17. An Affair to Remember (1957)

Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr star in this sentimental romance. Two strangers meet on a luxury cruise and fall in love, though both are involved with someone else. At the end of their trip, they agree to sort their lives out and meet, in six months, at the top of the Empire State building. Grant keeps the appointment, but Kerr is hit by a car on the way there. She is paralysed and is too proud to tell him. He believes she has forsaken him and decided to stay with her partner.

It's a film of two halves. The first, on the ship, is the more successful as a bit of a screwball comedy. Grant woos Kerr much to her protest and then they make a rubbish attempt at keeping the affair a secret from the other passengers. Unfortunately it's sentimentality outweighs its comedy.
The second half really lets it down. The reformed playboy begins to paint again and Kerr's crippled nightclub singer teaches a children's choir. Yep, if it wasn't sentimental enough, let's add some kids singing. Impoverished kids at that! We are talking diabetic dangers of sickly sweet.
The songs are really out of place. It's like they have been thrown in because the studio demanded a musical number or 3. It's not even Ker singing her parts. Why bother?

There are many things that don't ring true. The worst culprits are; their jilted partners understanding, Grant's paint-by-numbers 'masterpieces' and the very odd end line. Cary Grant's leading man attraction always troubles me too. Creosoted up like a young David Dickinson and that annoying voice that delivers lines so flatly. It's much better in parody by Tony Curtis in Some Like It Hot.

This just isn't a film for me. It tries to be like the brilliant screwball comedies of the time, but over eggs the pudding with the crass sentimental 'will they/wont they?' love story.

Thumbs down.

 "If you can paint I can walk- anything can happen, right?"

Actually, I'm not quite sure that's a good comparison.