September Affair (1950)

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It is ironic that 1950, the year this very romantic movie came out, marked the passing of Walter Huston and the critical reception he received for his final film, "The Furies". Paramount, which released both "September Affair" and "The Furies", wisely integrated the song "September Song" in this Joan Fontaine/Joseph Cotten romance where two strangers meet in Italy while waiting for a plane back to New York City and spontaneously decide to take a few extra days to explore local islands and coastal cities they hadn't had the chance to visit. She's a single concert pianist, and he's a married businessman separated from his wife (Jessica Tandy). Their romance really begins when they visit an Italian eatery where the proprietor gives them a selection of American records to play. Their favorite of the group? Huston's "September Song", which he made famous years ago in the Kurt Weill Broadway musical "Knickerbocker Holiday".At first, these attractive people are just strangers sharing an experience, but when you're surrounded by the Isle of Capri, Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius, you're bound to fall in love, if not with the scenery, then with the companion you're sharing them with. Before even a few days go by, they learn that the plane they were on crashed and that they are presumed dead. Temptation wins, and the two decide to "play dead" for real, with Cotten putting money down on a house and Fontaine bringing in her "adopted aunt" Françoise Rosay for guidance, receiving advice that in reality she really doesn't want to hear.But this is a doomed affair to remember and once the wife discovers that Cotten wrote a check out to a woman she's never even heard of, the table is set for their discovery. Tandy, who played a lot of vindictive wives during the early part of her career on film, takes a different turn here. She's softer, wiser, and more accepting, even if their growing son (Robert Arthur) isn't. What will the confrontation bring? September is the exit of summer and entrance into fall, so changes are inevitable.With echoes of Kurt Weill's beautiful melody echoing in your ears, "September Affair" is an engrossing love story that certainly must rank amongst the top. You know there's no way in severe post-code Hollywood that adultery would be allowed or that the perpetrators could escape the consequences. In addition to Weill's classic showtune, there's also a Golden Globe winning score (by the equally legendary Victor Young) which enhances the romantic settings. The doomed affair is already foretold in Fontaine's eyes the moment she learns that the wife has arrived, and even if it continues for a while after, she still has that knowing look that a love like this is definitely not going to be long-term. Still, you can't help but root for these nice people, even if he has neglected a wife and son for a woman he just met. That's what makes this love story such a classic, every element of it (under the direction of William Dieterle) engrossing.

I can see by the reviews that most folks seem to have liked this film. Well, you can see me as an old fashioned and moralistic guy, but I strongly DISLIKED the movie because I felt the main characters were just selfish jerks and the picture seemed to make excuses for bad behavior. The film begins in Italy. A man on business (Joseph Cotton) and a woman (Joan Fontaine) going to see a friend meet after the first leg of an airplane trip. Instead of waiting at the airport for their connecting flight, they take off together to see the countryside...and they hit it off very well. When they return to the airport, they see that their plane has already left. Soon, they get word that the plane has crashed and they are assumed to be dead. They decide that instead of telling everyone they are alive, they decide to use this opportunity to start new lives. After all, Cotten has been in a loveless marriage and he's sick of the corporate life. They settle down in a small Italian town and live an ideal life...that is, until his family learns, accidentally, that he is alive. To see what's next, see the film yourself....if you'd like.While I could sympathize with Cotten wanting to make a new start, he just seemed very cowardly doing what he did. And, the film also seemed to highly romanticize and endorse this sort of behavior. So, while the film is slickly made and the acting is quite good, I just couldn't get it out of my mind that the pair were just selfish...and far from the sort of folks I'd want to see in a romance. Yes, call me moralistic, but this just seemed wrong and it hurt my enjoyment of the film. For a similar sort of theme, "Avanti" also wholeheartedly endorses hanging about in Italy and living the adulterous dream. Again, I find this less than romantic.Now if you don't mind the sort of relationship that the film portrays, the film still is quite flawed. It strongly stretched the limits of believability, as the plot was, to put it mildly, quite far-fetched. Also, the film really didn't seem to know where and when to end and just went on and on AFTER the denouement AND the ending really made little sense. There are better ways to spend your time than watching this disappointing film.

I've been a Joan fan for a while now, so when I saw the laser disc for this movie I got it right away. I was definitely not disappointed.This movie has got a great story that could actually happen in real life. Joan gives a great performance as usual, of course Joseph is also perfect as the man she falls in love with at the same time saving her life. A great movie to watch if you like romance and a beautiful setting for a movie Italy.

This is my first viewing so I can't start by saying it's a favorite, but with Joseph Cotten in the romantic lead and Joan Fontaine with all her charm and understanding, you really can't be far wrong to expect the best in a love story.They meet on a plane flight, he as an untiring industrialist who has placed business and projects before his wife and son, and she as a concert pianist performing in various engagements on tour. An error in flight identity has these two fine people listed on a plane that crashed and they are mistakenly presumed dead. As their budding romance unfolds they both realize it's an opportunity for them to take hold of a new life together. That leads to complications of course, as we can expect.I marvel at the way Joan (Manina) can reflect in her features so many subtle emotions, it's as if we can hear her unspoken words, the thoughts and agonies of a love that has many hurdles to overcome. That is great acting in my opinion.