An Affair to Remember-1957

Director Leo McCarey

Starring Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr

Scott’s Review #105

Reviewed July 12, 2014

Grade: B

An Affair to Remember (1957) is an excellent example of how romantic comedies have changed.

‘rom-com’ is not my genre of choice as typically they are clichéd and predictable. The romantic comedies in years past were vastly different containing a glamorous, innocence to them that is lacking in the generic rom-com of today.

In An Affair to Remember, the charisma of Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr makes the movie. They portray two strangers taking a luxury cruise and inexplicably falling madly in love despite having significant others at home.

The couple wine and dine with each other, revel in merriment for a week and make a pact that if they don’t forget each other in a year they will meet at the top of the Empire State Building on a specified day and time.

It does not get much more romantic than that.

The extravagance of the gorgeous sets on the cruise ship makes the film a visually satisfying experience and any film set in New York City, as the second half does, is a plus in my book.

An Affair to Remember is not a cutting-edge film, though for 1957 the subject matter of adultery may have raised a few eyebrows, but rather a pleasant, warm romantic comedy of the past.

It’s meant to sit back and escape with a sappy, sweet, fun romance.

Oscar Nominations: Best Scoring, Best Song, “An Affair to Remember”, Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography