An Affair To Remember (1957)

 

An Affair To Remember - 1957

Coming up next is 1957's "An Affair To Remember", a remake of the film "Love Affair", where a man and woman fall in love on a transatlantic crossing.  An accident threatens to end their love story, set to begin on top of the Empire State Building.

The film's cast includes Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Richard Denning, Neva Patterson, Cathleen Nesbitt, Robert Q. Lewis, Fortunio Bonanova, Geraldine Wall, and Jesslyn Fax.

On a ship bound from Europe to New York, playboy Nicky Ferrante and nightclub singer Terry McKay meet.  The catalyst of their meeting is a lost cigarette case.

Their conversation turns into a dinner date, where they find they enjoy each other's company very much.  "I must stay tuned into you," says Nicky to Terry.

They spend several days of the voyage together, learning more about one another, and drinking pink champagne.

On a stopover in Villefranche, Nicky invites Terry to join him on a visit to his grandmother.  They journey to her secluded residence high above the town, and Terry is captivated by it.

And Nicky's grandmother takes a particular liking to Terry, and she eventually comes to believe that Terry is the right woman for her grandson.

Before returning to their ship, Nicky's grandmother (a former concert pianist) plays the piano for them, as Terry sings. (It's a very beautiful scene.)

When the time comes to say farewell, Terry can hardly make herself leave this enchanted world of Nicky's grandmother.

Back on board the ship, Nicky and Terry's relationship takes a romantic turn.

Because both are engaged to other people, they agree that it's best if they keep apart for appearance sake.  They still manage small moments together in passing.

On their last night aboard ship, Nicky and Terry discuss their future.  "Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories.  We've already missed the spring," says Terry.  "We'd be fools to let happiness pass us by," Nicky tells her.  They come up with a plan to meet in six months, that way Nicky can find a job and they can both break off their respective relationships.

As the ship pulls into New York harbor the next morning, a hurried meeting sees Nicky and Terry making plans to meet on the top floor of the Empire State Building in six months.  They part with a quick kiss.

Nicky is met at the dock by his fiancée, wealthy heiress Lois Clark.  ("Lois and her lovely six hundred million bucks.  What a deal.  Not only all that lettuce, but a beautiful tomato, too," comments a reporter.)  After an uncomfortable TV interview, Nicky breaks things off with Lois.

And Terry arrives home to break things off with her boyfriend, Ken.

Nicky gets right to work painting.  He's pretty good, though his dealer says he would do a lot better if he signed his real name instead of a pseudonym.

Terry goes back to work in a nightclub.  Her farewell song is "An Affair To Remember".

On the day they are supposed to meet at the Empire State Building, Nicky gets there early.  However, he waits and waits for Terry, who never comes.

It turns out she was there that day, but as she was looking up she was hit by an automobile.  Confined to a wheelchair, she doesn't want Nicky to know about her condition.

Saddened, Nicky takes a trip to Europe to visit his grandmother.  Upon arrival, he finds out that she is dead.  A caretaker gives him a shawl that his grandmother wanted Terry to have.  Nicky paints a picture of his grandmother and Terry.  And he eventually has his dealer give it to a woman in a wheelchair because she falls in love with it.

After recovering her strength (though still unable to walk), Terry gets a job as a music teacher, teaching inner city kids to sing songs such as "He Knows You Inside Out".

On a visit to the ballet with his former fiancée Lois, Nicky bumps into Terry, who is there with her old boyfriend Ken.  Nicky doesn't say anything to Terry, and all she can say is "hello".

Days later, Nicky arrives unexpectedly at Terry's apartment and gives her the shawl his grandmother left to her.  He begins to get suspicious about why Terry doesn't get up from her seated position.

He tells her that he painted her wearing the shawl.  As he tells her the story, Nicky begins to put two and two together.  He searches the apartment and finds the painting, now realizing that Terry was the woman in the wheelchair who wanted it.  The two fall into each other's arms and begin their relationship again.

Cast rundown:

   Cary Grant.................................Nicky Ferrante

   Deborah Kerr..............................Terry McKay

   Richard Denning.........................Kenneth Bradley

   Neva Patterson............................Lois Clark

   Cathleen Nesbitt..........................Grandmother Janou

   Robert Q. Lewis...........................Himself

   Fortunio Bonanova.......................Courbet

   Geraldine Wall.............................Miss Webb

   Jesslyn Fax.................................Landlady

And that's all for An Affair To Remember.  This movie was voted the #5 greatest romance of all time by the American Film Institute.  Though it depicts New York and the south of France, the film was actually shot mostly in Hollywood.  When Cathleen Nesbitt's friends asked her how she liked shooting her scenes with Cary Grant in France, she had to inform them that the filming was done on the backlot at 20th Century Fox.  Cary Grant was only fifteen years younger than Nesbitt, who played his grandmother.

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Love Affair (1939)

 

Love Affair - 1939

Welcome to February on the blog.  In honor of Valentine's Day, for the next two weeks we'll be celebrating love.  So, get ready for all your favorite ooey, gooey, romantic movies.  To start things off, 1939's "Love Affair" tells the story of two people who meet on a trans-Atlantic crossing.  After falling in love, they plan to meet on top of the Empire State Building in six months.  Fate, however, intervenes, and throws their plans awry.

The film's cast includes Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Maria Ouspenskaya, Lee Bowman, Astrid Allwyn, Maurice Moscovitch, Joan Leslie, and Ferike Boros.

Suave international playboy Michel Marnay and American nightclub singer Terry McKay are traveling from Europe to New York.  They meet on board ship one evening by chance.  Having heard all about Michel's antics at a party on Lake Como, Terry is a little bit fascinated to meet the man in person.  "Look, I'm in trouble, serious trouble," he tells.  She looks at him and says, "Well, I could've told you, playing around Lake Como."

The two get to talking and discover they enjoy each other's company quite a lot.  And they've got a delightful banter that goes back and forth.

They start spending all their time together and telling each other about their backgrounds.  "What's the name of that strange place you came from?" Michel asks.  "Kansas," says Terry proudly.  In the evenings, they enjoy pink champagne before dinner (which became a very popular drink as a direct result of this film).

At a stopover in Madeira, Michel invites Terry to visit his grandmother, Janou.

Even though both are involved with other people back home, Janou takes an instant liking to Terry, and implies that she is the one for Michel.  "There’s many a slip betwixt the lip and the altar.  And anything could happen on a boat," she says before the two head back to their ship.

On board the ship that night, Terry says, "I want to thank you for what was undoubtedly the loveliest day I've ever known."  The two start a romantic relationship.  "We're heading into a rough sea, Michel," says Terry.  He agrees, "We changed our course today."

On the day the ship arrives in New York, Terry and Michel agree to meet in six months time on the top floor of the Empire State Building.  If they can tie up all their loose ends and everything works out, they will be together.

During the months they are apart, Terry breaks up with her boyfriend and takes a job singing in a nightclub in Philadelphia.  Michel breaks things off with his fiancée and takes up work as a painter.

On the day they are to meet, Michel is at the designated place waiting a little impatiently for Terry to join him.

Unfortunately, Terry has an accident as she attempts to enter the building and cannot make it.  When she wakes up, she doesn't want Michel to be told of her condition.  Michel, extremely hurt and upset, buries himself in his work.  Eventually, his grandmother dies and he is given her shawl, which she wanted Terry to have after her death.  Michel paints Terry with the shawl on.  Through a dealer, he sells the painting to a woman in a wheelchair, whom he does not know.

As part of her recovery, Terry takes a job teaching music.  She has her little group sing "Wishing Will Make It So".  (In reality, Irene Dunne was told she could pick the song.  She chose "Wishing" and it became one of the top songs of 1939.)

When Terry feels strong enough, she goes to the theater with her old boyfriend.  There, she comes face to face with Michel.  "Hello," she murmurs as he passes her the purse she dropped.  He returns her greeting and walks out.

"It’s tough.  The first time you’re able to get out and you have to meet him," says her former boyfriend Kenneth.  "All I could say was hello," sighs Terry.

Unexpectedly, one day Michel comes to visit Terry, who is lying on the couch.  He tries to make sense of why she never came that day they were supposed to meet, but she refuses to answer questions.  He gives her his grandmother's shawl and tells her that he painted her in it.  He becomes very suspicious of why Terry does not get up from the couch and starts to walk around the apartment a bit.

He finds the portrait he painted that was sold to a woman in a wheelchair, and Michel realizes that Terry was the woman.

With tears in his eyes Michel turns to Terry and takes her in his arms.  "If you can paint, I can walk," Terry says, and they share a laugh together.

Cast rundown:

   Irene Dunne..............................Terry McKay

   Charles Boyer.............................Michel Marnay

   Maria Ouspenskaya.....................Grandmother

   Lee Bowman..............................Kenneth Bradley

   Astrid Allwyn..............................Lois Clarke

   Maurice Moscovitch......................Maurice Cobert

   Joan Leslie.................................Autograph Seeker

   Ferike Boros...............................Landlady

And that's it for Love Affair.  Both Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne later said that this was their favorite of any of the movies either of them made.  It was remade in 1957 as "An Affair To Remember", starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, and again in 1994 as "Love Affair", starring Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, and Katharine Hepburn.

Since this movie is in the public domain, you can watch it in its entirety here.

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