Forbidden love is a theme moviegoers seldom resist, but "An Affair to Remember," directed by Leo McCarey, shouldn't make it too difficult.
Starring one of Classic Hollywood's most famous leading men, Cary Grant as Nicolò Ferrante, and Deborah Kerr as the mysterious, beautiful red-head Terry McKay, the film begins with croons of Vic Damone, promising viewers "a love affair to remember."
The scene shifts to a newscast announcing the engagement of Nicolò to Lois Clark (Neva Patterson), a multimillion dollar heiress.
"What a deal…not only all that lettuce, but a beautiful tomato, too," the newscaster says proudly, his objectification of the wealthy fiancé an immediate turn off.
This lowbrow quip precedes Nicolò's entrance as he walks about the cruise ship like he owns it, a certain smile plastered on his face while he receives a phone call from one of his many mistresses. Confronting him for declaring his love to her while he was engaged, Nicolò pretends their connection is breaking up. As his jilted lover wishes she had a knife to stab in his back, he smirks and hangs up.
Moments later, another guest on the ship, Ned Hathaway, asks Nicolò if he would join him, his wife, and his sister for a game of bridge, to which he replies, "I'm sorry Mr. Hathaway, but I cheat. It's an addiction." Sure enough, moments later, he runs into the beautiful, fiery Terry, who's wit both attracts Nicolò and gives him a run for his money.
"You saved my life," he claims after following her into her suite. "I hadn't seen one attractive woman on this ship since we left."
Once Terry, also engaged to be married to a wealthy man, agrees to have dinner with him, they find themselves in conversation about his Don Juan ways. When Terry implies he never had much respect for any of his flings, Nicolò protests, claiming he always idealizes every woman he meets, until they begin to fall off his pedestal the more he gets to know them.
Nicolò is no doubt supposed to exude rakish charm, but his callous arrogance only succeeds in making him borderline insufferable. His clear lack of respect for him, meant to play up his playboy status, merely elicits an eye roll.
Rather predictably, the two fall in love against their better judgments and overcome a series of obstacles to finally unite in what is supposed to be an epic romance to remember.
Unfortunately, only Grant's and Kerr's performances, along with the film's soundtrack and cinematography–nominated for an Academy Award–contribute toward any emblem of memorability. Grant succeeds in making his character unlikeable until he sheds his pompous and haughty front.
Reach Staff Reporter Agnessa Kasumyan here.
Annenberg Media