An Affair to Remember
An Affair to Remember is a 1957 film directed by Leo McCarey. It is often considered one of the most romantic films of all time and is a remake of McCarey’s 1939 film Love Affair, which starred Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer. An Affair to Remember is almost identical to Love Affair on a shot-by-shot basis, as McCarey used the same screenplay for both films. That screenplay was written by Delmer Daves and Donald Ogden Stewart. The 1957 film was also boosted by the Henry Warren composition “An Affair to Remember (Our Love Affair)” which was the film’s popular theme song. The song appears in the film as sung by Vic Damone in the opening credits and is later sung by Deborah Kerr’s character in the film.
Deborah Kerr stars in An Affair to Remember as night club singer Terry McKay. She is on a luxury ocean liner when she meets Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant), a well known playboy. The pair has dinner and have a conversation, but eventually decides it is best to go their separate ways, as each is attached to somebody else. After a series of mishaps and “accidents,” however, the pair decides that the pull of romance is far too strong and they agree to reunite after six months. Without spoiling the story completely, an incident occurs that creates complications for the reunion and doubt is cast as to the potential for a future relationship. As the story draws to a close, the importance of communication and the trappings of fate are drawn into play in a beautiful closing sequence of dialogue.
An Affair to Remember works because of the dialogue and because of the soapy and sappy stuff that resonates throughout the picture. While modern critics with their tight cynicism and hard hearts seem to deride films like this, the reality is that the prime time in Hollywood was when Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr could light up a screen with real romantic tenderness and blind optimism. This is the stuff that Hollywood mythology is made of and films like An Affair to Remember stand as the precursor and the prototype to today’s hackneyed modern romantic comedies. Nora Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle, for instance, is based around the premise of An Affair to Remember and Love Affair. This is the stuff dreams are made of for us hopeless romantics around the world.
The idea that I found most worth exploring as I watched this film was the inexorable future of cynicism of our Western culture. It would seem that there is little to no room for films like this anymore and, without many exceptions, I think the same can be said for any old films of this ilk. Without needing to go very far in this modern age, one can find cynicism of all shapes and sizes and contrivances. As we look back to a gentler time, in some respects, we find room for the optimistic and for the lover. An Affair to Remember inhabits that space with grace, charm, and good taste. It is a beautifully acted, well written, tenderly directed film that takes notes on itself and is, arguably, one of the more influential pieces in the genre. It resonates today with those looking for something simpler in their entertainment and, as the Warren Beatty/Annette Bening remake would show us, there still is room for those lovers of love.
Cary Grant is the quintessential heartthrob of cinema, past or present. Brad Pitt, George Clooney, or whoever else the girls like today have nothing on the natural charm and inherent charisma within Cary Grant. An Affair to Remember visits an interesting time in Grant’s career because he was coming up out of a slight slump. He would reclaim some of his past glory with this film and with the help of a Hitchcock number entitled North by Northwest that would arrive two years after An Affair to Remember. Part of Grant’s charm here and in damn well everything else he has ever been in is his ability to play relatively the same archetype without losing his charismatic edge. Cary Grant carries the show in An Affair to Remember and, while Deborah Kerr is most assuredly nothing to sneeze at, this film is Grant’s film without much doubt. His wisecracks, his double takes, his graceful walking, and his careless appearance makes the film what it is. Without attention to this performance, most modern stars wouldn’t have a clue where to begin.
It is these elements that are often most overlooked when one takes a look at a film like An Affair to Remember. As I rummage through online reviews from punk kids with no sense, I’m reminded that even in my young age I believe it’s possible that I came from another time. An Affair to Remember reasserts that notion in spades as I envy Cary Grant’s swagger and his ability to brush things off with such aplomb. It is this element that I find more appealing in classic Hollywood. Whether it’s Grant, my favourite actor, or Bogie, a close second, there is something more than appealing and more than enticing about the resonating will cast forward by these giants of film performances. An Affair to Remember tunes in on that resonance and milks it for all it’s worth.
Deborah Kerr has to play second fiddle to Cary Grant, but she does a hell of a job. Not well known to the little ones today, Kerr was at the height of her popularity when An Affair to Remember came out. She plays her part perfectly, eloquently surrendering to love in a way that makes us, like the characters in the film, forget all about everything and simply fall madly in love. It’s not flawless or encouraging logic upon closer investigation, but that is half of the charm of old Hollywood films. Kerr and Grant are, in the film, impulsive and often reckless and the complications of this attitude are given plenty of airtime without the sniffling results of many other films. Often considered a tearjerker of a film, An Affair to Remember actually has a lot more realism than many may spot on a single viewing.
An Affair to Remember is a classic romance, plain and simple. It is worth seeing for another great Cary Grant performance and a nice turn from Deborah Kerr. The direction is adequate but not fancy and the music is memorable and flighty. This is a Tinsel Town romance that shimmers with elements of both real love and, most importantly, parts of the facade of old Hollywood. Without that context in mind, viewers of An Affair to Remember will likely fall into the same grumpy traps of today’s modern crowd.
