Love Letters (1945)

Allen Quinton writes a fellow soldier's love letters; tragedy results. Later, Allen meets a beautiful amnesiac who fears postmen...

Director:

William Dieterle

Writers:

Ayn Rand (screenplay), Christopher Massie (novel) (as Chris Massie)

Stars:

Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ann Richards

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jennifer Jones	...	Victoria Morland aka Singleton
Joseph Cotten	...	Alan Quinton
Ann Richards	...	Dilly Carson
Cecil Kellaway	...	Mac
Gladys Cooper	...	Beatrice Remington
Anita Louise	...	Helen Wentworth
Robert Sully	...	Roger Morland
Reginald Denny	...	Defense Counsel Phillips
Ernest Cossart	...	Bishop
Byron Barr	...	Derek Quinton

Storyline

When a man asks another man more facile with words to do his wooing for him, there are always complications. The man with no talent for writing marries the girl, confesses one night he didn't write the letters and ends up with a knife in his back. The writer of the letters fell in love with the woman he wrote to and wants to become her second husband even if she did murder husband number one. Singleton doesn't remember the murder or anything about the first 22 years of her life as Victoria Remington. Then at her second wedding she wonders why she said "I take you, Roger," instead of "I take you, Alan."

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Plot Keywords:

love letter | murder | world war two | amnesia | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 October 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cartas a mi amada

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Wallis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Screen Director's Playhouse" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on October 24, 1949 with Joseph Cotten reprising his film role.

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Goofs

When Allen sees the archived newspaper article, the first brief paragraph is on topic. The second paragraph is unrelated and everything else on the page is gibberish.

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Quotes

Singleton: I have forgotten and you don't want to remember, that's the only difference between us.

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Connections

Referenced in Biography: Jennifer Jones: Portrait of a Lady (2001)

User Reviews

Love letters straight from your heart

"Love Letters" is one of the most interesting films of 1945, yet it's seldom seen these days. We watched an excellent copy of it courtesy of a cable channel. The picture has kept well throughout the years. Directed by an old pro of that period, William Dieterle, and with an excellent cinematography by Lee Garmes, it was a joy to watch again. Victor Young's haunting musical score plays softly in the background.

Some comments seem to indicate that Ayn Rand wrote the original work in which the movie is based. Contrary to those opinions, the fact is it was based on a Christopher Massie's novel, "Pity my Simplicity", and adapted by the author and Ms. Rand into the finished product. Ms. Rand was an obvious admirer of the French playwright Edmund Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, which plays in the action without making it too obvious.

The best thing in "Love Letters" was the casting of the main roles. Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten played with their characters with conviction. Ms. Jones was at a great moment of her movie career; her dual role of Victoria Morland/Singleton proved she was the right choice for it. Mr. Cotten was an actor that always delivered, as it's the case with his character, Allen Quinton, the man who has loved Victoria from a distance.

The marvelous cast is enhanced by Gladys Cooper, who is seen as Beatrice Remington, the woman who brought up Victoria as her own daughter and who holds the key to solving the mystery of the tragedy that involves Victoria. Ann Richards and Cecil Kellaway are also seen in minor roles.

"Love Letters" will delight fans of the genre as it is one of the better exponent of the Hollywood of the 40s.