''When You Read This Letter'' (French: ''Quand tu liras cette lettre'') is a 1953 French-Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Jean-Pierre Melville Jean-Pierre Melville (; born Jean-Pierre Grumbach; 20 October 1917 – 2 August 1973) was a French filmmaker and actor. Among his films are ''Le Silence de la mer'' (1949), '' Bob le flambeur'' (1956), ''Le Doulos'' (1962), '' Le Samouraï'' (19 ...

and starring

Philippe Lemaire Philippe Lemaire (14 March 1927 – 15 March 2004) was a French actor. He appeared in more than ninety films between 1946 and 2004. Lemaire was married three times; Nicole Pinton (1949–1951) (divorced); Juliette Gréco Juliette Gréco (; ...

Juliette Gréco Juliette Gréco (; 7 February 1927 – 23 September 2020) was a French singer and actress. Her best known songs are "Paris Canaille" (1962, originally sung by Léo Ferré), "La Javanaise" (1963, written by Serge Gainsbourg for Gréco) and "Désh ...

and

Yvonne Sanson Yvonne Sanson ( el, Υβόν Σανσόν; 29 August 1925 – 23 July 2003) was a Greek-Italian film actress. She appeared in 46 films between 1946 and 1972, mainly working in Italy. Born in Thessaloniki, Sanson was a naturalised Italian cit ...

. It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris.

Location filming In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

also take place on the coast of Southern France where the film is set. The film's sets were designed by the art director

Robert Gys Robert Gys (1901–1977) was a French art director.O'Shaughnessy p.238 Selected filmography * '' Imperial Violets'' (1924) * ''The Phantom of the Moulin Rouge'' (1925) * ''Miss Europe'' (1930) * ''Dance Hall'' (1931) * '' The Dream'' (1931) * '' ...

. The film was a commercial success and permitted Melville to acquire his own studios to make his future productions.Crisp p.282

Synopsis

After their parents die in a road accident, a strongly moral young woman named Thérèse Voise leaves a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

shortly before taking her vows in order to care for her younger sister Denise and run the family

stationery Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter pape ...

shop with her. Thérèse is very protective of Denise and becomes concerned when her sister strikes up an acquaintance with Max, a young

amateur boxer Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration, comprising three rounds of three ...

and

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

mechanic. Max is a self-centered, amoral drifter who is conducting numerous different relationships with girls at

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s. He is also pursuing Irène Faugeret, a wealthy married woman, managing to get employment as her chauffeur and become her lover. Max strikes up a friendship of sorts with Biquet, a bellhop at the Hôtel Carlton who acts as Max's eyes and ears, especially as concerns Madame Faugeret. Denise is attracted to Max, but after a chance meeting at the hotel he sexually assaults her. A distraught Denise attempts to drown herself, and is only narrowly saved from suicide. After she has recovered, Thérèse blackmails Max into getting engaged to Denise by threatening to reveal the circumstances to the police who are already investigating Max for the death in an automobile accident of Irène, his wealthy lover. Max was responsible for Irène Faugeret's death as he had loosened three screws on her car's steering column. Max did not expect her to use the car the night of the fatal accident. He expected Biquet would use it instead, part of their scheme to steal Irène's money and then flee to Tangiers to start a new life. Max was hoping to double-cross Biquet. Instead, he caused Irène Faugeret's death. Denise is delighted and optimistic about the future. However, Thérèse remains contemptuous of her future brother-in-law. Max tries to persuade Thérèse that he has fallen in love with her and attempts to seduce her. She rejects his advances, but it remains unclear to what extent she is attracted to him. Max tries to persuade her to run away with him to

Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

where they can start a new life together. The sincerity of his actions remains in doubt even up to the moment when, having absconded with Denise's dowry and Thérèse's passport, he is killed by a train while trying to board it in order to complete his rendezvous with Thérèse. Philosophically accepting this turn of events, she returns to her convent to become a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

Cast

References

Bibliography

* Crisp, C.G. ''The Classic French Cinema, 1930–1960''. Indiana University Press, 1993.

External links

* {{Jean-Pierre Melville 1953 films French drama films 1950s French-language films Italian drama films 1953 drama films Films shot at Billancourt Studios Films directed by Jean-Pierre Melville Lux Film films French black-and-white films Italian black-and-white films 1950s French films 1950s Italian films