An Affair to Remember
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| An Affair to Remember | |
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| Directed by | Leo McCarey |
| Produced by | Leo McCarey Jerry Wald |
| Written by | Leo McCarey Mildred Cram |
| Starring | Cary Grant Deborah Kerr Richard Denning |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | July 2, 1957 |
| Running time | 119 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
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. 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.
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[edit] Plot
Nickie Ferrante (Grant), a well-known playboy and painter, meets Terry McKay (Kerr) aboard the SS Constitution. They fall in love with each other despite being engaged to other people. They agree to reunite on top of the Empire State Building in six months time if they still feel the same.
On the day of their rendezvous, Terry is struck by a car and rushed to the hospital. Nickie waits all the day for her, unaware of her accident. Dejected, Nickie leaves, assuming that Terry has forgotten about him.
Terry is crippled in the accident and confined to a wheelchair. Despite all, she goes on to become a teacher. She doesn't see Nickie again until she encounters both him and his fiancée at the ballet a year later. Nickie can only bring himself to say hello to her, not noticing her condition because she is seated. He is too proud to ask her why she never showed up, and she will not burden him with the terrible truth of her injury. Nickie, after seeing her at the ballet they coincidentally attended, decides to visit Terry. She never moves from the couch, but her face falls unexpectedly as he begins to tell her about a painting that he had done of her. He knows only that it was given to a young woman in a wheelchair. Nickie suddenly makes a connection, and upon seeing the painting in Terry's bedroom, he realizes that she cannot walk. Subsequently, all is revealed about the fateful day that they were supposed to meet. In the final emotional scene, the two forgive each other and declare their love for one another.
[edit] Cast
- Cary Grant - Nickie Ferrante
- Deborah Kerr - Terry McKay
- Richard Denning - Kenneth Bradley
- Neva Patterson - Lois Clark
- Cathleen Nesbitt - Grandmother Janou
- Robert Q. Lewis - Himself - Announcer
- Charles Watts - Ned Hathaway
- Fortunio Bonanova - Courbet
[edit] Remakes
Mann, a Bollywood film starring Aamir Khan and Manisha Koirala is inspired by this movie.
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 and interpreted by 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.
