Quand tu liras cette lettre (1953)

Director:

Jean-Pierre Melville

Writer:

Jacques Deval (writer)

Release Date:

26 July 1953 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Cast

Françoise Alban
Marcel Arnal
Adeline Aucoc
Claude Borelli	...	Lola
Daniel Cauchy	...	Biquet
Robert Dalban	...	Dick
Yvonne de Bray	...	La voyageuse
Marcel Delaître	...	Le grand-père
Jacques Deval	...	Le juge d'instruction
Colette Fleury
Irène Galter	...	Denise Voise
Juliette Gréco	...	Thérèse Voise
Robert Hébert
Suzanne Hédouin
Claude Hennesy
Lucienne Juillet
Léon Larive	...	Le greffier
Philippe Lemaire	...	Max Trivet
Roland Lesaffre	...	Roland
Jane Morlet	...	La grand-mère
Alain Nobis
Louise Nowa
Louis Pérault	...	Le portier
Colette Régis	...	La supérieure
Philippe Richard
Yvonne Sanson	...	Irène Faugeret
Fernand Sardou	...	Le garagiste
Paul Temps
Suzy Willy	...	Mme Gobert

Directed by
Jean-Pierre Melville

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jacques Deval		writer

Produced by
Jean-Pierre Melville	....	producer
Paul Temps	....	producer

Original Music by
Bernard Peiffer

Cinematography by
Henri Alekan

Film Editing by
Marinette Cadix

Production Design by
Robert Gys

Makeup Department
Janine Jarreau	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yannick Andréi	....	assistant director
Pierre Blondy	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Julien Coutelier	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Henri Tiquet	....	camera operator

Other crew
Dagmar Bolin	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Daunia
• Jad Films
• Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France
• Société Générale de Cinématographie (S.G.C.)
• Titanus

Distributors

• Les Films Marceau

Also Known As:

Labbra proibite (Italy)
When You Read This Letter (International: English title)
Cuando leas esta carta (Argentina) [es]
Lèvres interdites (Belgium: French title) [fr]
Otan diavasis to gramma (Greece) [el]
Und keine blieb verschont (West Germany) [de]
Verboden lippen (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

Daunia

Trivia:

The title is a quotation from the opening line of the letter in Letter From an Unknown Woman (Ophuls, 1948)... 'When you read this letter I will be dead.'

Interesting melodrama from Melville's early career

Max Trivet is a garage mechanic, boxer, thief and local gigolo. When his seduction of a young shop girl turns to rape, the girl's sister Thérèse, an ex-nun, plans her revenge. However, it appears that even the austere Thérèse may not be immune to his charms...

Many of the iconic Melville elements are present already in this early film: the big American cars, the scenes with night club dancers rehearsing their act, the long raincoat and hat which Max wears... The plot is more melodramatic than we would expect from the director's later work, but Melville complicates this with ambiguities that add considerably to the interest of the story: Max is portrayed as cruel and cynical, yet also sympathetic; while Thérèse, played by the singer Juliette Greco, is so cold and impassive it is hard to guess, even at the end of the film, what her feelings and intentions have been towards Max.

The use of music is very interesting in this movie, each of the main characters being given not just their own theme but their own instrument: an accordion for Max, a church organ for Thérèse, a harpsichord for her sister Denise, and a piano for the married woman whom Max seduces. There is some striking cinematography, too, notably in the scene on the beach at night, with Thérèse and Max appearing as silhouettes against the turbulent sea.