Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)

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Not Rated
1h 27min
Drama, Romance
16 Jul 1948 (Mexico)
Movie

7.9 (13,647)

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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.

Director:

Max Ophüls

Writers:

Howard Koch, Stefan Zweig, Max Ophüls

Stars:

Award:

1 win.
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Photos and Videos

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96 photos | 1 video

Cast verified as complete

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	Joan Fontaine	...	Lisa Berndle
	Louis Jourdan	...	Stefan Brand
	Mady Christians	...	Frau Berndle
	Marcel Journet	...	Johann Stauffer
	Art Smith	...	John
	Carol Yorke	...	Marie
	Howard Freeman	...	Herr Kastner
	John Good	...	Lt. Leopold von Kaltnegger
	Leo B. Pessin	...	Stefan Jr.
	Erskine Sanford	...	Porter
	Otto Waldis	...	Concierge
	Sonja Bryden	...	Frau Spitzer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Patricia Alphin	...	Pretty (uncredited)
	Harry Anderson	...	(uncredited)
	Edit Angold	...	Middle-Aged Woman (uncredited)
	Joe Ardao	...	Small man (uncredited)
	Lois Austin	...	Elderly Woman (uncredited)
	Polly Bailey	...	Passenger (uncredited)
	John T. Bambury	...	Midget (uncredited)
	George Blagoi	...	(uncredited)
	Betty Blythe	...	Frau Kohner (uncredited)
	Walter Bonn	...	Col. Kohner (uncredited)
	Sven Hugo Borg	...	Mover (uncredited)
	Roy Bross	...	Porter (uncredited)
	Robert W. Brown	...	1st Officer (uncredited)
	Paul E. Burns	...	Concierge (uncredited)
	Douglas Carter	...	(uncredited)
	Donald Chaffin	...	Pedestrian (uncredited)
	Gordon B. Clarke	...	Street Singer (uncredited)
	Edmund Cobb	...	Carriage Driver (uncredited)
	Tom Costello	...	Musician (uncredited)
	Ashley Cowan	...	Callow Youth (uncredited)
	Helen Dickson	...	Large Woman Exiting Spitzer's (uncredited)
	Watson Downs	...	Conductor (uncredited)
	Tay Dunn	...	Young Officer (uncredited)
	Al Eben	...	Waiter (uncredited)
	John Elliott	...	Flower Vendor (uncredited)
	Bess Flowers	...	Theatre Patron (uncredited)
	Charles Fogel	...	Theatre Patron (uncredited)
	Edwin Fowler	...	Dancing Master (uncredited)
	Curt Furberg	...	Butler (uncredited)
	Lorraine Gale	...	Girlfriend (uncredited)
	Joe Garcio	...	Collector (uncredited)
	Jack Gargan	...	Inquisitive Man at Train Depot (uncredited)
	Jack George	...	Opera Critic (uncredited)
	Lisa Golm	...	Musician (uncredited)
	Roy Gordon	...	Elderly Man in Uniform (uncredited)
	William Gould	...	Bürgermeister (uncredited)
	Ilka Grüning	...	Ticket-Taker (uncredited)
	William Hall	...	Mover (uncredited)
	Ramsay Hill	...	Col. Steindorf (uncredited)
	Edna Holland	...	Nun (uncredited)
	Mauritz Hugo	...	Frau Spitzer's Patron (uncredited)
	Doretta Johnson	...	Girlfriend (uncredited)
	Joseph Kamaryt	...	Bavarian Mountaineer (uncredited)
	Elizabeth Kerr	...	(uncredited)
	Rex Lease	...	Station Attendant (uncredited)
	William A. Lee	...	Mover (uncredited)
	Arthur Lovejoy	...	Footman (uncredited)
	Celia Lovsky	...	Flower Vendor (uncredited)
	Michael Mark	...	Café Customer (uncredited)
	John C. McCallum	...	Store Helper (uncredited)
	Betty McDonough	...	(uncredited)
	Frank McLure	...	Concert Footman (uncredited)
	Hal Melone	...	Waiter (uncredited)
	Torben Meyer	...	Carriage Driver (uncredited)
	Howard M. Mitchell	...	Man on Streetcar (uncredited)
	Kay Morley	...	Daughter (uncredited)
	Leo Mostovoy	...	Older Man at Concert (uncredited)
	Fred Nurney	...	Officer on Street (uncredited)
	William H. O'Brien	...	Concert Footman (uncredited)
	Blanche Obronska	...	Young Woman (uncredited)
	Manuel París	...	Baron's Second (uncredited)
	Foster H. Phinney	...	Theatre Patron (uncredited)
	Joe Ploski	...	Moving Man (uncredited)
	Jean Ransome	...	Maid (uncredited)
	Peggy Remington	...	(uncredited)
	Bruce Riley	...	Officer (uncredited)
	Paul Rochin	...	Bavarian Man (uncredited)
	Countess Elektra Rozanska	...	Elegant Lady (uncredited)
	Shimen Ruskin	...	Stefan's Friend at Café (uncredited)
	Norbert Schiller	...	Stefan's Second (uncredited)
	Bill Schroff	...	Waiter (uncredited)
	Scott Seaton	...	Theatre Patron (uncredited)
	Irene Seidner	...	Frau Mombert (uncredited)
	Jamesson Shade	...	Musician (uncredited)
	Lester Sharpe	...	Critic (uncredited)
	Guy L. Shaw	...	Café Patron (uncredited)
	Walter Soderling	...	Panorama Operator (uncredited)
	Pietro Sosso	...	Coachman (uncredited)
	Helen Spring	...	Middle-Aged Woman (uncredited)
	Lotte Stein	...	Musician (uncredited)
	Hermine Sterler	...	Mother Superior (uncredited)
	Cy Stevens	...	Man (uncredited)
	Diane Stewart	...	Girlfriend (uncredited)
	Vera Stokes	...	Girlfriend (uncredited)
	Frieda Stoll	...	Burgermeister's Wife (uncredited)
	Paul Peter Szemere	...	Mover (uncredited)
	William Trenk	...	Fritzel (uncredited)
	Lisl Valetti	...	Musician (uncredited)
	Roland Varno	...	Stefan's Second (uncredited)
	Tyra Vaughn	...	Ballet Dancer (uncredited)
	William Vedder	...	Street Singer (uncredited)
	Erich von Schilling	...	Usher (uncredited)
	Max Willenz	...	Baggage Man (uncredited)
	Gabrielle Windsor	...	Ballet Girl (uncredited)
	Herbert Winters	...	Student (uncredited)
	June Wood	...	Cashier (uncredited)
	Judith Woodbury	...	Model (uncredited)
	Jack Worth	...	Officer (uncredited)
	Mary Worth	...	Musician (uncredited)

Directed by

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Max Ophüls

...

(as Max Opuls)

Written by

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Howard Koch	...	(screenplay)

Stefan Zweig	...	(novella)

Max Ophüls	...	() (uncredited)

Produced by

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Nate Blumberg	...	producer (uncredited)
William Dozier	...	executive producer (uncredited)
Joan Fontaine	...	producer (uncredited)
John Houseman	...	producer

Music by

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Daniele Amfitheatrof

Cinematography by

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Franz Planer

...

director of photography (as Frank Planer)

Editing by

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Ted J. Kent

Art Direction by

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Alexander Golitzen

Set Decoration by

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Russell A. Gausman
Ruby R. Levitt	...	(set decorations)

Costume Design by

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Travis Banton

...

(gowns)

Makeup Department

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Carmen Dirigo	...	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	...	makeup artist
Lou LaCava	...	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management

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E. Dobbs

...

production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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John Sherwood	...	assistant director (as John F. Sherwood)
Mickey Bennett	...	second assistant director (uncredited)
Les Warner	...	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department

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Wally Kirkpatrick

...

props (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Glenn E. Anderson	...	sound (as Glenn F. Anderson)
Leslie I. Carey	...	sound

Camera and Electrical Department

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Bert Anderson	...	still photographer (uncredited)
Tex Bellah	...	best boy (uncredited)
Walter Bluemel	...	camera operator (uncredited)
Punk Smith	...	key grip (uncredited)
Roland Smith	...	grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Eugene Joseff	...	costume jeweller (uncredited)
Virginia Tutwiler	...	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department

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David Tamkin	...	orchestrator
Ethmer Roten	...	musician: flute (uncredited)
Hans J. Salter	...	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

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Adele Cannon

...

script supervisor (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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William Dozier	...	presenter
Paul Elbogen	...	technical adviser
John Hambleton	...	coordinator of production
David O. Selznick	...	Louis Jordan by arrangement with

Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

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William Dozier Productions

Distributors

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Universal Pictures (1948) (United States) (theatrical) (as A Universal-International Release)
Empire Universal Films (1948) (Canada) (theatrical)
General Film Distributors (GFD) (1948) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
Universal Pictures Proprietary (1948) (Australia) (theatrical)
Société Anonyme Universal-Film (1948) (France) (theatrical) (as Universal Films S.A.)
Universal Film (1948) (Sweden) (theatrical)
Kamera Film Aktieselskap (1948) (Norway) (theatrical)
Eros Films (1950) (United Kingdom) (theatrical) (re-release)
Universal Filmverleih (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
Mundus Television (1954) (United States) (tv)
NHK Sôgô (1957) (Japan) (tv)
National Telefilm Associates (NTA) (1958) (United States) (tv)
MacMahon (1969) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
International Promotion (IP) (1978) (Japan) (theatrical) (re-release)
NHK Kyôiku (1978) (Japan) (tv)
Republic Pictures Home Video (1988) (United States) (VHS)
Barton Films (2005) (Spain) (theatrical) (re-release)
GP Museum Soft (2005) (Japan) (DVD)
Versátil Home Vídeo (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
Arthaus (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
Cecchi Gori Home Video (2007) (Italy) (DVD)
Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
British Film Institute (BFI) (2010) (United Kingdom) (theatrical) (re-release)
Olive Films (2012) (United States) (DVD) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Olive Films (2013) (Canada) (DVD)
Carlotta Films (2014) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
Divisa Home Video (2014) (Spain) (DVD)
BBC Two (2016) (United Kingdom) (tv)
France 3 (2023) (France) (tv) (French subtitles)
The Criterion Collection (United States) (video) (laserdisc)

Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary	In Vienna in 1900, Stefan Brand must face a duel the following morning. He has no intention of defending his honor however and plans to flee the city when he notices that he has received a letter from someone in his past. A struggling concert pianist at the time he met Lisa Berndle when she was just a teenager living next door. Brand has had many women in his life however and unaware that Lisa is genuinely in love with him, forgets all about her. They meet again but he only vaguely remembers ever having met her. Unknown to him she bears his child and eventually marries a man who knows of her past but loves her very much. When she runs into Brand many years later her love for him resurfaces and she is prepared to abandon her son and husband for him. Tragedy follows. Written by garykmcd Plot Summary
Plot Keywords	national-film-registry unrequited-love goodbye-at-train-station period-drama italy See All (210) »
Taglines	This is the love every woman lives for...the love every man would die for! See more »
Genres	Drama Romance
Parents Guide	View content advisory »
Certification	Argentina:Atp Finland:K-16 France:Tous publics Italy:T Japan:G Norway:A (cinema rating) Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) Sweden:Btl United Kingdom:A United Kingdom:U United States:Not Rated United States:Approved United States:Passed (National Board of Review) West Germany:12

Additional Details

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Also Known As	Lettre d'une inconnue (France) Brief einer Unbekannten (Germany) Carta de una desconocida (Spain) Carta a una desconocida (Spain) 一封陌生女子的来信 (China, Mandarin title) See more »
Runtime	87 min
Official Sites	Streaming on "AMT2.0 - Remember?" YouTube Chanel Streaming on "Hollywood Classic Movies" YouTube Chanel
Country	United States
Language	English
Color	Black and White
Aspect Ratio	1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix	Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Filming Locations	Republic Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »

Did You Know?

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Trivia	In 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. See more »
Goofs	While 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". See more »
Movie Connections	Featured in Film présenté: Lettre d'une inconnue (1956). See more »
Soundtracks	Un sospiro See more »
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. See more »

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