Sept. 03, 2002 - 11:33 pm
this is the film that they talk about in Sleepless in Seattle (1993). if you haven't seen that film you need to. it's where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan get the idea to meet on the Empire State Building. An Affair to Remember is also number 5 on the AFI Passions list. so yeah, big time love story. apparently this is also a remake of an earlier film called Love Affair (1939) which was done by the same director.
it's a film by director Leo McCarey, director of the greatest Marx Brothers film Duck Soup (1933) and a few other notable, but very different titles. also a recently seen Best Picture winner, Going My Way (1944). the only real connection i see is the very slight musical aspect of each one. all good films though.
starring Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant, it's about a couple that meets on a pleasure cruise to Europe. the problem is they both have fianc�es. and they are both basically moochers. they were set to live off of the fortunes of the ones they were marrying. so they make a pact that they will separate for 6 months so that Cary Grant can go and make some money for them to live on. he's an excellent painter, so he plans on making his fortune that way. after 6 months, they will meet on the Empire State Building, where he will propose to her. unless something keeps one of them from making it to the meeting...
it was a very sweet story. great acting and direction. Cary Grant does a great job in this romantic film. i've never seen him be so straight-faced before, but it really works. and he shows his depression in the latter half of the film in great form. i wouldn't have imagined him being able to do that. but that's the thing about great actors. you can't really guess their limitations very easily. they can always surprise you. i was very slightly disappointed by Deborah Kerr. she did a great job, but i guess she's just not as sexy as some of the other women i've seen Cary Grant opposite in the past. i'll take a Myrna Loy or Grace Kelly appearance any day of the week over her. but she did an excellent job getting the sympathy that she needed to get at the end of the film. that's why they cast her i'm sure.
well, i'm off to Leslie's to see another one...