Director: Leo McCarey
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Top Billed Actors: Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Maria Ouspenskaya
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 6 more:
Outstanding Production - RKO Radio
Best Actress - Irene Dunne
Best Supporting Actress - Maria Ouspenskaya
Best Story - Mildred Cram and Leo McCarey
Best Song - Buddy DeSylva ("Wishing")
Best Art Direction - Van Nest Polglase and Alfred Herman
Plot: Two already committed people drink pink champagne and fall in love on a ship so they plan to meet each other in exactly six months.
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Top Billed Actors: Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Maria Ouspenskaya
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 6 more:
Outstanding Production - RKO Radio
Best Actress - Irene Dunne
Best Supporting Actress - Maria Ouspenskaya
Best Story - Mildred Cram and Leo McCarey
Best Song - Buddy DeSylva ("Wishing")
Best Art Direction - Van Nest Polglase and Alfred Herman
Plot: Two already committed people drink pink champagne and fall in love on a ship so they plan to meet each other in exactly six months.
Leo McCarey's original Love Affair (1939) was a surprise hit in 1939. I say original because he would go on to remake the film with An Affair to Remember (1957) as well as other people's remakes. There's something timeless about chance romances and the success of this story justifies that Best Story nomination. The story did have to go through numerous changes though. I would be interested to see what was changed with the 1957 update but this 1939 version was controversial as some thought it promoted adultery. This is probably why the film makes it abundantly clear that these two people are not married but it's still sketchy to see Irene Dunne's character being sent away by herself by her boss and lover. Charles Boyer's character is also a notorious womanizer despite us not really seeing that in the film. It's surprising the story comes together so well due to this tiptoeing around the social issues as well as the fact that a lot of the script was written just hours before shooting. A great deal of improvisation was also asked of the actors, which makes these performances even more impressive.
Starting with the performances of the two leads, the chemistry shown between Dunne and Boyer is a huge advantage of the film. The success led to two more pictures the duo would star in together. I prefer Dunne vastly over Boyer if I had to pick one, but they are great together. Dunne radiates and is able to land her comedic lines seconds before saying something more romantic and serious. Her heartfelt goodbye to Boyer's grandmother, played by the ever warm Maria Ouspenskaya, is among my favorite moments in the film. I could watch both Dunne and Ouspenskaya talk and sing for hours. I really appreciate the detail of Ouspenskaya not playing the piano perfectly. She mentions she hasn't played in a while and her hands are shaky. The sequence is still beautiful, especially when Dunne starts singing, but it sounds a lot more realistic than the normal Hollywood musical aside. Speaking of the music, the song that was nominated is incorporated into the story in a very special way as the kids from the orphanage surround an ill Dunne. Still though, nothing was going to beat the eventual winner "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
While I think the overall story is timeless and works, I had a few issues with the details. Meeting someone in six months at the top of the Empire State Building is incredibly romantic but the way this falls apart had me scratching my head. If these two were so head-over-heels over each other, why wouldn't Boyer turn over every stone to find out what happened? And I get that Dunne didn't want to burden Boyer with her new disability but it's just not enough to pump the brakes on this romance. The separation on the whole makes the middle part of the movie relatively weaker than the rest. I am thankful Dunne is still charming as a club singer and an orphanage choir teacher.
Overall, Irene Dunne's superstar shines brightly as she deftly navigates between comedy and serious romance while also pulling more than her weight between herself and Charles Boyer. Although the details of the story come up short, the overall concept is timeless.
My Score: 7/10
Starting with the performances of the two leads, the chemistry shown between Dunne and Boyer is a huge advantage of the film. The success led to two more pictures the duo would star in together. I prefer Dunne vastly over Boyer if I had to pick one, but they are great together. Dunne radiates and is able to land her comedic lines seconds before saying something more romantic and serious. Her heartfelt goodbye to Boyer's grandmother, played by the ever warm Maria Ouspenskaya, is among my favorite moments in the film. I could watch both Dunne and Ouspenskaya talk and sing for hours. I really appreciate the detail of Ouspenskaya not playing the piano perfectly. She mentions she hasn't played in a while and her hands are shaky. The sequence is still beautiful, especially when Dunne starts singing, but it sounds a lot more realistic than the normal Hollywood musical aside. Speaking of the music, the song that was nominated is incorporated into the story in a very special way as the kids from the orphanage surround an ill Dunne. Still though, nothing was going to beat the eventual winner "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
While I think the overall story is timeless and works, I had a few issues with the details. Meeting someone in six months at the top of the Empire State Building is incredibly romantic but the way this falls apart had me scratching my head. If these two were so head-over-heels over each other, why wouldn't Boyer turn over every stone to find out what happened? And I get that Dunne didn't want to burden Boyer with her new disability but it's just not enough to pump the brakes on this romance. The separation on the whole makes the middle part of the movie relatively weaker than the rest. I am thankful Dunne is still charming as a club singer and an orphanage choir teacher.
Overall, Irene Dunne's superstar shines brightly as she deftly navigates between comedy and serious romance while also pulling more than her weight between herself and Charles Boyer. Although the details of the story come up short, the overall concept is timeless.
My Score: 7/10