Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)

February 9, 2025 7:36 AM

“By the time you read this letter, I may be dead…. If this reaches you, you will know how I became yours when you didn’t know who I was or even that I existed.”

Max Ophüls romantic melodrama about unrequited love in 1900's Vienna.

Available for free on Internet Archive.

💯 ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.

Senses of Cinema review.

4.1 on Letterboxd.

7.9 on IMDb.

posted by growabrain (2 comments total)

In the early aughts there was a lively classic film blog scene that kept me going on many dull tech work days. Ophüls was a favorite director of theirs, Joan Fontaine was a favorite actor, and this film was an cherished favorite from both of them.

I don’t revisit these films much anymore, since so much about the world, and my tastes, has changed. But it’s nice to see this film pop up on Fanfare.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 10:50 AM on February 10

Max Ophüls' films are often very beautifully crafted. I watched this one just the other day as it was one I hadn't seen. The construction of the shots are beautiful - they feel endless. And I won't lie, I prefer these tragic postwar European melodramas to the American equivalents that always end up being too saccharine for me.
posted by Ashwagandha at 3:16 PM on February 10