''Open Letter'' (French: ''Lettre ouverte'') is a 1953 French

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Alex Joffé Alex Joffé (18 November 1918 – 18 August 1995) was a French film director and screenwriter, known for ''Les cracks'' (1968), ''Fortunat'' (1960) and ''La grosse caisse'' (1965). He was the father of the director Arthur Joffé, as well as Mar ...

and starring

Robert Lamoureux Robert Lamoureux (4 January 1920 – 29 October 2011) was a French actor, screenwriter and film director. He appeared in more than 30 films between 1951 and 1994. He starred in the film ''The Adventures of Arsène Lupin'', which was entered ...

Geneviève Page Geneviève Page (born Geneviève Bonjean, 13 December 1927) is a French actress with a film career spanning fifty years and also numerous English-speaking film productions. She is the daughter of French art collector Jacques Paul Bonjean (1899– ...

and

Jean-Marc Thibault Jean-Marc Thibault (1923–2017) was a French film and television actor.Halliwell p.56 He also directed three films. Selected filmography * ''First on the Rope'' (1944) * ''Cage of Girls'' (1949) * '' I Like Only You'' (1949) * ''Women of Paris'' ...

.Bessy & Chirat p.187 The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Robert Clavel Robert Clavel (1912–1991) was a French art director.Hayward p.245 Selected filmography * '' All Roads Lead to Rome'' (1949) * '' Tuesday's Guest'' (1950) * ''Old Boys of Saint-Loup'' (1950) * '' The Paris Waltz'' (1950) * '' Passion'' (1951) * ...

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for exam ...

took place around

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Synopsis

Martial Simonet is very jealous of his wife Colette and when he sees her writing a

letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

he demands to know who it is to she refuses to tell him. After she has posted it he bribes the

postman A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...

to allow him to have it, but has so borrow the money from his

parents in law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person is a child-in-la ...

. In cahoots with Colette, the postman has actually passed him a fake letter. It is only in the end that Martial becomes assured of his wife's fidelity.

Cast

as Martial Simonet *

as Colette Simonet *

as Gaston *

Paul Bonifas Paul Bonifas (3 June 1902 – 9 November 1975) was a French actor, born in Paris. Career In the 1920s, while working for the French customs service, Bonifas took classes in acting at the Conservatoire de Paris in his spare time. He left wit ...

as Honoré - le beau-père *

Rosy Varte Rosy Varte (22 November 1923 – 14 January 2012) was a French actress of Armenian descent. She made more than 100 film and television appearances during her career. She starred in the 1972 film ''The Bar at the Crossing'', which was enter ...

as La concierge - Madame Pépin *

Sophie Mallet Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...

as La bonne - Hortense *

Jacques Hilling Jacques Hilling (26 May 1922 – 16 February 1975) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1949 and 1975. Selected filmography * ''Return to Life'' (1949) - Un soldat (segment 4 : "Le retour de René") (uncredite ...

as Le flic - Monsieur Pépin *

Georges Wilson Georges Wilson (16 October 1921 – 3 February 2010) was a French film and television actor. He was the father of French actor Lambert Wilson. Biography Wilson was born in Champigny-sur-Marne, Seine (now Val-de-Marne) as the illegitimate s ...

as Un locataire *

Germaine de France Germaine may refer to: Given name *Germaine Arnaktauyok (born 1946), Inuk printmaker, painter, and drawer *Germaine Cousin (1579-1601), French saint *Germaine Greer (born 1939), feminist writer and academic *Germaine Koh (born 1967), Malaysian-born ...

as La vieille locataire - Madame Gallot *

Claude Castaing Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etch ...

as Le monsieur galant *

Solange Certain Solange (died 10 May, c. 880) was a Frankish shepherdess and a locally venerated Christian saint and cephalophore, whose cult is restricted to Sainte-Solange, Cher. Saint Solange was the patron of the traditional Province of Berry, of which ...

as Henriette *

Pierre Dux Pierre Dux (21 October 1908 – 1 December 1990) was a French stage director, stage actor, and film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1932 and 1990. Filmography References External links * * 1908 births 1990 deaths Burials ...

as Monsieur Lesage *

Mary Marquet Mary Marquet (born Micheline Marguerite Delphine Marquet; 14 April 1895 – 29 August 1979) was a French stage and film actress. Career Marquet came from a family of artists: her parents were actors, an aunt was a star dancer at the Paris Ope ...

as Laurence - La belle-mère * Michel Lemoine as Le peintre *

Jean Berton Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

as L'inspecteur *

Geneviève Morel Geneviève Morel (1916–1989) was a French stage and film actress.Bessy & Chirat p.233 Selected filmography * '' Beating Heart'' (1940) * '' Mademoiselle Swing'' (1942) * ''Goodbye Leonard'' (1943) * '' Secrets of a Ballerina'' (1943) * ''Cec ...

as La grosse dame *

Paul Villé Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

as Le chauffeur

References

Bibliography

* Bessy, Maurice & Chirat, Raymond. ''Histoire du cinéma français: 1951-1955''. Pygmalion, 1989. * Rège, Philippe. ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1953 films French black-and-white films French comedy films 1953 comedy films Films directed by Alex Joffé 1950s French-language films Films shot in Paris Films set in Paris 1950s French films {{1950s-France-film-stub