Love Affair (1939) A scandalous Hollywood tale wrought by the Hays Code (Review)

After a great run of films in the 1930s with hits like widely acclaimed Duck Soup (featuring the Marx brothers) and The Awful Truth (noted as being a defining film of Cary Grant’s early career), director Leo McCarey decided to end the decade with 1939’s Love Affair. Due to McCarey being most associated with comedies, the fact that he could switch genres to a straight romance surprised many and the film even got nominated for best picture – along with 5 other Oscar nominations too. However, that isn’t to say this film doesn’t have comedic value as many scenes and moments in this film are actually very funny.

American writer Donald Ogden Stewart helped McCarey with the script, a strange pairing due to the high contrasting political views of them. Stewart would eventually be blacklisted for being a member of the American Communist Party whereas McCarey was a die-hard republican and anti-communist (as many directors and actors of the time were). Due to constant rewrites of the script, it is uncertain how much impact these opposing political views had on the finished film, third writer Delmer Daves claims that almost none of Stewart’s lines remained in the film. Despite these script problems, the story’s concept itself was controversial at the time for the way that it displayed adultery, and premarital sex on screen – something that seems quite tame compared to many of the films we got in the decades that followed.

Love Affair’s first half takes place on a cruise ship on its way back to New York, it is where our characters first meet and slowly fall into a seemingly doomed romance. Irene Dunne plays Terry McKay, a nightclub singer who is to be engaged to Kenneth Bradley (Lee Bowman), Dunne was a stage singer before becoming an actor and her vocal performances are allowed to shine throughout the film, which are superb. Acting alongside her is Charles Boyer who plays Michel Marnet, a French painter and famous womaniser, he is destined to be married to the heir of an energy company – Lois Clarke (Astrid Allwyn). Despite both characters having their futures already sealed by the oath of marriage they cannot help but resist each other when both are trapped in the confines of the boat, where they are seemingly doomed to constantly encounter each other.

Much of the film relies on the charisma of the two leads, of which they deliver by the bucket load. Dunne especially is absolutely hypnotic when it comes to the dramatic scenes but couple that with her excellent comedic timing, making her incredibly versatile throughout the film. Whilst Boyer is less dynamic he is definitely no less charming, his deep French accents sounds romantic without him really having to do very much. Combine that with his expressive face and brilliant use of facial expressions to denote emotion and you have an actor who is hard to not love. A small role comes from Maria Ouspenskaya, who was also Oscar-nominated, as Michel’s loving and adorable grandmother. Despite having a brief appearance her presence is crucial to the flow of the film, helping to build the romance between the two leads in a way that feels genuine.

McCarey is well known for using a lot of improvisation in his films and giving the actors a lot of freedom to change their lines or add in new lines if they see fit. Unsurprisingly for performers, this can take some getting used to, but you can really tell that Boyer and Dunne felt right at home with this method of working. Much of the dialogue comes across as incredibly natural and doesn’t feel at any time forced or insincere. Nothing ever comes across as clunky or jarring in Love Affair; the two leads build a romance in a short space of time that is all incredibly believable, it is potentially one of the best on-screen couples in this era of American cinema. However, it is often said that constant script rewrites and improvisations left the film over budget and much delayed.

Talking about this film without mentioning the stunning camera work would be a genuine crime. Rudolph Mate brings an incredible spark to every scene. Using lighting and framing he is able to capture intricate facial expressions, the crashing of waves and the towering Empire State Building, with absolute beauty. Having worked on two Dreyer films, both The Passion of Joan of Arc and Vampyr, which are some of the most beautiful looking films European cinema has to offer; it is unsurprising that this film looks as magical as it does. Combine this with some absolutely lovely editing and you get a stunning example of the golden era of Hollywood at its finest. One scene, in particular, has Terry looking out at the empire state building with a shot of the building reflecting via a mirror. Such a simple shot carries such soul and vigour, showing exactly the emotions Terry is feeling without having to use a single line of dialogue.

Sadly the film’s brilliance dissolves away slightly when the two leads leave the boat upon arrival in New York. Having agreed to meet again in 6 months at the Empire State building, if they still feel the same way about each other, they both head off with their respective partners. Including a great scene in which Terry is positioned between Michel and his fiancé as they pose and kiss for journalists, it is both tragic but also quite humorous and sums up the film’s entire vibe in one short scene. Love Affair’s biggest flaw comes from the time the two leads aren’t together on screen. Not because they are bad actors when performing by themselves but more that the film sort of just dawdles along until they unsurprisingly meet at the end of the film. It would have been more effective to show them with their own partners more, trapped in relationships they don’t really want and yearning to break free and reunite. Sadly due to the lack of tangible sadness, the emotional bite feels somewhat neutered. Although it would be unsurprising if the Hays Code enforced a lighter and more sentimental tone that many classic Hollywood films at the time were adopting.

Despite being remade twice (once by Leo McCarey himself and also by Glenn Gordon Caron) Love Affair doesn’t feel as dated as expected. It isn’t as sappy or sentimental as you might expect and the constant flow of humour means the film doesn’t descend into anything incredibly sombre and for that, it remains a light and breezy old school romantic comedy. Whilst the concept of doomed lovers and marriage affairs have been bettered by the likes of Douglas Sirk with his melodramatic take over of Hollywood in the 50s, it is still worth checking out this film if you are interested in classic Hollywood. Irene Dunne’s amazing performance and the beautiful cinematography make it more than worth a watch. Some extras include detailed interviews with film critic Farran Smith Nehme about the film’s conception and Serge Bromberg about the restoration. Also included are some silent shorts by McCarey and radio plays based on the film.

Autumn’s Archive – Love Affair (1939)