Letter from an Unknown Woman is a novella by Austrian writer Stefan Zweig. The work first appeared in the 1 January 1922 issue of the Viennese Neuen Freien Presse, before being published in book form as part of the collection Amok: Novellen einer Leidenschaft. The novella tells the story of an author who, while reading a letter written by a woman he does not remember, gets glimpses into her life story. It is generally considered to be Zweig's most famous work of fiction.
Maximillian Oppenheimer, known as Max Ophüls or simply Ophuls, was a German-born film director who worked in Germany (1931–1933), France, and the United States (1947–1950). He made nearly 30 films, the latter ones being especially notable: La Ronde (1950), Le Plaisir (1952), The Earrings of Madame de… (1953) and Lola Montès (1955). He was credited as Max Opuls on several of his American films, including The Reckless Moment, Caught, Letter from an Unknown Woman, and The Exile. The annual Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis in Saarbrücken is named after him.
Charles Boyer was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American films during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised, in romantic dramas such as The Garden of Allah (1936), Algiers (1938), and Love Affair (1939), as well as the mystery-thriller Gaslight (1944). He received four Oscar nominations for Best Actor. He also appeared as himself on the CBS sitcom I Love Lucy.
Stefan Zweig was an Austrian writer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world.
Margaret Brooke Sullavan was an American stage and film actress.
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career, and won both the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in consecutive years for A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950), the latter of which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six.
The Mortal Storm is a 1940 American drama film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Frank Borzage and stars Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart. The film shows the impact on Germans after Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany and gains unlimited power. The supporting cast features Robert Young, Robert Stack, Frank Morgan, Dan Dailey, Ward Bond and Maria Ouspenskaya.
Frederick Lewis Allen was the editor of Harper's Magazine and also notable as an American historian of the first half of the twentieth century. His specialty was writing about recent and popular history.
John Malcolm Stahl was an American film director and producer. He is best known for his films such as Leave Her to Heaven (1945), Imitation of Life (1934), The Keys of the Kingdom (1945), and Back Street (1932).
Back Street is a romance novel written by Fannie Hurst in 1931, with underlying themes of death and adultery. The book's copyright was renewed in 1958 for an original 1930 registration and a subsequent 1931 registration, meaning that different editions of the book were published. Each will become public domain in 2026 and 2027 for 1930 and 1931, respectively.
Only Yesterday may refer to:
Back Street is a 1941 American drama film directed by Robert Stevenson and starring Charles Boyer, Margaret Sullavan and Richard Carlson. It is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name, also from Universal. The film is adapted from the 1931 Fannie Hurst novel and the 1932 film version which it follows very closely, in some cases recalling the earlier film scene-for-scene. It is a sympathetic tale of an adulterous couple.
Cedar Paul, néeGertrude Mary Davenport was a singer, author, translator and journalist.
Maurice Eden Paul was a British socialist activist, physician, writer and translator.
The Shopworn Angel is a 1938 American drama film directed by H. C. Potter and starring James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, and Walter Pidgeon. The MGM release featured the second screen pairing of Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart following their successful teaming in the Universal Pictures production Next Time We Love two years earlier.
The Good Fairy is a 1935 romantic comedy film written by Preston Sturges, based on the 1930 play A jó tündér by Ferenc Molnár as translated and adapted by Jane Hinton, which was produced on Broadway in 1931. The film was directed by William Wyler and stars Margaret Sullavan, Herbert Marshall, Frank Morgan and Reginald Owen.
Letter from an Unknown Woman is a 1948 American drama romance film released by Universal-International and directed by Max Ophüls. It was based on the 1922 novella of the same name by Stefan Zweig. The film stars Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan, Mady Christians, and Marcel Journet (actor).
Letter from an Unknown Woman is a 2004 Chinese film written and directed by Xu Jinglei and is her second feature film as director after 2002's My Father and I. The film is an adaptation of Stefan Zweig's 1922 novella of the same name which was also adapted in 1948 by screenwriter Howard Koch. The film stars Xu and Jiang Wen as lovers during the 1930s and 1940s in Beijing. The film was produced by Asian Union Film & Media.
Haywire is a 1977 memoir by actress and writer Brooke Hayward, daughter of theatrical agent and producer Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan. It is a #1 New York Times Best Seller and was on the newspaper's list for 17 weeks. In Haywire, Brooke details her experience of growing up immersed in the glamorous and extravagant lifestyle afforded by her parents’ successful Hollywood and Broadway careers and tells the story of how her privileged, beautiful family and their seemingly idyllic life fell apart.
Stage Door is a 1936 stage play by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman about a group of struggling actresses who room at the Footlights Club, a fictitious theatrical boardinghouse in New York City modeled after the real-life Rehearsal Club. The three-act comedy opened on Broadway on October 22, 1936, at the Music Box Theatre and ran for 169 performances. The play was adapted into the 1937 film of the same name, and was also adapted for television.
