An Affair to Remember is a 1957 film starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, and directed by Leo McCarey.
The film is considered one of the most romantic of all time, according to the American Film Institute.[1] The movie was a remake of McCarey's 1939 film Love Affair, starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer. An Affair to Remember was almost identical to Love Affair on a scene to scene basis.[2] McCarey used the same screenplay as the original film, which was penned by Delmer Daves and Donald Ogden Stewart.
Contributing to the success of the 1957 film is its theme song "An Affair to Remember (Our Love Affair)' composed by Harry Warren with lyrics by Leo McCarey and Harold Adamson. The song is sung by Vic Damone during the opening credits and then sung later by Deborah Kerr's character, a nightclub singer. Kerr's singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon, who also dubbed for Kerr in the film The King and I.
Plot
Nickie Ferrante (Grant), a well-known playboy and dilettante in the arts, meets Terry McKay (Kerr) aboard the SS Constitution. After a series of chance meetings they establish a friendship and gradually fall in love despite each being engaged to someone else. After a brief visit to Ferrante's grandmother at her villa, followed by a return trip to New York, and much troubled with guilt about their liaison, they agree to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months' time if they have succeeded in ending their relationships and starting new careers.
On the day of their rendezvous, Terry, in her haste to reach the Empire State Building, is struck down by a car. Gravely injured, she is rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile Nickie, waiting for her at the top, is unaware of the accident and, after many hours, finally concedes at midnight that she will not arrive, believing she has rejected him.
After the accident, the wheelchair-bound Terry refuses to contact Nickie, wanting to conceal her disability. Instead she finds work as a music teacher. A year after the accident, she sees Nickie with his former fiancée at the ballet, which she herself is attending with her former boyfriend. Nickie does not notice her condition because she is seated and only says hello as he passes her.
Nickie finally learns Terry's address and makes a surprise visit to her. Though he angrily tries to make her explain her actions, Terry merely dodges the subject, never leaving the couch on which she sits. As he is leaving, Nickie mentions a painting he had done of her that had recently been given to a woman in a wheelchair. He pauses suddenly, realizing the position Terry is in, and walks into her bedroom as he continues the story. Seeing his painting hung on the bedroom wall confirms his suspicions.
In the final scene, the pair reconcile, and all is revealed about the fateful day they were supposed to meet.
Cast
Remakes
Nora Ephron's 1993 film Sleepless in Seattle, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, was inspired by An Affair to Remember, and clips from the earlier film and its theme song are used throughout.
A 1994 remake reverting to the original title of Love Affair was written, directed, and starred Warren Beatty, featuring his wife Annette Bening as the female protagonist, and also Katharine Hepburn in a small but pivotal role, which would prove to be her last screen appearance.
Mann, a 1999 Bollywood film starring Aamir Khan and Manisha Koirala, was inspired by this movie.
Grey Gardens (HBO film) in 2009 licensed an aerial shot of The Pierre Hotel from this film.[3]
American Film Institute recognition
An Affair to Remember is ranked # 5 on the AFI list of America's greatest love stories. AFI has also honored star Cary Grant as one of the greatest American screen legends among males, second only to Humphrey Bogart.
References
External links
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The films of Leo McCarey |
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| 1920s |
Society Secrets • Freed 'em and Weep • The Sophomore • Red Hot Rhythm
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