in romantic old Vienna and handled deftly by director Max Ophuls, who keeps the usual violin chorus down to a discreet tone, allowing for a full feeling of how romance blossoms and then is carried with one. A heady potion for this chick flick about sacrifice, yearning and denial that's as close to fine wine as you'll get. Joan Fontaine and Louis Jordan embody the mood wonderfully.Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
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Apr 29, 2009A 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 this 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.Stephen M Super Reviewer
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Apr 04, 2009Very sad, literally could not tear myself away from this one.Nicki M Super Reviewer
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Sep 10, 2008You 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 the personality she possesses ,you can't bare handling her inner burden of her "lost",solid,possibly inapt love.Dimitris S Super Reviewer
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