The 1957 film, An Affair to Remember, directed by Leo McCarey, has been called one of the most romantic movies in cinematic history. Part of the reason was the palpable on-screen chemistry between the film’s stars, Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr and part can be credited to the unique directorial style of Leo McCarey. Let’s remember what made An Affair to Remember so, well, memorable.
An Affair to Remember was a remake of an earlier film, Love Affair, which was released in 1939. The original version featured Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne as the two leads. Like Love Affair, An Affair to Remember followed the whirlwind romance of a jet-setting couple who are both involved with other people. They make a plan to backburner their romance for six months to give each other time to disentangle themselves from their current relationships. They set a date to meet again atop the Empire State Building in New York City. Just when it seems that fate will keep them apart, fate brings them together again.
Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr had already starred in one movie together when they were cast in An Affair to Remember. They appeared together in Dream Wife in 1953. They went on to share the screen in one more film, The Grass Is Greener in 1960. Familiarity meant that Grant and Kerr were comfortable enough with each other to let their chemistry shine on the screen.
Leo McCarey took an unusual approach to directing, one that was based on the directorial styles of many noted silent film directors. Rather than faithfully following the script and staying true to the writing, McCarey encouraged his actors to improvise their scenes. Many of the lines that Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr improvised were used in the final release of An Affair to Remember. The result was dialog and interactions between characters that seemed realistically spontaneous, fresh, and authentic. Leo McCarey wasn’t alone in this method. This directorial technique was also being used in the 1950s by directors George Stevens, Howard Hawks, and Gregory La Cava.
For a director who relied heavily on his stars to improvise their own lines, Leo McCarey claimed ownership over the film when it was released. The real title of the movie is Leo McCarey’s An Affair to Remember. This sort of braggadocious behavior was unusual at the time and more than one film critic raised an eyebrow over this move.
Upon its release, critics were mixed in their reviews of An Affair to Remember. While some praised its romantic qualities, others found the storyline to be improbable and childish. Despite this, An Affair to Remember was nominated for four Academy Awards, for Best Scoring, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Song. It failed to win in any of the categories.