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FILM CLASSICS
Cary Grant as Nickie and Deborah Kerr as
Terry in Leo McCarey's "An Affair To Remember".
(Photo: Twentieth Century Fox)
An Amazing Affair, Remembered
By
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
Monday, March 2, 2009
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More than 50 years have passed and Leo McCarey's "An Affair To Remember" remains
one of the most moving, deeply heartfelt and authentic silver screen romances of
all time. For its sheer emotion the 1957 film is one of the best, stirring
the heart and soul, and the moment when Cary Grant walks into an adjacent room
and sees a signature painting, closes his eyes and takes a breath is priceless.
Mr. Grant, a Brit born with the name Archie Leach who became one of Hollywood's
most charming and celebrated movie icons of the 1930's, 40's and '50's, did
something in this celluloid love story he seldom did in his illustrious film
career: generate significant moments of silence on screen. The
fast-talking, good-looking, quick-timing actor had two separate occasions in Mr.
McCarey's film where he is onscreen yet doesn't utter a word for almost five
minutes and it is noteworthy especially when compared to Mr. Grant's typically
talkative style in many of his films, including farce pictures like "Arsenic And
Old Lace" (1944), "Bringing Up Baby" (1938) and "Monkey Business" (1952), the
latter two directed by Howard Hawks, who directed Mr. Grant in at least five
films. (Mr. McCarey had directed Mr. Grant in other films including the
Oscar-winning "The Awful Truth".)
Featuring Deborah Kerr's great performance, "An Affair To Remember" was as
discreet as it was powerful, with a fondness and sentiment that touched the
heart in all the right places. Ms. Kerr played Terry, an unhappy fiancee, solo on an ocean liner cruise while her
prospective husband-to-be (played by Richard
Denning) was hammering out the finalities of a business deal in Texas. Mr.
Grant played Nickie, a fiancee on the cruise who visits his ailing
grandmother in France. Terry and Nickie meet on the ocean liner and their
chemistry is unmistakable. The situations they find themselves in are both
funny and painful, and "An Affair To Remember" is one of those rare films that
produces genuine emotion, power and sentiment, all without grand manipulation.
As so strongly written by Mr. McCarey and original "3:10 To Yuma" film director
Delmer Daves based on a story by Mr. McCarey and Mildred Cram, "An Affair To
Remember" has influenced a great many films over the years, including "Sleepless
In Seattle" (1993) and "Love Affair" (1994), the latter written and directed by
Warren Beatty. So wondrously alive in color through the visual technique
and process of Cinemascope, "An Affair To Remember" is as unforgettable and as
real as stories get. David Lean's "Summertime" (1955) is also a wonderful
film romance story, filled with striking splashes of color and a lead actress in
Katharine Hepburn who displays an enormous amount of sensuality through her
character Jane Hudson, a spinster on vacation in Venice for a summer. But
there's just something so stirring and passionate about "An Affair To Remember"
that hits a deep core within those who see it.
Mr. Grant used irony and wit to hilarious excess again in "An Affair To
Remember" but as Nickie also possessed a vulnerability not often apparent in
many of the actor's other big screen portrayals, except perhaps in films like
Alfred Hitchcock's "North By Northwest" (1959). Ms. Kerr utilized a charm,
flirtation and innocent beauty that captivated the camera that filmed her in Mr.
McCarey's film. Underneath the ache of romantic longing she carried a
smoldering flame for her character Terry, who was a singer and teacher. In
a decade in America that was one of the most conservative in the 20th century,
Ms. Kerr's character suggested a strength, allure and appeal that was palpable
even in scenes that were not meant as amorous or sensual. It is hard to
imagine that in "An Affair To Remember" save perhaps one scene, there otherwise
isn't a single scene -- at least in the original release -- that contains an
onscreen kiss (if memory serves correctly.)
"An Affair To Remember" also captured a beloved familial interaction between
Nickie and his grandmother (played by Cathleen Nesbitt) in what would be one of
Mr. McCarey's last films (he passed away in 1969.) Ms. Nesbitt was so
moving as Nickie's grandmother and the scenes set in the south of France carried
both a beauty and freshness that were true to life and so indelible. Love
and affection of the respective characters fueled the scenes between Mr. Grant
and Ms. Nesbitt, which were larger than life, resonating with an emotion and
feeling so deep that it could bring you close to tears.
Something very special occurred on the set of this classic film and we can
still feel it more than five decades later.
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