Heaven Can Wait (1943; in color), An Affair to Remember (1957; in color), and The Apartment (1960)

Welcome back for another volume of Romance films! This installment features three very different films within the genre that will not disappoint. Each film is in a sense a time capsule. Heaven Can Wait captures the turn of the century and the “gay nineties,” An Affair to Remember the peak of ‘50s fashion and that blue-ish tint characteristic of late ‘50s color films, and The Apartment the working class world of the ’60s. It’s the talented writing and direction, though, that make these films memorable classics with talent supplied by Ernst Lubitsch, Leo McCarey, and Billy Wilder. These three writers and directors profoundly influenced one another. Lubitsch, in particular, had a profound influence on Wilder. Wilder worked with him on several projects, such as the classic comedy Ninotchka (1939) in which dramatic actress Greta Garbo uncharacteristically and famously laughs. You can find out more about all 3 writers and directors below. Enjoy!

- Olivia

Heaven Can Wait (1943; in color) - 1 hr 53 mins

Heaven Can Wait opens with rich playboy Henry van Cleve (Don Ameche) having a conversation with the devil himself in hell’s waiting room. Curious as to why Henry is so convinced that hell should be his final residence, “His Excellency” has Henry recount his life and decisions that he believes meet the entry “standards” of the underworld. Henry recounts his boyish antics and other indecencies, but he also reveals a kinder soul than he perhaps realized.

A sweet romantic film set in the “gay nineties,” Heaven Can Wait benefits from the hands of director Ernst Lubitsch -Shop Around the Corner (1940), To Be or Not to Be (1942). The film is lighthearted and comedic while at the same time romantic and down-to-earth. This film lets you put on a pair of rose-colored glasses even as it smoothly transitions you to reality. Heaven Can Wait is a nostalgic film that takes its audience on a sentimental journey through multiple generations of one family. There are many things to commend this film. In fact, it's very difficult to distill them into just a few points.

Availability: Youtube, Amazon video, Googleplay, DVD, and Blu-ray.

Purchase DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Window-MGM-Film-Noir/dp/B000PMFRW4
Purchase Blu-ray: https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Window-Blu-ray-Fritz-Lang/dp/B07C5RGH2W/ref=asc_df_B07C5RGH2W/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312230736656&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12736662095362136913&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003967&hvtargid=pla-487440519976&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=58898436941&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312230736656&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12736662095362136913&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003967&hvtargid=pla-487440519976

An Affair to Remember (1957; in color) - l hr 59 mins

An unlikely friendship develops when playboy Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant) and singer Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) meet on a cruise ship going from Europe to New York. Their relationship deepens as they share their respective career desires and life disappointments. By the end of their trip, they’ve fallen in love. Both of them, however, are already in relationships. There are decisions to make. If in six months they both feel that it is right to end these relationships and move onto some of their unrealized aspirations, they will meet each other at the top of the Empire State building.

A remake of the 1939 classic Love Affair, The Monthly Film Bulletin described this film extremely well when it said that An Affair to Remember is “a lush slice of Hollywood romanticism, unashamedly following most of the familiar conventions of glossy magazine fiction. To judge it on a higher level would normally seem unfair if it were not that here the script does succeed in cutting rather deeper. The relationship between Ferrante and Terry McKay is briskly developed, with an attractive, often touching humor." The film is certainly sentimental, but a part of the movie’s allure is that it is indeed a “lush” and romantic “slice of Hollywood.” Grant and Kerr’s improvisations help the film to “cut deeper” than a traditional romance. But the transformative and healing aspect so characteristic of writer and director Leo McCarey’s work seen in films, such as in Love Affair (1939) and Going My Way (1944), elevates this film into an endearing classic. There is a reason why this story has been made three times - 1939, 1957 and as 1993’s Sleepless in Seattle.

Availability: Youtube (free), Amazon video, Googleplay, DVD, and Blurry. (Contains the original and remake)

Youtube (free): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcHpkILnlS8
Purchase DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Killers-Burt-Lancaster/dp/B00W69F3DC/ref=asc_df_B00W69F3DC/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312150467994&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10231819360800291133&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003967&hvtargid=pla-493334756601&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=62195418895&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312150467994&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10231819360800291133&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003967&hvtargid=pla-493334756601
Purchase Blu-ray: https://www.amazon.com/Killers-Blu-ray-Burt-Lancaster/dp/B00W69F2VA/ref=tmm_mfc_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

The Apartment (1960) - 2 hrs 5 mins

C.C. “Bud” Baxter may only be part of a large pool of actuaries at a big insurance company, but Bud seems to have found a way to the top of the corporate ladder fast: the key to his apartment. By lending his apartment to some of the higher ups in the firm for rendezvous with their "girlfriends," Baxter is promised a good word for “the man at the top." When “the man at the top” decides to use Baxter’s apartment himself, Baxter is hit with the reality of what he's been doing. This time the "girlfriend" is Fran (Shirley MacLaine)- the girl at work with whom he is in love. And now this time Bud will have to decide where he draws the line.

Although comedic at times, this film isn’t a comedy. It portrays some of the dark sides of everyday life. The characters are often left disappointed and rejected. Nevertheless, The Apartment does strike a balance between comedy, drama and romance. Writer and director Billy Wilder makes sure the film doesn’t veer too far in any one direction. As a result, the story feels organic and relatable to the viewer without losing any of the “Wilder touch." The fantastic chemistry between Lemmon and MacLaine only adds to the film’s believability. It makes the viewer feel like this could really happen, and more importantly, that these could be two real people. They aren’t perfect, but Wilder makes sure that they are winsome, compelling, and relatable. One of The American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest Films of All Time, this is a romance you do not want to mis

Availability: Youtube (free), Amazon video, Googleplay, DVD, and Blu-ray.

Youtube (free, poor visual quality and doesn't contain credits): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHFznLmt1i8
Purchase DVD: https://www.ebay.com/i/202701406277?chn=ps