September Affair
Encyclopedia
September Affair is a 1950
film, directed by William Dieterle
, starring Joan Fontaine
, Joseph Cotten
and Jessica Tandy
. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis
.
), a prominent concert pianist, meets David Lawrence (Joseph Cotten
), a businessman, on a flight to New York from Rome. Their plane is diverted to Naples for engine repairs, and they decide to kill time by doing some sight-seeing. At lunch in a restaurant, a recording of the Kurt Weill
/Maxwell Anderson
song September Song
, sung by Walter Huston
, is playing. Manina is single, and David is unhappily married with a son in his late teens. They talk too long and miss their flight, and decide to stay on for a few days, getting to know each other. They quickly fall in love. Then they hear that the plane they were scheduled to catch has crashed into the ocean, and all on board are presumed dead. Due to a clerical mixup, they were believed to have been among those aboard. Their photos, along with the rest of the victims, are even published in a newspaper they pick up. Thinking their absences won't make any difference to the larger world, they decide to "stay dead" and begin a new life together in Naples. They make no contact with their families or friends, including Lawrence's wife Catherine (Jessica Tandy
) and son David Jr (Robert Arthur
). Manina had been originally intending to play Rachmaninoff
's Piano Concerto No. 2
in New York, and she keeps up her practice during the secret affair. She also has contact with her piano teacher Maria Salvatini (Françoise Rosay
), who agrees not to reveal Manina is very much alive, but continues to tutor her.
Catherine and her son travel to Naples to learn more of David's fate, discover he is alive, and confront him. Manina goes on to perform the Rachmaninoff concerto as originally planned in New York. At the end of the film, Manina breaks up with David, who returns to his wife and son.
.
September Song
, music by Kurt Weill
, lyrics by Maxwell Anderson
, is heard, originally in the recording by Walter Huston
. Later, Johnny Wilson (Jimmy Lydon
), a sailor, sings it live. Huston’s recording had been made in 1938, but the film gave it a new lease of life and it made it to the top of the 1950 hit parade.
Excerpts from Rachmaninoff
's Piano Concerto No. 2
are heard a number of times throughout the film. The pianist in the Rachmaninoff was Leonard Pennario
.
The voice of Enrico Caruso is also heard in an off-screen recording.
. The film was shot on location in Naples, Capri, Florence and other places in Italy.
1950 in film
The year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
film, directed by William Dieterle
William Dieterle
William Dieterle was a German actor and film director, who worked in Hollywood for much of his career. His best known films include The Devil and Daniel Webster, The Story of Louis Pasteur and The Hunchback of Notre Dame...
, starring Joan Fontaine
Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland , known professionally as Joan Fontaine, is a British American actress. She and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland are two of the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s....
, Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
and Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis was an American film producer.-Career:Harold Brent Wallis was born in Chicago in 1898. His family moved in 1922 to Los Angeles, California, where he found work as part of the publicity department at Warner Bros...
.
Plot
Marianne "Manina" Stuart (Joan FontaineJoan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland , known professionally as Joan Fontaine, is a British American actress. She and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland are two of the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s....
), a prominent concert pianist, meets David Lawrence (Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
), a businessman, on a flight to New York from Rome. Their plane is diverted to Naples for engine repairs, and they decide to kill time by doing some sight-seeing. At lunch in a restaurant, a recording of the Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
/Maxwell Anderson
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist.-Early years:Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to William Lincoln "Link" Anderson, a Baptist minister, and Charlotte Perrimela Stephenson, both of Scots and Irish descent...
song September Song
September Song
"September Song" is an American pop standard composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson, introduced by Walter Huston in the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday. It has since been recorded by numerous singers and instrumentalists...
, sung by Walter Huston
Walter Huston
Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian-born American actor. He was the father of actor and director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston.-Life and career:...
, is playing. Manina is single, and David is unhappily married with a son in his late teens. They talk too long and miss their flight, and decide to stay on for a few days, getting to know each other. They quickly fall in love. Then they hear that the plane they were scheduled to catch has crashed into the ocean, and all on board are presumed dead. Due to a clerical mixup, they were believed to have been among those aboard. Their photos, along with the rest of the victims, are even published in a newspaper they pick up. Thinking their absences won't make any difference to the larger world, they decide to "stay dead" and begin a new life together in Naples. They make no contact with their families or friends, including Lawrence's wife Catherine (Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
) and son David Jr (Robert Arthur
Robert Arthur (actor)
Robert Arthur was an American motion picture actor who appeared in dozens of films in the 1940s and 1950s....
). Manina had been originally intending to play Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
's Piano Concerto No. 2
Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, is a concerto for piano and orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900...
in New York, and she keeps up her practice during the secret affair. She also has contact with her piano teacher Maria Salvatini (Françoise Rosay
Françoise Rosay
Françoise Rosay was a French opera singer, diseuse, and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure in French cinema...
), who agrees not to reveal Manina is very much alive, but continues to tutor her.
Catherine and her son travel to Naples to learn more of David's fate, discover he is alive, and confront him. Manina goes on to perform the Rachmaninoff concerto as originally planned in New York. At the end of the film, Manina breaks up with David, who returns to his wife and son.
Music
The primary music score was written by Victor YoungVictor Young
Victor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
.
September Song
September Song
"September Song" is an American pop standard composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson, introduced by Walter Huston in the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday. It has since been recorded by numerous singers and instrumentalists...
, music by Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
, lyrics by Maxwell Anderson
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist.-Early years:Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to William Lincoln "Link" Anderson, a Baptist minister, and Charlotte Perrimela Stephenson, both of Scots and Irish descent...
, is heard, originally in the recording by Walter Huston
Walter Huston
Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian-born American actor. He was the father of actor and director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston.-Life and career:...
. Later, Johnny Wilson (Jimmy Lydon
Jimmy Lydon
Jimmy Lydon is an American movie actor and television producer, whose career in the entertainment industry began as a teenage actor in the 1930s....
), a sailor, sings it live. Huston’s recording had been made in 1938, but the film gave it a new lease of life and it made it to the top of the 1950 hit parade.
Excerpts from Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
's Piano Concerto No. 2
Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, is a concerto for piano and orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900...
are heard a number of times throughout the film. The pianist in the Rachmaninoff was Leonard Pennario
Leonard Pennario
Leonard Pennario was an American classical pianist and composer.He was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in Los Angeles, attending Los Angeles High School remaining in L.A. for his entire career. He first came to notice when he performed Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto at age 12, with the...
.
The voice of Enrico Caruso is also heard in an off-screen recording.
Other
The costume design was by Edith HeadEdith Head
Edith Head was an American costume designer who won eight Academy Awards, more than any other woman.-Early life and career:...
. The film was shot on location in Naples, Capri, Florence and other places in Italy.
Cast
- Joan FontaineJoan FontaineJoan de Beauvoir de Havilland , known professionally as Joan Fontaine, is a British American actress. She and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland are two of the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s....
- Manina Stuart - Joseph CottenJoseph CottenJoseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
- David Lawrence - Françoise RosayFrançoise RosayFrançoise Rosay was a French opera singer, diseuse, and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure in French cinema...
- Maria Salvatini - Jessica TandyJessica TandyJessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
- Catherine Lawrence - Robert ArthurRobert Arthur (actor)Robert Arthur was an American motion picture actor who appeared in dozens of films in the 1940s and 1950s....
- David Lawrence Jr - Jimmy LydonJimmy LydonJimmy Lydon is an American movie actor and television producer, whose career in the entertainment industry began as a teenage actor in the 1930s....
- Johnny Wilson - Fortunio BonanovaFortunio BonanovaFortunio Bonanova is the pseudonym of Josep Lluís Moll , who was a baritone singer and a film, theater, and television actor...
- Grazzi - Grazia Narciso - Bianca
- Anna Demetrio - Rosita
- Lou SteeleLou SteeleLouis J. "Lou" Steele was an American actor, radio, and television announcer.Born Louis Ferraioli in 1928, he was an announcer on Armed Forces Radio during the Korean War, and was the voice who informed the troops that their commander, General Douglas MacArthur, had been recalled by President...
- Vittorio Portini - Frank Yaconelli - Mr. Peppino
- Hal B. WallisHal B. WallisHal B. Wallis was an American film producer.-Career:Harold Brent Wallis was born in Chicago in 1898. His family moved in 1922 to Los Angeles, California, where he found work as part of the publicity department at Warner Bros...
makes an uncredited cameo appearance as a tourist in a souvenir shop.