I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

From my favorite movies..

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

It's good to finally get the chance to compare the glossy, technicolor remake, An Affair To Remember with the original Black and White Love Affair from 1939. It's quintessential Leo McCarey; schmaltzy, sentimental, a definite 'three-hanky' entry and when he remade it after twenty years McCarey replicated it virtually shot for shot which makes comparing the two that much easier and the truth is the original is light years ahead of the remake. True, I have an aversion to Deborah Kerr who I accept is a competent actress and indeed did a tolerable job of the remake but Irene Dunne - despite the Kathryn Grayson/Jane Powell shrill soprano singing voice that grates in my ears - really inhabits the role and owns it. Of the two versions this is definitely the one to keep.

Boyer and Dunne make a thin story extremely watchable, virtually identical to its Fifties remake and completely different.For example, the radio commentators who open the movie are far more matter-of-fact than the remake, where TV seems to have made their 50's counterparts histrionic - bordering on hysteria, as though they're reporting the story of the Century. Boyer himself is much more convincing as a Provencal playboy than Grant and, thank god, there's no opening song screaming at you from the screen.Likewise, all the kids are far less intrusive in this version than the the 50's and the wardrobe is very much more subdued and realistic.As with the remake the best parts are those focusing on Boyer and Dunne. They're on-board banter and sophisticated soft-shoe almost match Grant and Kerr's.But this is where the two versions diverge seriously.The Boyer/Dunne dance plays like a ship board dalliance, not a sudden fall into love. Boyer, while more than willing to take advantage of an opportune coupling, never rises to the next level regardless of what the script wants. His energy level is identical in the final scene as the first, making the final scene fall somewhat flat. If this were the only version, that lack of intensity would likely have gone unnoticed.Compared to the Grant/Kerr version, there's no contest. Grant's performance in the final scene convincingly evolves from Hurt Schoolboy through Clueless Beau to Sudden Understanding in an organic progression that elevates the scene from mundane to iconic.This is not a criticism, simply an example of how the two versions diverge. On one hand, the Boyer/Dunne version is an eminently watchable and enjoyable film from a journeyman learning his trade.On the other-hand, the Grant/Kerr version is slightly flawed by emphasizing certain elements of the original but raises the story to the level of a classic love story. Kerr's performance shines with Grant keeping pace until the final scene where, almost led by the nose by Kerr, he gives a bravura performance.While the two are virtually identical they couldn't be more different.Odd, that, but fortunate. Two movies sharing so much yet each so unique to itself that both are worth as many watchings as you can handle.

It says something for the strength of a story when it can be made twice and still be just as good second time round. Remakes are usually odious things, second-rate bastardisations of a sacred classic that should never have got the green light. However when director Leo McCarey remade Love Affair in 1957 as An Affair to Remember it worked just as well as the original. The later picture has become better known, but Love Affair is still a wonderful thing in its own right.Arguably the biggest difference between the two versions is the cast. Love Affair sees Irene Dunne in what is perhaps the finest performance of her career, showing off all the varied strands of her talent. Dunne was one of the first stars who could combine a fantastic singing voice with real acting ability. When she sings she puts feeling into every note and gesture, making the songs blend seamlessly into her character's emotional development. And she could do comedy as well as the boys, often developing a ballsy rapport with her leading men as she does here with Charles Boyer. Boyer is not quite as breezily likable as Cary Grant would be in 1957 (and ironically, Grant could just as easily have played this role in 1939), but he is a strong dramatic performer and certainly fits the bill. Maria Ouspenskaya is very good too. Her role is negligible in terms of screen time but it has a bearing on the whole plot, and despite her frailty and quietness Ouspenskaya has the necessary presence to deliver a suitably memorable performance.The cast may vary, but the director is the same for both versions, and when McCarey came to do the remake he followed the original almost shot-for-shot. The implication is that his earlier work was already good enough, which it certainly is. McCarey calls upon his silent comedy background as usual, making use of long takes, subtle manoeuvres and compositions in depth. Sometimes this is as comical as it is meaningful – Dunne and Boyer sitting side-by-side at their separate tables for one is like a sight gag. Other times it is dramatically poignant. The couple's heartfelt talk on the last night of the cruise is shot in one very long take, but rather than making it completely static, the director shows us the gentle rocking of the ship as a tender counterpoint. That's typical McCarey, finding ways of keeping things moving without looking artificial or going against the mood of the scene.But perhaps the biggest secret to the dual success of the two versions is that wonderful screenplay. We have an original story by McCarey and Mildred Cram, fashioned into a screenplay by Delmer Daves and Donald Ogden Stewart. McCarey always had a nose for a heartrending love story and Stewart pretty much defined the romantic drama of the 30s and 40s. The romance develops naturally – it's not one of those misogynistic quasi-abductions you often see in movies of this period. The fateful twist is perhaps a little trite and melodramatic, but everything that comes before has been set up with such an easygoing realism that the bolt-from-the-blue is acceptable. The final resolution is just what we would expect, but it is done with a delicate simplicity that makes its impact very real. An Affair to Remember may be the better known picture, but both versions seem to fit into their own era with really very little difference between them. The reason of course is that Love Affair has that uncomplicated timelessness, which still makes it a moving experience today.

While it is true that Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer lit up the screen with their chemistry in this 1939 film, the remake with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in 1956's "An Affair to Remember," was even better.Talk about repeating one's role, Maria Ouspenskaya was nominated for her second best supporting actress Oscar as a grandmother giving great advice to Dunne. 3 years before, Ouspenskaya received a first nomination for a very similar part in "Dodsworth."Love was better than ever in this film. Boyer is the playboy who is forced to come to terms with doing something productive so that he can win the love of Dunne.Only in Hollywood could tragedy be brought together and happiness ultimately found.