{"id":37469,"date":"2016-09-11T20:43:11","date_gmt":"2016-09-12T03:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=37469"},"modified":"2021-02-04T17:07:02","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T00:07:02","slug":"letter-from-an-unknown-woman-1948","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=37469","title":{"rendered":"Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I know now that nothing happens by chance. Every moment is measured; every step is counted.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Letter-From-an-Unknown-Woman-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Letter-From-an-Unknown-Woman-Poster-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-37470\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Letter-From-an-Unknown-Woman-Poster-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Letter-From-an-Unknown-Woman-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Letter-From-an-Unknown-Woman-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAs he prepares to leave town rather than face a duel, an aging pianist (Louis Jourdan) reads a letter written by a young Viennese woman (Joan Fontaine) who fell instantly in love with him as a teenager and remained obsessed with him her entire life, despite eventually marrying a kind husband (Marcel Journet) who accepts the illegitimate child (Leo B. Pessin) she had after a romantic one-night-stand with Jourdan.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Flashback Films<\/li>\n<li>Joan Fontaine Films<\/li>\n<li>Louis Jourdan Films<\/li>\n<li>Max Ophuls Films<\/li>\n<li>Musicians<\/li>\n<li>Obsessive Love<\/li>\n<li>Star-Crossed Lovers<\/li>\n<li>Womanizers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary asserts that this &#8220;exquisite film&#8221; &#8212; a &#8220;dream romance set in 19th-century Vienna&#8221; &#8212; was &#8220;Max Ophuls&#8217;s finest American film&#8221;, and that it&#8217;s a &#8220;unique, beautifully realized picture&#8221; with a &#8220;lovely flow to it&#8221;. He lists it as one of the Best Movies of the Year in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>, where he also names Fontaine as Best Actress. In <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>, he writes that while &#8220;at first glance [her character, Lisa] seems&#8230; weak and controlled by a man&#8221;, she&#8217;s not only &#8220;sweet, polite, humble, and selfless&#8221; but &#8220;projects&#8230; underlying strength, determination, and confidence&#8221;, and &#8220;has no need to feel debased&#8221;. Indeed, Lisa is a fascinating if infuriating female protagonist: while we admire her tenacity and willingness to follow her heart, it&#8217;s painful to see her literally giving away her life to someone who can&#8217;t recognize her devotion. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Fontaine2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Fontaine2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"738\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-37476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Fontaine2.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Fontaine2-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Fontaine2-300x231.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Fontaine2-768x590.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Jourdan, meanwhile, plays his role as a talented charmer perfectly, and is unexpectedly sympathetic: Fontaine &#8220;should&#8221; know better than to maintain lifelong devotion to a known womanizer, <em>and<\/em> she should have told him years earlier about his son!). Most memorable of all, however, is Ophuls&#8217; fine direction (including many of his &#8220;trademarked camera pans&#8221;), with each scene perfectly realized, and many notable moments amidst &#8220;lush music, elegant settings, and romantic dialogue&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Joan Fontaine as Lisa<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Fontaine.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Fontaine.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"738\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-37475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Fontaine.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Fontaine-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Fontaine-300x231.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Fontaine-768x590.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li>Louis Jourdan as Stefan Brand<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Jourdan.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Jourdan.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"738\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-37472\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Jourdan.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Jourdan-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Jourdan-300x231.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Jourdan-768x590.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Many memorable scenes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Memorable.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Memorable.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"738\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-37479\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Memorable.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Memorable-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Memorable-300x231.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Memorable-768x590.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Memorable2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Memorable2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"738\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-37478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Memorable2.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Memorable2-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Memorable2-300x231.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Memorable2-768x590.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Franz Planer&#8217;s luminous cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"738\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-37473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Cinematography.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Cinematography-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Cinematography-300x231.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Cinematography-768x590.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"738\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-37474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Cinematography2.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Cinematography2-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Cinematography2-300x231.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/LFAUW-Cinematography2-768x590.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, once, as a tragic classic. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0040536\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/81291\/letter-from-an-unknown-woman\/#articles-reviews?articleId=290450\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s4011unkn.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/lettf.html\">FilmSite Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I know now that nothing happens by chance. Every moment is measured; every step is counted.&#8221; Synopsis: As he prepares to leave town rather than face a duel, an aging pianist (Louis Jourdan) reads a letter written by a young Viennese woman (Joan Fontaine) who fell instantly in love with him as a teenager and remained obsessed with him her entire life, despite eventually marrying a kind husband (Marcel Journet) who accepts the illegitimate child (Leo B. Pessin) she had&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=37469\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37469"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68730,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37469\/revisions\/68730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}