''The Affairs of Susan'' is a 1945 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

William A. Seiter William Alfred Seiter (June 10, 1890 – July 26, 1964) was an American film director. Life and career Seiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Senne ...

and starring

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

Walter Abel Walter Abel (June 6, 1898 – March 26, 1987) was an American film, stage and radio actor. Life Abel was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Christine (née Becker) and Richard Michael Abel. Abel graduated from the American Academy o ...

George Brent George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. He is best remembered for the eleven films he made with Bette Davis, which included ''Jezebel'' and ''Dark Victory ...

Dennis O'Keefe Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vanes Flanagan, Jr., March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor and writer. Early years Born in Fort Madison, Iowa, O'Keefe was the son of Edward Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan, Irish vaudevill ...

and

Don DeFore Donald John DeFore (August 25, 1913 – December 22, 1993) was an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the sitcom ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' from 1952 to 1957 and the sitcom ''Hazel'' from 1961 to 1965, the former of w ...

. It is also known as ''Chameleon''.

Plot

Susan Darell, a successful dramatic actress, returns to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from a tour entertaining the troops overseas. She is about to marry Richard Aiken, even though they have only known each other for a few weeks. Then Richard discovers that Susan has an ex-husband (and her current

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

producer) named Roger Berton and two other former boyfriends when he sees their pictures in her living room. At a cocktail party, he meets all three, each of whom describes her as an entirely different person. Worried, he invites them all to dinner, where he asks them to tell him all they know about her. Roger is willing, but the other two start to walk out. However, when Roger starts reminiscing about Susan, they sit back down. Roger meets Susan while on vacation in Rhode Island. When actress Mona Kent shows up, hoping to be cast as

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

in his next production, he flees by rowboat to an island. He talks a man into letting him board at his house for a while. He meets Susan, the man's niece, who lives there. Initially suspicious of her, he discovers that she is straightforward and honest and completely uninterested in acting. However, he thinks she is perfect to play Joan and makes her an actress, against her strong resistance. Then they fall in love and get married. Just before the premiere of ''Joan of Arc'', Mona shows up and tries to sabotage it by getting a naive Susan drunk. Roger finds out in time and sobers her up. Susan draws rave reviews, but hardly anyone comes to see the play. Roger becomes repeatedly annoyed when Susan's complete honesty and forthrightness cause trouble for him. They divorce as a result. Next up is Mike Ward, a wealthy lumberman from Montana. He meets Roger in a bar. When Roger sees how rich he is, he invites Mike to his office to discuss Mike investing in Roger's next show. A more sophisticated and less honest Susan barges in during the meeting, and taking a lesson from Mona, flatters Mike and takes him to lunch. Mike falls in love and begins proposing to her in a nightclub. Susan starts to let him down gently when Roger barges in and, assuming the worst (and wanting to reconcile with her), infuriates Susan into accepting Mike. However, Mike finds out about Susan's (fairly innocent) lying and breaks up with her. Then novelist named Bill Anthony meets Susan in a park. Under Bill's influence, Susan turns into an intellectual. When Roger tells her that Bill does not believe in marriage, she does not trust him. She gets Bill drunk, knowing that when he is intoxicated he will agree to anything, and sets out to find a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

to marry them, but at the last moment, changes her mind. Back in the present, Bill regrets that she did not go through with it. Reassured, Richard decides to go ahead with the marriage. However, Mike and Bill both propose to Susan again. She gently turns them down. Roger tells her that when they were first married, she was too young. Now she has grown up. She ultimately chooses him over Richard.

Cast

Reception

The film was nominated for

Academy Award for Best Story The Academy Award for Best Story was an Academy Award given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1956. This award can be a source of confusion for modern audiences, given its co-existence with the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenpl ...

in the

18th Academy Awards The 18th Academy Awards were held on March 7, 1946 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre to honor the films of 1945. Being the first Oscars after the end of World War II, the ceremony returned to the glamour of the prewar years; notably, the plaster sta ...

, but lost to ''

The House on 92nd Street ''The House on 92nd Street'' is a 1945 black-and-white American spy film directed by Henry Hathaway. The movie, shot mostly in New York City, was released shortly after the end of World War II. ''The House on 92nd Street'' was made with the full c ...

''. Critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

wrote in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', "Producer Hal Wallis should have condensed the whole romp into an hour or so and not the two hours which the picture takes to run its course." He thought all four male leads gave capable performances, but found Fontaine's to be "very uneven".

References

External links

* * *
Review of ''The Affairs of Susan''
at

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Affairs of Susan, The 1945 films 1945 romantic comedy films American black-and-white films American romantic comedy films 1940s English-language films Films directed by William A. Seiter Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films scored by Friedrich Hollaender Films set in New York City Films set in Rhode Island Paramount Pictures films 1940s American films