Love Letters (1945)

Academy Awards, USA 1946

Nominated Oscar	Best Actress in a Leading Role Jennifer Jones
	Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White Hans Dreier Roland Anderson Sam Comer Ray Moyer
	Best Music, Original Song Victor Young (music) Edward Heyman (lyrics) For the song "Love Letters"
	Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Victor Young

Paramount Pictures
Directed by William Dieterle
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Joseph Cotten writes love letters for his Army pal while on the front lines in Europe. He ends up falling in love with her after reading her return letters. Sent to England after an injury, he inherits a remote country  estate which happens to be nearby her address. He finds out his pal was murdered and his wife supposedly put away in an asylum. Meanwhile, he meets a mystery girl at a party who turns out to be, you guessed it, the same woman, only she has amnesia and can't remember any of her past life. They fall in love anyway, but eventually she starts remembering what happened. Briskly paced and with at least one surprising plot twist, it managed to hold my interest despite all of the coincidence and melodrama. Ayn Rand manages to work in some interesting philosophical points. Moody black and white photography by Lee Garmes makes the most of the isolated English countryside and manor.