An Affair to Remember (1957)

Why so much hype?

Touches You

Purely Joyful Movie!

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Old Hollywood. Nowadays the story is totally unconvincing even for a romantic comedy. Why would a serious person want Nickie if he is the playboy everyone thinks he is? And the visit to the sweet little old grandma and praying together there is unconvincing reason to suddenly want to marry someone! They have hardly left her then they are incredibly speaking of marriage and ending their current relationships. As for Nickie not even worrying about if something had happened to Terry....Why? I saw this in the '60s and loved it but the intervening years have not been kind to it. It's very slight I'm afraid.

I will never tire of this movie. The characters are beautifully defined. They convey their feelings with agonizing restraint. Everything takes place in between their words, in their eyes and subtle gestures. The dialog is witty and sophisticated. Cary Grant will never be surpassed, in appeal or talent, by any actor, of any era. This is one of his best performances, showcasing his comic and dramatic abilities equally well.I understand Leo McCarey let Grant and Deborah Kerr improvise a lot, and a lot of that dialog made it to the screen. This created a spontaneity that feels like these two are hearing the lines for the first time, because, in many instances, they are.I would love to hear from anyone who can confirm two things that I remember from earlier viewings, but which I haven't seen in a long time, not even on my DVD copy. There was a scene in which Terry (Kerr's character) sees Nickie's portrait of her and his grandmother in the art gallery, which resulted in the gallery owner taking pity on her and giving her the painting. Then in the final scene, when it dawns on Nickie that Terry and the wheelchair-bound woman at the gallery are one and the same, he rushes into her bedroom and sees the painting AND the wheelchair. But it's been decades since I've seen the gallery scene or the snippet with the wheelchair in the bedroom. Does anyone else remember these two elements, and does anyone know why they're missing from later airings and the DVD release? Does anyone know if the unedited edition of this movie exists any more?

An Affair to Remember (1957)*** (out of 4)Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant) and Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) are both about to be married to very successful people but the two meet on a cruise and soon realize that they have fallen in love. To be sure, they decide to give their romance a six month break after which time they will meet on top of the Empire State Building but things take a wrong turn.AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER has, for some reason, become one of the most loved romance movies ever made. I'm sure some of it is because of the attention it received thanks to SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE but even before that film this one had a nice following. I'm not saying this is a bad movie because it certainly isn't but at the same time I've always felt that the 1939 version, LOVE AFFAIR, was much better.With that said,t his one here still has plenty of things going for it that makes it worth watching. There are also some flaws that keep it from being much better. In my opinion the two long-winded singing sessions by the children towards the end of the movie could have been edited out without any harm done. I'd also argue that there's really nothing original with the story and that even by today's standards it's a tad bit dated. In my opinion, the film also runs a tad bit too long but I've always felt that the movie is so loved because of the final moments in the film. Obviously I'm not going to spoil anything but there's no question that director Leo McCarey does a marvelous job at building up the tension, the romance and the eventual outcome that happens. This final sequence is beautifully shot, perfectly director and so wonderfully acted that you leave the theater on such a great note that you can overlook what flaws the film had.Kerr is certainly very good and quite charming in the film but for my money the success of the movie is due to Grant. The poor actor never really got the credit he deserves even in some of his greatest pictures and performances. As much as I think this film is overrated, at the same time I think Grant's performance is very much underrated as he just brings a certain charm and a certain comic timing that perfectly adds to the entertainment level. Going back to the final sequence, the way he cautiously plays it is so marvelously done that you really can't argue about the talent he had.

A couple falls in love and agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building - but will it happen? This is a remake of "Love Affair" (1939) and a strong inspiration for "Sleepless in Seattle". Interestingly, both this film and "Love Affair" were directed by Leo McCarey and both were strong Oscar films. Apparently a director can make a film twice and be honored both times! Cary Grant makes a decent lead, and certainly had the charm and charisma to be the romantic actor type. But it is not a role I prefer for him. Indeed, he is so much stronger in madcap comedies, when strange things happen. Here there is just no soul... it may as well be a modern romantic comedy, which is not a compliment.