“Love Affair” is a classic romantic drama Directed by Leo McCarey based on the co-written story by Mildred Cram and Leo McCarey.
A French playboy Michel Marnay (Charles Boyer)
full of continental charm and an American, former nightclub singer, Terry McKay
(Irene Dunne) meet aboard a ship.
She sees him as just another playboy and he
sees her as stand-offish, but inevitably they fall in love.
After visiting his Grandmother (Maria
Ouspenskaya) on the island of Madeira he planned to travel to New York to marry
a rich heiress, which has been well publicized, as have his many antics and
affairs, and Terry was returning home to her long-time boyfriend Kenneth
Bradley (Lee Bowman).
However on the crossing their plans change,
but he has a poor track record relationship wise and no history of working for
a living so in order to give him the chance to earn an honest living and prove
himself, which would also give them time to deal with their current
relationships.
So, they agree to distance themselves but
arrange to reunite six months later on top of the Empire State building.
In the meantime, he returns to painting and is
reasonably successful at it and she becomes a music teacher.
On the agreed date, Michel is waiting
patiently for Terry, who is racing to join him however fate intervenes
resulting in misunderstanding and heartbreak and only fate can correct its
intervention to save their relationship.
In addition to the fine performances from the
stars and the wonderful story telling, the film is also blessed by a number of
excellent mini cameo performances, Maurice Moscovitch (Maurice Cobert) as
Michel’s agent, Ferike Boros as Terry's Landlady and Tom Dugan as the Drunk
with the Christmas Tree, and the Robert Mitchell choir are an absolute delight
