Letter From an Unknown Woman

Released Sep 13, 1948

1 hr. 30 min.

Romance

List

100%

25 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

In early 20th-century Vienna, Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan) is about to leave the city because he faces a duel that he wants no part of. However, before he can do so, he gets an anonymous love letter that changes his life. Though Stefan is moved by what he reads, he doesn't realize that it was written by Lisa Berndle (Joan Fontaine), a young woman he has known but disregarded for most of his life. When he finally figures out who his admirer is, it may be too late to prevent a tragedy.

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Critics Consensus

Golden Age Hollywood romance doesn't get much better than Letter From an Unknown Woman, a powerful tale of doomed love.

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Leaburn O

Upon quick reflection it will be obvious that she should have tried a bit harder to make this relationship work. Instead we get a load of melodramatic nonsense and bittersweet sentimentality. Watched this one on BBC iPlayer.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/09/23

Full Review

Thomas V

Another well executed, very mannered Ophuls opus, but I didn't like this one because the love story just isn't credible, in my opinion. This hasn't aged well, but it's worth seeing for the execution of it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I watched it but wished I hadn't. Terrible movie don't waste an hour and a half on it.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

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william d

I'm a Joan Fontaine fan, but this movie is just plain boring.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

William L

As someone that normally hates melodrama, Letter from an Unknown Woman is a great piece of romantic tragedy. Ophüls depicts a love that is somehow even less than unrequited - it is returned only superficially and for brief moments of passing fancy rather than outright rejected, whereas the passion of Fontaine's Lisa is intense, long-lasting, and durable to the point of self-harm. The relationship between Lisa and Jourdan's Stefan is ill-starred, and doomed from the start, but Lisa cannot help to be drawn to the artistic romanticism that Stefan provides, even if his interest is little more than a veneered lust. Seeing Lisa suffer at the hand of Stefan's casual indifference (coupled with her reluctance to inconvenience him with the truth of their past) is a truly distressing experience, and not one easily forgotten. Ophüls provides excellent direction to effectively characterize their intense, fated pairing (even if throwing in a perfectly behaved lovechild with a tragic, completely separate demise feels somewhat cheap), delivering a film that can make even the experienced romantic a bit sniffly. And dang, that was one long letter. (4/5)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/19/21

Full Review

Audience Member

well probably too outdated. i am a fan of the 2 stars, lj and jf but the movie moved down to drivel, at times and all i could think was, some man wrote this drivel-the dialogue was pretty bad. and the story line seemed like an attempt to imitate or a take-off/variation of anna karenina. it is worth watching if u have nothing else to do, if only for the a historical aspect aspect OR how to write a bad movie

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

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Max Ophuls

Director

Joan Fontaine

Lisa Berndl

Louis Jourdan

Stefan Brand

Mady Christians

Mrs. Berndl

Marcel Journet

Johann Stauffer

Art Smith

John

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Anthony Quinn

Independent (UK)

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

Rated: 5/5

Feb 16, 2010

Full Review

David Fear

Time Out

Rated: 6/6

Jan 18, 2008

Full Review

David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

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

Rated: 4/5

Sep 23, 2006

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

The trifling romantic-melodrama story nonetheless provided an ideal vehicle for the sumptuous mobile-camera style of Max Ophuls...

Feb 2, 2024

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

[Ophuls] is renowned for his restless, mobile camera. ... As an active, "oppositional" element, mobility is associated, among other things, with Ophuls's attitude toward Viennese (and German) society ...

May 12, 2021

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

For once, Fontaine's anguish seems justified, ensconced in Ophüls' signature tracking shots.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 27, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

In early 20th-century Vienna, Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan) is about to leave the city because he faces a duel that he wants no part of. However, before he can do so, he gets an anonymous love letter that changes his life. Though Stefan is moved by what he reads, he doesn't realize that it was written by Lisa Berndle (Joan Fontaine), a young woman he has known but disregarded for most of his life. When he finally figures out who his admirer is, it may be too late to prevent a tragedy.

Director: Max Ophuls
Executive Producer: William Dozier
Screenwriter: Stefan Zweig, Howard Koch
Distributor: Criterion Collection
Production Co: Universal International Pictures
Genre: Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 13, 1948, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 10, 2017