A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember, who may hold the key to his downfall.A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember, who may hold the key to his downfall.A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember, who may hold the key to his downfall.
- Awards
- 1 win
Patricia Alphin
- Pretty
- (uncredited)
Edit Angold
- Middle-Aged Woman
- (uncredited)
Lois Austin
- Elderly Woman
- (uncredited)
Polly Bailey
- Passenger
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Howard Koch
- Stefan Zweig
- Max Ophüls(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the beginning of the film, Lisa is 16 and played by Joan Fontaine who was 30 years old at the time the film was made.
- GoofsWhile most signs in the movie are written correctly in German, since the movie is set in Austria, parts of them are in English, e.g. Stefan Brand's concert flyer, which says "Concert Program" instead of "Konzertprogramm".
- Quotes
Lisa Berndl: The course of our lives can be changed by such little things. So many passing by, each intent on his own problems. So many faces that one might easily have been lost. I know now that nothing happens by chance. Every moment is measured; every step is counted.
- SoundtracksUn sospiro
(uncredited)
Music by Franz Liszt
Played on piano by Louis Jourdan (dubbed by Jakob Gimpel)
Also used as main theme in the score
Featured review
Subversive Romance
This has to be one of my all time favorite films. Ophuls is perhaps the most graceful and elegant film-maker ever. Here in Letter from an Unknown Woman, he is at his most romantic. Though the romance is only a fantasy (and so beautifully subverted by Ophuls graceful choreography and merciless sense of irony), passion is nevertheless king (or queen). I have never seen a film celebrate love in quite this way. It reminds me of one of the most beautiful lines in cinema from Altman's "Gosford Park" when Sophie Thompson says, "I believe in love. Not just getting it... giving it. I think as long as you can love somebody, whether or not they love you, then it's worth it." Ophuls' entire film plays with this very notion. Lise's fanatical love (and obsession) is requited not by Stefan but by Ophuls himself, and of course by weepy viewers like me and hopefully you too.
helpful•6310
- limshun
- Aug 27, 2004
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Brief einer Unbekannten
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $852
- Runtime1 hour 27 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer