Greatest Film Scenes
and Moments



An Affair to Remember (1957)

 



Written by Tim Dirks

Title Screen
Movie Title/Year and Scene Descriptions
Screenshots

An Affair to Remember (1957)

In director Leo McCarey's romantic tearjerker melodramatic tale of star-crossed lovers, a CinemaScopic remake of McCarey's original shipboard romance classic Love Affair (1939), starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer - and referenced in director Nora Ephron's Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and in Love Affair (1994) with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening:

  • the scene at the end of an ocean cruise before their ship Constitution docked in New York when wealthy playboyish bachelor Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant) and former singer Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) decided to reunite six months later (on July 1st at 5:00 pm) at the top (102nd floor) of the Empire State Building, as Terry added: "Oh yes, that's perfect. It's the nearest thing to heaven we have in New York"
  • the scene six months later when Nickie waited at their rendezvous point (a clock chimed 5 times), but Terry didn't appear (she was injured in an awful car accident (off-screen) on a busy NYC street on her way rushing to meet him) and there were ambulances heard blaring at 10 minutes after five
  • and then in the conclusion of this romantic, tearjerker tale of star-crossed lovers, the startling revelation scene six months later on Christmas Day - regarding the devastating, terrible secret of why she couldn't keep her fateful appointment with him atop the Empire State Building - he visited her in her apartment as she remained unmoving and supine on a couch; he delivered an accusatory and scolding conversation with her
  • he gave her a Christmas present of a shawl from his now-deceased Grandmother Janou (Cathleen Nesbitt) - which she used to cover her shoulders; as he was leaving after they diplomatically shook hands, he casually mentioned that he had once painted a picture similar to the way she looked: "You know, I painted you like that with the shawl. I wish you could have seen it...I didn't think I could ever part with it. But well, there was no reason to keep it any longer, and, uh, I couldn't take money for it, because, well, you know.."; he had agreed to have the painting given away free to a woman in a wheelchair who liked it - "She was..." - and then suddenly, he paused and went into the adjoining bedroom
  • his ultimate discovery in Terry's bedroom that she had acquired his painting (visible when the camera slowly panned right to show the painting's mirror reflection in the room) - she was the recipient of his painting! and had kept her accident a secret
Discovery of Terry's Identity
  • after returning to the living room, he stared disbelieving at Terry, who requested: "Darling, don't look at me like that"; he had made the ultimate discovery by inferring the devastating, terrible secret of how fate had intervened on the day they were to meet - he asked: "Why didn't you tell me? If it had to happen to one of us, why did it have to be you?"; with a tearful hug, she explained: "It was nobody's fault but my own. I-I was looking up. It was the nearest thing to heaven. You were there. Oh, darling, don't, don't worry, darling. If you can paint, I can walk. Anything can happen. Don't you think?"; he wiped away her tears and replied: "Yes, darling, yes. Yes, yes, yes"; they kissed; a chorus sang atop a snowy view of New York City: "Our Love Affair To Remember"

Plan to Meet Six Months Later


Tragic Accident


Meeting With Terry on Christmas Day

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