Main Cast: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ann Richards, Gladys Cooper, Cecil Kellaway, Anita Louise
Release Year: 1945
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
Plot
Ayn Rand wrote this adaptation of Chris Massie's book Pity Mr. Simplicity, about a soldier who falls in love with a former comrade's wife -- an amnesiac who may have murdered her husband. The story begins in Italy when two soldiers, Allen Quinton (Joseph Cotten) and Roger Morland (Robert Sully), hatch a scheme concerning Singleton (Jennifer Jones), his girl back home. Allen agrees to write love letters to Singleton for his friend and, based on the heartfelt emotions evident in the letters, she falls in love with Roger. Returning home, Singleton and Roger marry, but Roger proves to be a drunken, abusive husband. One night, as Roger is beating Singleton, he is stabbed to death by her stepmother. Singleton goes in to shock, rendering her unable to recall the murder, while her stepmother has a stroke, making her unable to speak. Accused of murder, Singleton is sentenced to a year in jail. Allen, in the meantime, hears about the murder of his friend and comes to visit Singleton, and the two proceed to fall in love. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
Adapted by Ayn Rand from Chris Massie's novel, Love Letters matched a sensual yet innocent Jennifer Jones with a spiritual, romantic Joseph Cotten in a story about the ideal of perfect love and the impact of World War II on personal lives. Setting his story in rural England shortly after the soon-to-end war, director William Dieterle matched the Gothic setting and Jones's emotionally heightened acting with expressionistic lighting and canted camera angles, suggesting that something is off about Jones's sweetly beautiful amnesiac long before her trauma is revealed. Sentimental, romantic, spiritual, and sincere, Love Letters maintains a hyper-emotional atmosphere more suited to a story of archetypal, total love, even if its central trauma arises from the disruptive effects of the war. It was another popular success for young star Jones, earning her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress; the film itself garnered nominations for art direction, score, and Victor Young's title song. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Edith Head - Costume Designer, William Dieterle - Director, Anne Bauchens - Editor, Victor Young - Composer (Music Score), Roland Anderson - Production Designer, Hans Dreier - Production Designer, Lee Garmes - Cinematographer, Hal B. Wallis - Producer, Ray Moyer - Set Designer, Gordon Jennings - Special Effects, Ayn Rand - Screenwriter, Chris Massie - Book Author
Alan Quinton (Joseph Cotten), a soldier in Italy during World War II, has been writing letters for his friend Roger Morland (Robert Scully), a man who admits he "never had any standards, manners or taste." He has never met Victoria Remington, but regards her as a "pin-up girl of the spirit," to whom he can express feelings he's never expressed in person. He realizes that Victoria has fallen in love with the letters and is concerned that Victoria will be disappointed by the real Roger.
Jones and Cotten in Love Letters
When he returns home, Alan learns that Roger has died. When he tries to look up Victoria he is told that she has also died, and he learns that Roger's death was a murder. At a party he meets and falls in love with a mysterious woman named Singleton (Jennifer Jones), who may hold the key to these deaths, but is suffering from amnesia. The subsequent plot follows Singleton's effort to regain her past, and Alan's efforts to find out what the real story of the murder was.
Man by the Roadside •Behind the Altar (with Julius Brandt) •The Saint and Her Fool •Sex in Chains •The Brandenburg Arch (with Max Knaake) •Triumph of Love •Frühlingsrauschen •Das Schweigen im Walde
