Love Affair
Love Affair
NR | 07 April 1939 (USA)
Love Affair Trailers

A French playboy and an American former nightclub singer fall in love aboard a ship. They arrange to reunite six months later, if neither has changed their mind.

Reviews
Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
Alistair Olson After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
kols Boyer and Dunne make a thin story extremely watchable, virtually identical to its Fifties remake and completely different.For example, the radio commentators who open the movie are far more matter-of-fact than the remake, where TV seems to have made their 50's counterparts histrionic - bordering on hysteria, as though they're reporting the story of the Century. Boyer himself is much more convincing as a Provencal playboy than Grant and, thank god, there's no opening song screaming at you from the screen.Likewise, all the kids are far less intrusive in this version than the the 50's and the wardrobe is very much more subdued and realistic.As with the remake the best parts are those focusing on Boyer and Dunne. They're on-board banter and sophisticated soft-shoe almost match Grant and Kerr's.But this is where the two versions diverge seriously.The Boyer/Dunne dance plays like a ship board dalliance, not a sudden fall into love. Boyer, while more than willing to take advantage of an opportune coupling, never rises to the next level regardless of what the script wants. His energy level is identical in the final scene as the first, making the final scene fall somewhat flat. If this were the only version, that lack of intensity would likely have gone unnoticed.Compared to the Grant/Kerr version, there's no contest. Grant's performance in the final scene convincingly evolves from Hurt Schoolboy through Clueless Beau to Sudden Understanding in an organic progression that elevates the scene from mundane to iconic.This is not a criticism, simply an example of how the two versions diverge. On one hand, the Boyer/Dunne version is an eminently watchable and enjoyable film from a journeyman learning his trade.On the other-hand, the Grant/Kerr version is slightly flawed by emphasizing certain elements of the original but raises the story to the level of a classic love story. Kerr's performance shines with Grant keeping pace until the final scene where, almost led by the nose by Kerr, he gives a bravura performance.While the two are virtually identical they couldn't be more different.Odd, that, but fortunate. Two movies sharing so much yet each so unique to itself that both are worth as many watchings as you can handle.
Mike Garcia Love Affair is a forgotten but at the same time unforgotten jewel, the film is not remembered as it should be and for some reason the remake that was made twenty years later is most remembered than this one,in my opinion an unnecessary remake that is nothing compared with the original movie..In this film I discovered one of my all time favorite actresses, Irene Dunne, she shines like the big star she was and the chemistry with Charles boyer crosses the screen,probably this is the best movie they made together and even for them it was the favorite film of their careers.. the dialogs of the film are just perfect I think one of the words that Michel(Charles Boyer) says to Terry (Irene Dunne) defines the essence of the film perfectly:"if I work hard enough and long enough and if wishes come true, where will you be?", In my opinion the film talks about fate, the fate of be together and how love can be a force to change things,overcome adversities and make our wishes comes true because as Terry(Irene Dunne) says: "WISHES ARE THE DREAMS WE DREAM WHEN WE ARE AWAKE" and is beautiful how Michel(Charles Boyer)a man that how he says has never worked in his life,is ready to change all his life style just to be with her,his words in the movie define it perfectly:"if I work hard enough and long enough and if wishes come true,in six months where will you be?"...unforgettable classic...
wes-connors While on a cruise to New York, nightclub singer Irene Dunne (as Terry McKay) is attracted to debonair French painter Charles Boyer (as Michel Marnay), and he admires her back. But, Mr. Boyer is expected to meet and marry wealthy American fiancée Astrid Allwyn (as Lois Clarke). Over pink champagne and cigarettes, Ms. Dunne tells Boyer she has a boyfriend too, Lee Bowman (as Ken Bradley). Still, on a four hour stopover at Porto Santo, Madeira, Boyer introduces Dunne to grandmother Maria Ouspenskaya (as Janou), who appears to bless the Boyer-Dunne union. The reluctant pair promise to meet at the Empire State Building, after six months, to see how they feel. Dunne tells Boyer the tall structure is "the nearest thing to Heaven we have in New York." Leo McCarey's "Love Affair" had to have had viewers wondering about how its stars could get themselves involved in such a story - but, with Dunne and Boyer in the leads, you just go with the flow. In piecemeal, the film doesn't make sense; taken as a whole, it approaches something mystical. The perfect theme song "Wishing (Will Make it So)" was a major hit for Ray Eberle, singing with Glenn Miller's band; and, it was one of six "Oscar" nominations for the film. Dunne and Ms. Ouspenskaya received "Best Actress" and "Supporting Actress" consideration, and the film made the annual "Academy Awards" top ten. There are great witticisms from Dunne's dad, who famously said, "The things we like best are either illegal, immoral, or fattening." And, he drank like a fish.******** Love Affair (3/16/39) Leo McCarey ~ Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Maria Ouspenskaya, Lee Bowman
mammigirl In the film Love Affair, Terry and Michel fall in love while on a cruise. I like how when they were at the bar Terry didn't know Michel had been there before her and order the exact same drink. As they were sitting there other people sat next to them and try to get information on them. The scene I like the most is when they get off the boat to see his grandmother. I like how the camera shows the scenery outside of the grandmas house. When they are at the house before they leave Michel wants his grandma to play the piano as that is being done you see the camera going from person to person showing the emotions on their faces. Cause Terry starts to sing. I liked how the scenery was showed in NYC looking up at the tower of where Terry was suppose to get married. And then all of sudden you hear screaming and people running. As you are watching you have no idea what happened. It was sad that she didn't tell him and just made him think he was stood up. But in the end he finds out what really happened to her just by thinking of the picture he made of her.