The love story is not bad, if a little unbelievable, but the film it is really spoilt by being far too mawkish (singing orphans - yuk!). Charles Boyer puts in an excellent performance and it is his presence that makes the film worth the watch.
Sentimental romance about a celebrity playboy (Charles Boyer) and a pampered bride-to-be (Irene Dunne) who travel by luxury liner from Europe to New York to marry into fabulous wealth, but fall in love with each other. So they arrange to meet at the top of the Empire State building in six months if they decide to get together instead...
Which sounds familiar because Leo McCarey remade it himself in 1957 as the hugely popular An Affair to Remember. Which itself was heavily referenced in the smash 1993 romcom, Sleepless in Seattle. The original is the best, though it is uneven and as usual the director leans too heavily on a big emotional payoff.
It splits into three acts. First there's the shipboard screwball, which isn't classic McCarey, but still charming. Next it is a pious moral tale in which the frivolous lovers must pay for their avarice before they achieve their romantic destiny. And then there's a horribly sugary subplot about a choir of orphaned children at Christmas!
Which is surely only there to expand the narrative to feature length and allow Irene to sing. The story actually recovers for a pretty good ending. McCarey was a strong Catholic and the hand of god is in control of the action at every turn, which makes it feel sanctimonious. But the studio era know-how and irresistible stars make this the superior version.