Between the Pages

In this 1957 movie Cary Grant is playboy Nickie Farrente, and Deborah Kerr is reticent former night club singer Terry McKay.  They meet on a transatlantic cruise from Europe to New York, and end up falling in love.  However, they are both engaged to other people, and so at the end of the cruise they agree to meet up in six months time – at the top of the Empire State Building – after they have sorted their lives out.  But then fate steps in…will their love survive?

This film is actually a remake of the 1939 film, Love Affair, both directed by Leo McCarey.  I’ve not seen the earlier film, but certainly intend to for comparison purposes.

I think that this movie is so well known that most people know the ‘twist’ and possibly how things turn out, but I’m not going to put spoilers in this review.  Suffice to say that it was a lovely if imperfect film (to me anyway).  Cary Grant displays his classic easy charm, and Deborah Kerr is perfect as the more reserved Terry (I much preferred her in this film than in another film pairing the two actors – The Grass Is Greener).

There is more comedy in the first half, and this is eschewed in the second half for a more sentimental tone.  I liked the characters very much and cared about what happened to them at the end.  I thought the pacing of the film was almost perfect, the only (tiny) gripe being that there were a couple of musical numbers – although this film is not a musical – which seemed slightly unnecessary.  Overall though, this a lovely film, and certainly recommended for fans of romantic films.

Year of release: 1957

Director: Leo McCarey

Writers: Delmer Daves, Donald Ogden Stewart, Leo McCarey, Mildred Cram

Main cast: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr