An Affair to Remember (1957)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Leo McCarey

Writers (WGA):

Delmer Daves (screenplay) and
Leo McCarey (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 July 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

On the Riviera...across the ocean...and all over New York!

Plot:

A couple falls in love and agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building - but will it happen?

Plot Keywords:

Love | Playboy | Painting | Remake | Villefranche France

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Nickie Ferrante
Deborah Kerr	...	Terry McKay
Richard Denning	...	Kenneth Bradley
Neva Patterson	...	Lois Clark
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	Grandmother Janou
Robert Q. Lewis	...	Himself - Announcer
Charles Watts	...	Ned Hathaway
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Courbet

Also Known As:

Leo McCarey's An Affair to Remember (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Hong Kong:I | Australia:G | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:AL | Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:G | Argentina:13 | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Peru:PT | USA:Approved (certificate #18547) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Jerry Wald Productions

Trivia:

Deborah Kerr plays Terry McKay, previously played by Irene Dunne in Love Affair (1939), of which this film is a remake - both were directed by Leo McCarey. The year before this film was made, Kerr played Anna Leonowens in The King and I (1956), also a role that had previously been played by Irene Dunne in the black-and-white classic Anna and the King of Siam (1946). "The King and I" is a musical based on the same book.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: An open water shot of the Constitution shows the wake from the camera boat.

Quotes:

Terry McKay: And all I could say was, "hello".

Movie Connections:

Featured in Au plus près du paradis (2002)

Soundtrack:

Tomorrow Land

Lovely, Lilting Romance

What one has to consider about the Deborah Kerr/Cary Grant characters is that they are both "kept" individuals: Kerr by a wealthy Texan named Ken (-doll, played by Richard Denning), Grant a gigolo engaged to an heiress (Neva Patterson). They meet on an ocean cruise, with this some cute and also silly comedy thrown in. Kerr & Grant are British and speak the accents yet their characters are from the U.S.; a not too distracting error, however. An unusually touching scene is when they de-bark in Italy and visit Grant's 82-year-old grandmother (Cathleen Nesbitt). It's a beautiful setting with wonderful music and pathos. Back in the states the couple agree to meet atop the Empire State Building in 6 months. One wonders why Kerr won't marry the handsome Denning, athletic, wealthy and kind (in real-life the actor was married to the British-raised actress Evelyn Ankers, a beauty in the Kerr-mold). Much of the second half is infused with un-necessary scenes of singing children but this all leads up the the final, long scene, beautifully acted and directed (by Leo McCarey). A mystery is very slowly unraveled in layers until the peak of the scene, scored by the emotional title theme song. This scene "gets" one every time, that's how effective it is. Beautiful costumes, scenery, clever photography (note the scene where the open patio door reveals the Empire State Building in its reflection), great cast make this an enduring, never-forgotten golden classic.