Letter from an Unknown Woman

Letter from an Unknown Woman is a 1948 American drama romance film released by Universal-International and directed by Max Ophüls (listed as Max Opuls in the opening credits sequence). It was based on the novella of the same name by Stefan Zweig. The film stars Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan, Mady Christians, and . In 1992, Letter from an Unknown Woman was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In July 2021, the film was shown in the Cannes Classics section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. Plot In early twentieth century Vienna, a man named Stefan Brand returns home; he is due to duel against an opponent the next morning but plans to skip town and avoid it. His mute butler hands him a letter, addressed to him by a woman who claims that she may be dead by the time he receives it, which Stefan begins reading. Decades earlier, Lisa, a teenager living in an apartment building, becomes fascinated by Stefan, a new tenant and concert pianist at the time. She would be up late to listen to him play, sneak into his apartment, admire him from a distance, and dress better and act gracefully. Despite her actions, they only meet once and Stefan takes little notice of her.