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Letter From an Unknown Woman

Play trailer Poster for Letter From an Unknown Woman 1948 1h 30m Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
In early 20th-century Vienna, Stefan Brand 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, 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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Letter From an Unknown Woman

Letter From an Unknown Woman

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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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Critics Reviews

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Anthony Quinn Independent (UK) Feb 16, 2010
5/5
A weepie like they don't make them like anymore. Go to Full Review David Parkinson Empire Magazine Sep 23, 2006
4/5
Does the job of the perfect melodrama and moves the audience to tears. Go to Full Review Time Out Jun 24, 2006
Of all the cinema's fables of doomed love, none is more piercing than this. Go to Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills Feb 2, 2024
The trifling romantic-melodrama story nonetheless provided an ideal vehicle for the sumptuous mobile-camera style of Max Ophuls... Go to Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site May 12, 2021
[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 ... Go to Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Aug 27, 2020
4/5
For once, Fontaine's anguish seems justified, ensconced in Ophüls' signature tracking shots. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Janet S @RT05915608 Aug 20, 2026 The trained-to-be-passive woman’s point of view. Expending almost no direct effort, Lisa yearns for Stefan through the decades, and not once, but twice, manages to start a romance with him that he soon forgets. Bad as it is as an example to young women, it’s one virtually any woman can identify with. I suspect gender is the division in the polarized reviews. See more Kyle M @RT77296778 Apr 4, 2026 A beautifully scored, elegantly performed, hauntingly sympathetic romance that’s briskly thin at the core. (B) See more Steffi L @RT54755644 Jul 11, 2025 It starts out as an apparently conventional love story but is actually far more nuanced and avoids cliché. Both leads are superb. See more Eileen H @RT41641282 Mar 30, 2025 Beautifully filmed and delightfully atmospheric, the sets, music and costumes transport one to the sumptuous romance of 1900 Vienna. For lovers of the finest storytelling, this movie is a treat not to be missed. The story moves at it's own pace as the pianist Stefan reads a letter from his great love, whom he has just discovered, but too late. If one believes in an afterlife, then this movie presents an opportunity to consider that fate may be merciful in reuniting us with those we have loved and lost. The stunning ending brings us to a complete circle, with a revelation about how living a purely self-centered life can cause us to miss the most precious gifts that existence may offer. See more Leaburn O @RT35452347 Oct 9, 2023 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. See more Thomas V @TomVee Feb 3, 2023 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. See more Read all reviews
Letter From an Unknown Woman

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Cast & Crew

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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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Letter From an Unknown Woman

Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948) Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948) Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In early 20th-century Vienna, Stefan Brand 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, 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
Producer
John Houseman
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
Runtime
1h 30m
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