Max Ophuls was an exceptionally good director, best recalled for "Le Ronde", "The Earings of Madame D", "Lola Montez", and this film - his best Hollywood movie. He could capture the charm of the Europe of the 19th Century but he was realistic enough to admit two things: the social system was hardly fair with it's layers of classes and their appointed rankings, and love was glorious, but ephemeral. It is hard to select his best movie, but once you see any you can't forget them. I personally like "Letter From An Unknown Woman" more than "Le Ronde" and "Lola Montez", but I feel that both of the others are certainly worth watching and watching again.
The film follows Louis Jourdan's last night alive. You don't realize this while the film goes on, but it is centered on that. A philanderer who has wasted a promising career as a concert pianist (he is an unsuccessful version of Franz Liszt, who also had many love affairs - including one with Lola Montez), he has received a challenge to a duel from the husband of one. Actually it turns out this is the Austrian Baron (Marcel Journet) who was married to Joan Fontaine, and (although it does not immediately register) the husband and his second are seen at the start of the film watching Jourdan's apartment. Jourdan has returned home to quickly pack a bag, in order to flee the outraged husband - as he has probably has done many times - but he would not have had a real chance.
Jourdan is interrupted by his silent servant (Art Smith) who hands him a letter. It is the last letter ever written by Fontaine, and it details her lifelong adoration and love for Jourdan, which was met by him only once or twice in all these years - once when they spent the night together in an amusement park, and once when they met years later, when she had gotten married. Jourdan was always charming and intense, but he was always looking for the immediate gratification of his sexual desires. Fontaine, of course, hoped for a lifetime's satisfaction. She has had a son by Jourdan, and it led to some economic difficulties, but Journet (whom she knew as a military cadet) has always loved her and is willing to accept her and the boy as his own. Part of the tragedy of the story is that the Austrian Baron's decency can't make headway against Fontaine's fatal fascination with this pianist. The boy dies from an illness he accidentally gets on a railway trip. Fontaine dies from the same illness while trying to care for the boy, but lives long enough to write her letter.
With full irony, after the shattering experience of learning he was this loved and had a son, and had thoughtlessly thrown both away, Jordan still does not know Fontaine's name. Art Smith's character, the loyal servant, has no lines. This may be due to his pronounced American voice (see his performances in "In A Lonely Place" and "Ride The Pink Horse" to hear his voice), but it makes his quiet, kindly role all the more effective as a representative of either conscience or humanity. Jordan asks what Fontaine's name was, and Smith writes it down and gives it to him. It is now daybreak, and Jordan can turn coward and run (supposedly - don't forget Journet is downstairs watching), or bravely go to the field of honor and die. He chooses the latter to be united with his family.
It is a wonderful film with lovely touches: the fake railway journey in the amusement park, and the musician's coffee club in Vienna are two of them. It is a lovely film, and one of the most tragic to watch. I can easily recommend it.
The film follows Louis Jourdan's last night alive. You don't realize this while the film goes on, but it is centered on that. A philanderer who has wasted a promising career as a concert pianist (he is an unsuccessful version of Franz Liszt, who also had many love affairs - including one with Lola Montez), he has received a challenge to a duel from the husband of one. Actually it turns out this is the Austrian Baron (Marcel Journet) who was married to Joan Fontaine, and (although it does not immediately register) the husband and his second are seen at the start of the film watching Jourdan's apartment. Jourdan has returned home to quickly pack a bag, in order to flee the outraged husband - as he has probably has done many times - but he would not have had a real chance.
Jourdan is interrupted by his silent servant (Art Smith) who hands him a letter. It is the last letter ever written by Fontaine, and it details her lifelong adoration and love for Jourdan, which was met by him only once or twice in all these years - once when they spent the night together in an amusement park, and once when they met years later, when she had gotten married. Jourdan was always charming and intense, but he was always looking for the immediate gratification of his sexual desires. Fontaine, of course, hoped for a lifetime's satisfaction. She has had a son by Jourdan, and it led to some economic difficulties, but Journet (whom she knew as a military cadet) has always loved her and is willing to accept her and the boy as his own. Part of the tragedy of the story is that the Austrian Baron's decency can't make headway against Fontaine's fatal fascination with this pianist. The boy dies from an illness he accidentally gets on a railway trip. Fontaine dies from the same illness while trying to care for the boy, but lives long enough to write her letter.
With full irony, after the shattering experience of learning he was this loved and had a son, and had thoughtlessly thrown both away, Jordan still does not know Fontaine's name. Art Smith's character, the loyal servant, has no lines. This may be due to his pronounced American voice (see his performances in "In A Lonely Place" and "Ride The Pink Horse" to hear his voice), but it makes his quiet, kindly role all the more effective as a representative of either conscience or humanity. Jordan asks what Fontaine's name was, and Smith writes it down and gives it to him. It is now daybreak, and Jordan can turn coward and run (supposedly - don't forget Journet is downstairs watching), or bravely go to the field of honor and die. He chooses the latter to be united with his family.
It is a wonderful film with lovely touches: the fake railway journey in the amusement park, and the musician's coffee club in Vienna are two of them. It is a lovely film, and one of the most tragic to watch. I can easily recommend it.