SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

utgard14 Allen Quinton (Joseph Cotten) is a soldier in World War II who has been writing love letters for fellow soldier Robert Morland to his girl back home. Morland's kind of a jerk but the letters written is his name make him appear to be a kind, romantic soul and the girl they are written to falls in love with him. When Allen returns home from the war he discovers Morland married the girl but it ended in tragedy. Allen is intent upon finding out what happened. This leads him to a number of twists and a meeting with an amnesiac girl named Singleton (Jennifer Jones).Joseph Cotten's performance is great. Cotten, one of the great actors of his day, is sadly underrated today. Ann Richards gives a natural, sympathetic turn as Singleton's friend Dilly. Jennifer Jones is not up to Cotten's level. Her performance is OK but a little too manufactured. Still, she's competent here but outshined by Cotten, as well as supporting player Richards and vets Cecil Kellaway and Gladys Cooper.William Dieterle creates a lovely, atmospheric picture. I love the sets, the houses, the matte painting backgrounds. Victor Young's music is evocative and romantic. The script is by Ayn Rand (!) from a novel by Christopher Massie. My one real gripe is that I hated the name Singleton for this girl and every time they said it, it was like nails on a chalkboard for me. Hearing Joseph Cotten say "I love you Singleton" sounds like some secret joke forgotten decades ago. Whether it was Rand's idea or Massie's, I don't know. But it was stupid and provides clunky hiccups in the dialogue. Despite a few quibbles, it's hard to dislike. Interesting, romantic, effective mystery film that should entertain all but the stone-hearted among us.

jotix100 "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.

blanche-2 "Love Letters" is a 1945 film starring Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones. It's a mystery/romance that also is a spin on "Cyrano de Bergerac." As a favor to a buddy, British soldier Allen Quinten writes letters to his friend Roger's girlfriend Victoria while they are serving together, though Allen's conscience begins to bother him. He has also fallen in love with Victoria, and he believes that Victoria has fallen in love with a "man who doesn't exist." Once discharged and back in the London area, he learns that Roger married Victoria and later was killed. As it turns out, Roger was murdered by Victoria, who served a year in prison for manslaughter. Allen blames himself, feeling that the murder happened because Victoria was disillusioned when she realized she married a man who was not the person she fell in love with. When by coincidence he meets Victoria, she has amnesia. Once he finds out who she is, it's too late - they're in love, and he wants to marry her.This is a really lovely film, based on a novel and adapted for the screen by Ayn Rand. Though it may not seem a likely subject for Rand, her personal philosophy is in play. "Cyrano de Bergerac" was one of her favorite stories, and she believed, as she shows in "Atlas Shrugged," that any deception in love can only lead to disaster.There's not much mystery to the story - you know what happened from the very beginning - but the romance is good, as is the acting. Gladys Cooper plays Victoria's aunt, who suffered a stroke after the murder. She's very good. Cotten and Jones make a great team as always, Cotten strong, sensitive, pensive and handsome, and Jones stunningly beautiful and fragile with that dreamy quality that made her so good in the later "Portrait of Jennie." "Portrait of Jennie" is more interesting and a better film overall, but both benefit from an ethereal performance by Jones and nice chemistry with Cotten.The song "Love Letters" comes from this film. It is played throughout and adds to the lovely British country atmosphere. Highly recommended.

hjmsia49 Love Letters has always been one of my favorite films. Fine performances by a superb cast, a good script by Ayn Rand and a perfect score by Victor Young. Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten were always compatible in their four films together. The chemistry between them is obvious. I confess a bias for this film because the title song has always been special for my wife and I for over 50 years. It was nominated for an Oscar but did not win. Such was the fate of composer Victor Young who not only failed to win an Oscar for "Love Letters" but also such memorable film songs as "My Foolish Heart," "Stellar By Starlight" and his most popular song "When I Fall In Love" (which surprisingly was never nominated even though it was in two films?) He finally received an Oscar after his death for "Around The World In 80 Days." Speaking of Oscar, Joseph Cotten was one of Hollywood's best actors for many years but he was never nominated for the big prize. Evidently, he made it look so easy he was never noticed. Jennifer Jones was radiant in this film and well deserving of her Oscar nomination. If you are a true romantic, I think you will love this film.