Rent Love Affair (1939)
3.7 of 5 from 66 ratings
1h 28min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Golden-age Hollywood's humanist master Leo McCarey brings his graceful touch and relaxed naturalism to this sublime romance, one of cinema's most intoxicating tear-wringers. Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer are chic strangers who meet and fall in love aboard an ocean liner bound for New York. Though they are both involved with other people, they make a pact to reconnect six months later at the top of the Empire State Building - until the hand of fate throws their star-crossed affair tragically off course. Swooning passion and gentle comedy coexist in perfect harmony in the exquisitely tender 'Love Affair' (nominated for six Oscars), a story so timeless that it has been remade by multiple filmmakers over the years - including McCarey himself, who updated it as the no less beloved An Affair to Remember. - Actors:
- Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Maria Ouspenskaya, Lee Bowman, Astrid Allwyn, Maurice Moscovitch, Mary Bayless, Scotty Beckett, Ferike Boros, Mary Bovard, Tom Dugan, Bess Flowers, George Ford, J.C. Fowler, Joe Gilbert, Dell Henderson, Leyland Hodgson, Carol Hughes, Lloyd Ingraham, Phyllis Kennedy
- Directors:
- Leo McCarey
- Producers:
- Leo McCarey
- Writers:
- Delmer Daves, Donald Ogden Stewart, Mildred Cram, Leo McCarey, S.N. Behrman
- Others:
- Maria Ouspenskaya, Mildred Cram, Al Herman, Van Nest Polglase, Buddy de Sylva
- Studio:
- Film Detective
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Romance
- Collections:
- A Brief History of Cinema Afloat: Part 2, Acting Up: Top 10 Performances At Cannes, People of the Pictures, Remembering Robert Towne, A Brief History of Film..., Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 21/02/2022
- Run Time:
- 88 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- New interview with film critic Farran Smith Nehme about the movie's complicated production history
- New interview with Serge Bromberg, founder of Lobster Films, about the restoration
- Two radio adaptations, featuring actors Irene Dunne, William Powell, and Charles Boyer
- Two short films by Leo McCarey starring silent comedian Charley Chase: Looking for Sally (1925) and Mighty Like a Moose (1926)
- An essay by author Megan McGurk
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Reviews (2) of Love Affair
Could Have Been A Classic - Love Affair review by NM
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.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Sentimental Romance. - Love Affair review by Steve
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.
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