Movie · 1957 · Drama, Romance · 1h 51m · NR · English
Curator score: 5.4/10 (36K ratings)
In Italy... on the Mediterranean... across an ocean... and all over New York!
Overview
A couple falls in love and agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building - but will it happen?
Ratings
Curator score: 5.4/10
IMDb: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 65%
Metacritic: 71
TMDB: 7.4/10
Director
Leo McCarey
Production
Jerry Wald Productions, 20th Century Fox
Cast
Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Richard Denning, Neva Patterson, Cathleen Nesbitt, Robert Q. Lewis, Charles Watts, Fortunio Bonanova, Dorothy Adams, Al Bain, Frank Baker, Mary Bayless, Dino Bolognese, Paul Bradley, George Calliga, Mary Carroll, Steve Carruthers, Brian Corcoran, Walt Davis, Anthony De Mario
Curator Review
Verdict
A lush, emotionally sincere romance with old-Hollywood polish, memorable chemistry, and one of the most iconic meet-cute-to-melodrama structures in classic cinema. Its reputation is partly built on the power of its central premise and final emotional payoff, but the film earns that status with warmth, wit, and genuine feeling.
Best for
fans of classic romance and melodrama
viewers who like emotionally earnest love stories
people interested in iconic Hollywood star chemistry
audiences drawn to bittersweet, fate-driven narratives
Skip if
you prefer modern pacing and naturalistic dialogue
you dislike heightened sentimentality
you want a romance with a more cynical or ambiguous tone
Overview
An Affair to Remember is the kind of old-school romance that knows exactly how to make longing feel monumental. It starts with flirtation and glamour, then slowly turns into something more vulnerable and devastating, all while keeping its emotional stakes clear and elegant. The movie’s famous premise gives it a built-in ache, but what makes it endure is the tenderness underneath the spectacle.
Worth noting
Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr have the kind of chemistry that makes every small exchange feel charged. The film moves from playful banter to genuine emotional risk with remarkable control, and the supporting passages of domestic warmth give the romance real texture. It’s sentimental, yes, but it’s also disciplined and beautifully shaped.
Bottom line
If you love classic Hollywood romance, this is essential viewing. If you’re allergic to grand gestures or tearful declarations, it may feel overly polished. But for viewers who want a love story that fully commits to yearning, sacrifice, and destiny, it still lands with surprising force.
Top Letterboxd reviews
ria (5★) · 1348 likes
cary grant is so tan in this movie, my little sister just asked me what his ethnicity is
Toni (4★) · 1131 likes
I was looking up. It was the nearest thing to heaven. You were there.
don’t mind me i was just MURDERED by this movie!!!
courtneyfox (5★) · 1049 likes
“Oh, it’s like that movie. An Affair to Remember, did you ever see it? Oh, God, Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Is it Karr or Kerr? Okay, she’s going to meet him at the top of the Empire State Building, only she got hit by a taxi. And he waited and waited, and it was raining, I think. And then she’s too proud to tell him that she’s, uh, crippled. And he’s too proud to find out why she doesn’t… more “Oh, it’s like that movie. An Affair to Remember, did you ever see it? Oh, God, Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Is it Karr or Kerr? Okay, she’s going to meet him at the top of the Empire State Building, only she got hit by a taxi. And he waited and waited, and it was raining, I think. And then she’s too proud to tell him that she’s, uh, crippled. And he’s too proud to find out why she doesn’t… more
AuroraNocte (4★) · 856 likes
"Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories."
Madison 🎭 (3.5★) · 493 likes
i would also leave my spouse on the off chance in six months I got to be with cary grant