This was the first film I remember seeing Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in & I fell in love with both actors immediately, as well as their characters, the film, the costumes, the story, the music, EVERYTHING!
The film is centered around rich & handsome playboy Nicky Ferrante and beautiful ex-night club singer Terry McKay. They meet & fall in love while on a cruise from Europe to New York despite being engaged to other people. They try to avoid gossip around the ship but can't avoid it no matter how hard they try after a trip ashore to visit Nicky's grandmother.
They both agree to avoid each other the rest of the trip & to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months at the end of the cruise to allow time for both of them to break it off with their fiancees & for Nicky to earn money for them to live on. However, an unfortunate accident keeps Terry from the reunion leaving Nicky heartbroken. He turns to booze & painting when his fears that she has married or does not love him anymore overcome him. A chance meeting at a theater draws him back to her & to the truth about their missed chance.
They find each other & the movie ends on a beautiful reunion between the two. The film is full of "Every precious moment of the glad...tender...triumphant love they found -- and almost lost!" A gem of a film that was actually a remake by the director Leo McCarey of his original piece Love Affair. This was the second of three pairings for Deborah & Cary and is my personal favorite. The film is actually a favorite of my honey's too (it's hard to get him to LOVE a classic film [he likes Steven Segal movies-bleck!] but he loves snarky Cary Grant & the love story)!
The costumes are divine (Deborah looks classy & gorgeous whilst Cary looks debonair & charming), the music is perfect (Marni Nixon's vocals are perfect as usual), and the script is tops. With lines like:
Nickie Ferrante: But you have such an honest face.
Terry McKay: I have?
Nickie Ferrante: I can trust you can't I?
Terry McKay: Yes, I suppose so.
Nickie Ferrante: Good, come with me.
Terry McKay: Yes, but the Captain has an honest face too! Why can't you tell him your troubles?
and:
Terry McKay: What makes life so difficult?
Nickie Ferrante: People.
and:
Terry McKay: I'm getting married and I want you to be the first to congratulate me.
NYC Cab Driver: Marriage is something to rush to?
and:
Terry McKay: Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories... we've already missed the spring.
and:
Nickie: There must be something between us, even if it's only an ocean.
and:
Terry McKay: Oh, it's nobody's fault but my own! I was looking up... it was the nearest thing to heaven! You were there...
and:
Terry McKay: [voice shaking, ready to cry] If you can paint I can walk- anything can happen, right?
You have shivers right now, don't you? Me too! SOOOOOOOO good! This is making me want to pop this into the DVD player right now... and I'm off! You should be too! Enjoy another amazing classic chickens!
quotes from HERE.
most pics from HERE
