An Affair to Remember was a remake of 1939's Love Affair, and whichever you see first (probably AAtR), the other will seem like a direct copy. The original isn't as polished, but it is more economical, and while the remake has the punchier script, Love Affair is more subtle, in large part because its stars have such a naturalistic delivery, filled with hesitations and pregnant silences. Irene Dunn is charming and funny, of course, and Charles Boyer, an ACTUAL Frenchman - sorry Cary Grant - adds a lot, at least to a French-speaking audience. No subtitles, so you Englishers don't know what you're missing. I'll freely admit some things work better in the glossy remake, and Grant is the more iconic star, but I might like Boyer best. In any case, it's Maria Ouspenskaya as the grandmother who runs off with my heart in this. She is so damn touching, with her trembling hands and perceptive eye. She floored me. Basically, I'm saying both versions of the film are worth the watch, just maybe not back to back unless you're writing a compare/contrast essay.

I'm not sure which movie is better (this one or An affair to remember) but it doesn't really matter because the story itself is so beautiful.

There's no grand romantic gesture or really sweeping music (save for the very end), but the final 10 minutes are incredibly heartbreaking and romantic in the way only McCarey could do.