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Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Richard Denning, Neva Patterson, Cathleen Nesbitt ... see more see more... , Robert Q. Lewis , Charles Watts , Fortunio Bonanova , Matt Moore , Louis Mercier , Geraldine Wall , Nora Marlowe , Sarah Selby , Alberto Morin , Genevieve Aumont , Dorothy Adams , Mary Carroll , Brian Corcoran , Minta Durfee , Jesslyn Fax , Priscilla Garcia , Walter Woolf King , Jack Lomas , Scotty Morrow , Alena Murray , Marni Nixon , Jack Raine , Marc Snow , Tina Thompson , Roger Til , Tony DeMario , Juney Ellis , Helen Mayon , Bert Stevens , Richard Allen , Paul Bradley , Robert Lynn

An Affair to Remember, director Leo McCarey's scene-for-scene remake of his own 1939 film Love Affair, isn't really an improvement on the original, but it's equally as enjoyable. Cary Grant and Debora... read more read more...h Kerr, high-profile types both engaged to be married to other people, meet and fall in love during an ocean voyage. To test the depth of their commitment to each other, Grant and Kerr promise that, if they're still in love at the end of six months, they will meet again at the top of the Empire State Building. Clips from An Affair to Remember were used as "reference points" throughout the 1993 romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle, which likewise concluded atop the Empire State Building. Disproving the theory that "Third Time's the Charm," Warren Beatty attempted to remake Affair to Remember, again titled Love Affair, in 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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87% liked it

35,710 ratings

Critics

65% liked it

26 critics

DVD Release Date: January 15, 2008

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Stats: 2,283 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,283)


  • September 12, 2011
    The product of superb acting and poor direction. Many scenes felt as though they were meant to be much more moving than they really were. The swelling music and the long silences made me look at my watch more than it made me reach for the tissues. With that said, Grant's charm cu... read morets through every scene and I completely understand why the mere mention of this film's title gives most women heart palpitations. Also, what the hell is with all of the songs?
  • July 19, 2011
    A playboy and a woman meet on a cruise ship and agree to meet six months later on the roof of the Empire State Building.
    There are moments when Cary Grant is irresistibly charming and Deborah Kerr exhibits that sensual grace that only women in old movies can master and moments wh... read moreen director Leo McCarey is able to capture the perfect image to tell an entire story (instead of a kiss, we see Ferrante's feet re-trace their steps up stairs, and the "hello" in the theater was exceptional acting and directing) - these are the moments that remind me that I'm watching a classic. But the rest of the film is quite simply bad. Aside from frightfully annoying children singing moralistic balderdash for the grand total of ten minutes (approximately - I was trying to puncture my eardrum with a broken Coke bottle), the characters' romance is routinely interrupted by plot elements that mean as much to them as they do to us (meaning: nothing). For example, Ferrante and McKay's attitude toward the boat knowing about their romance is insouciant, but the script makes it a big deal, and further, each leaves his/her other lover with such quick abandon that it's hard to understand what drove them to be so secretive during the first hour of the film.
    Overall, though An Affair to Remember is a recognizable romantic classic, it is only so highly regarded for a few scenes; the rest is just bad filmmaking.
  • March 13, 2011
    A nice love story buried in the ongoing saga of two people that find love while both are committed to others. After dragging on a while.... the movie seems rushed at the end, like a clock was ticking and let's just wrap this up! Fun to see the movie the girls cry about in "Slee... read morepless in Seattle".
  • March 1, 2011
    "If it had to happen to one of us, why did it have to be you?"

    I have to admit that An Affair to Remember is not really my preferred kind of movie (I'm more of a Casablanca man), but it's difficult to imagine a lover of old school romantic films in general not enjoying this. Car... read morey Grant and Deborah Kerr star in this tale of star-crossed lovers who find each other when they already belong to someone else. After parting from their brief days of bliss together, they agree to meet again in six months atop the Empire State Building. Alas, Fate has different designs.

    An Affair to Remember is bittersweet, mature, and witty, but I'm not the greatest fan of this genre. I heartily recommend it to anyone who is, though. It's impossible not to appreciate how well it achieves what it sets out to do, and it's easy to buy into the on-screen chemistry of Grant and Kerr.
  • November 17, 2010
    These back and forth romantic drama movies get on my nerves and this one is no exception. I do like Grant and Kerr, but they don't do much with the movie.
  • March 2, 2010
    Winner of my Top Chick Flicks.
  • December 28, 2009
    How can you not like the pairing of Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr? Classic old-school romance.
  • October 10, 2007
    This is not...a very good movie, but it wasn't completely horrible. Deborah Kerr's acting, however, is monstrous.
  • November 23, 2006
    I wasn't amazed, but I didn't hate it.
  • October 30, 2006
    Beautifully sweet.

Critic Reviews


Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Mr. McCarey's direction is unpropitiously and unaccountably slow. Full Review

Peter Canavese
February 22, 2011
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

'Weepies' may not be high art, but for those who love them, An Affair to Remember is the Mona Lisa. Full Review

Chris Barsanti
January 28, 2008
Chris Barsanti, Filmcritic.com

surprisingly tedious Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
January 20, 2008
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine

Often regarded (or dreaded) as the ultimate chick flick, due in no small amount to its fetish-object role in Sleepless in Seattle, An Affair to Remember deserves better than to be the receptor of Meg ... Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
October 19, 2007
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

Cheapened by the many references in Sleepless in Seattle, An Affair to Remember plays much better than you might imagine. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 27, 2006
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Not much to remember. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 1, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in the Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne roles, Leo McCarey's remake of his 1937 Love Affair has some touching moments but is not as good as the original movie, which ... Full Review

Steve Crum
January 4, 2005
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan

Soap opera-ish Cary Grant/Deborah Kerr starrer still tugs at heart.

Jamie Gillies
September 24, 2003
Jamie Gillies, Apollo Guide

Romantic and over the top, but Cary Grant excels in these situations and it almost saves a movie that seemed to lose its way. Full Review

Ken Hanke
August 27, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Good, but a little too much. McCarey's 1939 version was trimmer and better.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts


    • Terry McKay: Oh, it was nobody's fault but my own. I was looking up. It was the nearest thing to heaven. You were there.

An Affair to Reme... : Watch Free on TV


An Affair to Remember Trivia


  • The 1993 romantic comedy "Sleepless in Seattle" was not the first film to have two lovers plan to meet at the top of the Empire State Building. What classic film was the idea taken from (they mention its name in the film)?  Answer »
  • 'Sleepless in Seattle' is a reference to a classic movie played by Cary Grant. What is the movie?  Answer »
  • In which film do Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr meet on the top of the Empire State Building?  Answer »
  • what is the meeting place in both sleepless in seattle and an affair to remember?  Answer »

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