User Reviews

This was originally an ep of the AMC series "Hollywood Backstories". It tells about the making of An Affair to Remember, Leo McCarey's remake of his own Love Affair. Stars Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr were going through some off-screen personal troubles with Grant having gone through-while still married to Betsy Drake-a recent relationship with Sophia Loren who was his previous co-star in his last movie before this and Ms. Kerr's own marriage was falling apart. McCarey himself hadn't made a movie in five years so he wanted to prove he could still work successfully in Hollywood. As the ep explores all three people's lives during this period, it also mentions the fact that years later, a later hit comedy called Sleepless in Seattle had some sequences devoted to discussing this very movie with a highlight being when Rita Wilson describes the final scene of AATR. The actress herself describes how masochistic women were at the time of AATR's release. Also appearing were Deborah Kerr and her daughter and several bio authors of Grant and Ms. Kerr. In summary, this was a good behind-the-scenes look at AATR.

This entry into a TV series dealing with the making of several Fox movie classics obviously looks at the behind-the-scenes of Leo McCarey's 1957 remake of his own LOVE AFFAIR (1939). It was interesting to note the undercurrent of tension involved, since the director and both stars (Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr) were at a low point in their personal life, but which certainly does not show on screen! McCarey had been ousted from the top-tier of Hollywood film-makers after the Cold War aberration MY SON JOHN (1952; which I own but have yet to watch)…so he played it safe here by making what seemed like a sure-fire commercial venture (and he was certainly proved right – though he would only make two more pictures before retiring!). His two leads were each fighting demons of their own: Kerr was going through a crumbling marriage, while Grant had reportedly lost his head over Sophia Loren (they met on the set of THE PRIDE OF THE PASSION {1957}) – however, she had considered the affair a mere fling whereas he took it seriously and was duly crushed by her ensuing rejection! Another astonishing revelation concerned Grant's notorious psychotherapy involving LSD: it is stated that, in all, he underwent some 100 of these sessions! Ultimately, a measure of the film's longevity is not only the sentimental tribute rendered to it in Nora Ephron's SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993) but the fact that 2 million people who saw that movie were sufficiently moved to purchase the earlier title on VHS!

Backstory: An Affair to Remember (2001)

*** (out of 4)

Good episode in the AMC series takes a look at the impact of AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER on not only the people who fell in love with its story but also the two stars. Peter Bogdanovich, Curtis Harrington, Rudy Behlmer, Deborah Kerr, Melville Shavelson (HOUSEBOAT director), Rita Wilson and Kerr biographers Nancy Nelson and Eric Braun discuss the making of the movie as well as its on-going popularity. Throughout the 22-minutes we learn about how badly a time Grant was having during this period of his life. Not only was he dealing with a few box office flops but his heart was breaking from the affair with Sophia Loren. We also learn that Kerr was having issues with her marriage and that the stars own personal troubles helped shine through in the film. We also learn about how director Leo McCarey was worried about remaking his own film LOVE AFFAIR and why he was worried that people in 1957 wouldn't fall for the mix of laughs and tears. Overall this is a pretty good look at the making of the film as it gives you a great idea of what was going on during the making of the picture but it also talks about the success it received decades later once SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE was released. Fans of the film will certainly enjoy hearing these stories as they're quite entertaining and they really do make you want to see the film again.