WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

weezeralfalfa My title is a quote from Maria Salvatini(Francoise Rosay), said to her piano student Manina Stuart(Joan Fontaine), in trying to induce her to face up to the fact that, by pretending to have died in an oceanic airplane crash, along with her recent lover, David Lawrence(Joseph Cotton), so as to start their adult lives anew, they are just fooling themselves, and creating much grief and trouble for their family and associates, except for Maria, who reluctantly agrees to keep quite. David was the primary advocate of this absurd deception, and Manina was a sucker to fall for it(putting it harshly). David was straightforward in that he was married(though unhappily), with a college-age son. Seems David was also temporarily burned out with his demanding work schedule. He and his wife had lost whatever magic used to be in their marriage.At the time Maria made this statement, Manina didn't agree. But when Mrs. Lawrence and son made a visit to Maria to find out why David had sent her a large check, Manina happened to be present. She was favorably impressed with them then, and during a later visit. This started Maria thinking that this woman didn't seem so bad, after all. She began to feel more guilty about their deception. On the other hand, Mrs. Lawrence began to feel guilty that she had refused to give David a divorce, since Manina seemed like a nice woman. As a result, Mrs. Lawrence writes a note to David saying she will start divorce proceedings soon. Manina ends the affair in the US, saying she is going to Rio, then presumably back to Italy. But we are left wondering whether Mrs. Lawrence will go through with the divorce. What it amounted to was an illicit romantic, sexual, and touring vacation. I can't believe that, during her 12 years in Italy, Manina hadn't already experienced most of these cities, which included Naples, Pompeii, Capri, and Florence. These tours are pretty superficial and in B&W, which is a turn off for today's people.The theme song: "September Song", was introduced in a Broadway play in 1938. It's inclusion in this film renewed it's popularity such that it toped the pop music charts for a while. Parts are played in the background periodically. In addition, 2 full vocal renditions are included, one a recording, the 2nd a live rendition by Jimmy Lydon.The actors were all good. Cotton came across as a real engineer. Joan was adequate, if not spectacular. Jessica Tandy was good as Mrs. Lawrence, and Robert Arthur as David,Jr..On the whole, it's pretty dated because of the silly plot and B&W cinematography. But, if interested, presently available on YouTube

kenjha An unhappily married industrialist and a pianist engage in a passionate romance after they are presumed dead in a plane crash. It gets off to a slow start, with the early scenes feeling more like a travelogue than a drama, as the lovers take a tour of Italy. However, things start to get interesting about half way through as the plot thickens. Fontaine and Cotten are charming as the lovers who find a second chance for happiness. A young and pretty Tandy plays Cotten's long-suffering wife. Given all that has transpired, the ending seems contrived and unsatisfying, perhaps restricted by the censorship in effect at the time. Rachmaninov's second piano concerto is effectively used as Fontaine's signature piece.

jjsemple Eerily similar in storyline and backdrop to William Wyler's 1936 masterpiece, Dodsworth. It's not so much the script or the direction that doom this film, it's the premise and its execution. Don't get me wrong; I like the film. However, it could have been much better. As other reviewers stated, the actors, their chemistry were excellent. It's the character development that's faulty.Whereas in Dodsworth the triangle is played out logically, along the lines of solid character development so that the hero ends up in Naples with the other woman; in September Affair (1950), love takes a back seat to 1950's morality, or "family values" which state that if you sin, you must pay.To represent this on the screen, the screenwriter uses the deus ex machina device of having the wife morph from shrew to martyr, not by showing us, as a film should do, but by telling us, in a letter no less, that she won't agree to a divorce. But when we actually see her, she doesn't seem all that bad a person. She's not like the woman in the letter and she's not the woman Cotten makes her out to be. With Ruth Chatterton (star of Dodsworth), the character development progressed faultlessly. In September Affair, the wife's character arc is unbelievable. Which is she? A shrew or a noble, long-suffering wife? If the latter, the film couldn't end with Joseph Cotten walking away from that sort of woman. He would have lost favor with the audience.That means forcing credibility to depend on us buying the unbelievable character arc of the wife who somehow morphs from meanie to martyr.He goes back to his wife and I'll bet the first thing she does is revert to her original persona (you can't escape that easily) — her Ruth Chatterton ways, emasculating Cotten out of spite, and he'll end up with no way back to the woman he loves, who loves him because she's also foolishly played the martyr to the point of NO return.The film is a cop out. No film should hinge on the changes in a minor character; it should be the leads whose actions set the course. In fact, the ending even goes against common sense:1) the wife's new persona has accepted the split, so has the son. That he's alive is enough for her.2) As for Joan, he loves her and Joan loves him. They've taken it to another level — like John Huston and Mary Astor in Dodsworth, a level the wife can't understand. They are clearly superior in their maturity, their lifestyles, their tastes.Why not let them fade into the Florence sunset together, she with her piano, him with his engineering projects?

octoberbeauty30 All the comments about this film are favorable except for Mr. Neil Doyle's. I wonder what grumpy pill he took when he watched this or maybe he just isn't a romantic guy. Not one person said his review was "helpful."This film is well-acted, scripted, and an interesting premise. The music is fabulous and the setting great. Like another reviewer said, Joan Fontaine's facial expressions say as much or more than the words she was given to speak. She is one excellent actress and Joseph Cotten is a veteran actor who once again turns in a fabulous performance.I unconditionally recommend this movie to all classic movie lovers to fans of Joan Fontaine and/or Joseph Cotten and to all romantics everywhere.