Love Affair Directed by Leo McCarey. USA 1939. 88 min. With Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Maria Ouspenskaya

Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, and then… Often cited, most famously in Sleepless in Seattle, this instant hit was twice remade: in 1957 with Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Cathleen Nesbitt; and in 1994 with Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Katherine Hepburn. McCarey, who directed the first two, was a key figure in 1930’s Hollywood, mainly known for comedies e.g. with Laurel & Hardy and The Marx Brothers. Love Affair completes a trilogy on marriage that McCarey began with Make Way for Tomorrow (admired by GB Shaw) and The Awful Truth, while introducing the spiritual themes that would dominate his later work. Amazingly, this seamlessly structured film was largely improvised. The censors rejected the screenplay as a “low-toned, sordid story of gross sexual irregularities, without even a semblance of what we call 'compensating' moral values,” leaving the team scrambling, with no time to rewrite. Boyer, who enjoyed ad-libbing, said Love Affair was his favourite of his American films. The normally acerbic Ouspenskaya credits the director with creating “an atmosphere of work that is inspirational […] Actor, electricians, and cameramen loved their work.” She singles out Dunne, who formed an enduring friendship and professional relationship with Boyer on the set: “the sweetest woman with whom I have ever acted […] an actress to her finger tips.” The only notable criticism came from Dunne herself, who told Silver Screen years later: “If I had been in that girl's place, …”. No spoilers. To learn what Dunne would have done differently, join the post-film WFC Facebook discussion!

“As in all McCarey pictures, the greatest perfection is in the little, human scenes in which people do commonplace things, or carry on commonplace talk with superb, complete naturalness.” Clark Wales, Screen & Radio Weekly (1939) Nominated for 6 Oscars ______Do join us at 9:30 pm on Tuesday 30 June for a post-film discussion: - on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WimbledonFilmClub/ (write & read comments under the new post pinned at the top of the page) - on our Google Group Forum at https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!forum/wimbledon-film-club or email your comments to: [email protected]