Love Affair (1939)

Director:

Leo McCarey

Writers:

Delmer Daves (screenplay) and
Donald Ogden Stewart (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 April 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

French playboy Michel Marnet and American Terry McKay fall in love aboard ship. They arrange to reunite 6 months later...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Singer | French | Cruise | Grandmother

Awards:

Nominated for 6 Oscars.

Cast

Irene Dunne	...	Terry
Charles Boyer	...	Michel
Maria Ouspenskaya	...	Grandmother
Lee Bowman	...	Kenneth Bradley
Astrid Allwyn	...	Lois Clarke
Maurice Moscovitch	...	Maurice Cobert (as Maurice Moscovich)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

Spain:T | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #4778)

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

This was Irene Dunne's favorite among her films. This also happened to be Charles Boyer's favorite among his films as well.

Goofs:

Continuity: Toward the end of the film, when Terry is on the sofa talking to Michel, she offers a cigarette to him. He picks it up, puts it in the mouth a little while and takes it out. Next shot, the cigarette is in his mouth.

Quotes:

Terry McKay: The things we like best are either illegal, immoral or fattening.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: The Phoenix (#2.13)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Sing My Heart

undeservedly ignored

I can't believe that this film is so forgotten by the film viewing public. This film is one of the better romances of the 1930s but, thanks to a mention of AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER in the movie SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER is now considered a "classic"--But how can this be...?! After all, LOVE AFFAIR is the original and AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER is a by-the-numbers and relatively boring remake. Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne are wonderful in this film. And, the direction and writing were excellent. However, doing NEARLY the exact same film two decades later seems pointless. I like Cary Grant and have nothing in particular against Deborah Kerr--but they just aren't as good as the originals.

Do yourself a favor. If you haven't seen either film, watch this one first. And, if you have seen only AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER, see this film and find out how beautiful and well-made this film is. Also, if you like LOVE AFFAIR, try seeing another great romance, SMILIN' THROUGH (1932). It has a lot in common with LOVE AFFAIR and you can even see that the writers of this later film "borrowed" one of the plot twists from SMILIN' THROUGH.