An Affair to Remember(1957)
20th Century Fox Jul 19, 1957 | Wide
A couple falls in love and agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building - but will it happen?
Releases
Original Release | Jul 19, 1957
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Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Aspect Ratio: 2.40 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: United States
Language: English,French,Italian
Summaries
Plot Summary
- Mann's original English version: Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant), a well-known playboy and dilettante in the arts, meets Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) aboard the transatlantic ocean liner SS Constitution in route from Europe to New York. Each is involved with someone else. Nickie is engaged to Louis Clark (Neva Patterson) (whose family is worth more than $600 million) and the 2 are supposed to get married once Nickie joins her in New York. Nickie has the reputation of being a Casanova and a ladies man. Ned Hathaway (Charles Watts) is a fellow passenger on the ship who wants to befriend Nickie, but he is not at all interested.After a series of chance meetings aboard the ship, they establish a friendship. Nickie first meets Terry when she finds his cigarette case after Nickie left it behind in his haste. When Terry returns the case, Nickie tries to hit on her. Terry says that she has been faithful to her boyfriend for 5 years and doesn't intend to change that. But Terry agrees to be friends with Nickie and has dinner with him. They also spend time together during the day. Terry is very cautious around Nickie, whom she sees as nothing more than a big flirt. Terry also believes that being seen together with Nickie will set the tongues wagging about an affair. Regardless of her precautions the whole ship believes that they are in a relationship together. They end up in all sorts of places at the same time, including the swimming pool. When Terry joins Nickie on a brief visit to his grandmother Janou (Cathleen Nesbitt) when the ship anchors near her home (on the top of a hill in the most scenic settings overlooking the sea) on the Mediterranean coast at VilleFrance, she sees Nickie with new eyes and their feelings blossom into love. Janou tells Terry that she fears that life would present a bill to Nickie one day, and he would struggle to pay that. She says that a good woman could set Nickie right.During their visit, it is revealed that Nickie has had a talent for painting but has dropped said trait due to his critical attitude towards his own art. Nickie gifts a painting of his late grandfather Andre to his grandmother. When Janou plays the piano, Terry sings for her. Back on the ship Terry thanks Nickie for the most wonderful day of her life, and they kiss. But Terry is still undecided about how she wants to progress the relationship and continues to keep Nickie at an arm's length. The duo realize that the ship's photographer had already taken several pictures of them together and was selling them open at the promenade deck. Terry finally decides to drop the charade and goes out publicly with Nickie. As the ship returns to New York City, they agree to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months' time, if they have succeeded in ending their relationships and starting new careers.On the day of their rendezvous, Terry, in her haste to reach the Empire State Building, is struck down by a car while crossing a street. Gravely injured, she is rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile, Nickie, waiting for her at the observation deck at the top of the building, is unaware of the accident and, after many hours, finally concedes at midnight that she will not arrive, believing that she has rejected him.After the accident Terry, now unable to walk, refuses to contact Nickie, wanting to conceal her disability. Instead, she finds work as a music teacher. Nickie has pursued his talent as a painter and has his work displayed by an old friend Courbet (Fortunio Bonanova), an art shop owner. Six months after the accident, she sees Nickie with his former fiance at the ballet, which she herself is attending with her former boyfriend. Nickie does not notice her condition because she is seated and only says hello as he passes her.Nickie finally learns Terry's address and, on Christmas Eve, makes a surprise visit to her. Although he steers the conversation to make her explain her actions, Terry merely dodges the subject, never leaving the couch on which she sits.As he is leaving, Nickie mentions a painting that he had been working on when they originally met, and that it was just given away at the art shop to a woman who liked it but had no money. It was a painting of his grandmother, and it was given away as the woman could really understand the real spirit behind the painting. He is about to say that the woman was in a wheelchair when he pauses, suddenly suspecting why Terry has been sitting & not moving on the couch. He walks into her bedroom and sees his painting hanging on the wall, and a wheelchair concealed there. He now knows why she did not keep their appointment.The film ends with the two in a tight embrace, each realizing that the other's love endures. In closing, Terry says, "If you can paint, then I can walk; everything is possible", foreshadowing hope.
Storyline
- Nickie Ferrante's return to New York to marry a rich heiress is well publicized as are his many antics and affairs. He meets a nightclub singer Terry McKay who is also on her way home to her longtime boyfriend. She sees him as just another playboy and he sees her as stand-offish but over several days they soon find they've fallen in love. Nickie has never really worked in his life so they agree that they will meet again in six months time atop the Empire State building. This will give them time to deal with their current relationships and for Nickie to see if he can actually earn a living. He returns to painting and is reasonably successful. On the agreed date, Nickie is waiting patiently for Terry who is racing to join him. Fate intervenes however resulting in misunderstanding and heartbreak and only fate can save their relationship. — garykmcd The suave cosmopolitan and first-rate philanderer, Nickie Ferrante, has finally decided to settle down. Sailing from Europe to New York to reunite with his lovely celebrity fiancée, Miss Lois Clarke, and her enviable inheritance, the great seducer will cross paths with the charming professional singer, Terry McKay, who is returning to her lover. However, despite both being engaged to others, the two transatlantic commuters will laugh, tease each other, and flirt--and by the time they reach New York City's Port--the clandestine couple will have fallen madly in love. But now, as an unforeseen and troubling dilemma burdens Nickie and Terry, only a sincere promise and a face-to-face meeting atop the iconic Empire State Building in six months' time can seal their bond. Still, is this love meant to be? — Nick Riganas Handsome playboy Nicky Ferrante and beautiful night club singer Terry McKay have a romance while on a cruise from Europe to New York. Despite being involved with other people, both agree to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months. However, an unfortunate accident keeps Terry from the reunion, and Nicky fears that she has married or does not love him anymore. Will he discover the truth behind her absence and reunite with his one true love, or has fate and destiny passed them by? —
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