Joan Fontaine is wonderful in this delightful comedy about a woman who appears to attract men like flies!!! She is about to run off with the man she loves, when he discovers all the so-called 'loose ends' that she has left behind. I am a big fan of Fontaine and this film is one of her best. Watch the way she wraps each man around her little finger without even realising it!! Comes highly recommended.
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Star521 December 2002
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adpye10 July 2002Joan Fontaine shines brilliantly in one of her rare comedies. She plays Susan who is pursued by four different men, each with distinct personalities. As she adapts to each of her suitors personalities, we see a different Susan and a delightful Joan Fontaine. I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys witty dialogue, a brisk paced film. super performances by a supporting cast, and most especially anyone who loves clever story lines. Edith Head designed the clothes Ms. Fontaine wears and they are to die for. It is not available on video, so tape it when it comes on cable. Every once in a while you can purchase it on Ebay. Joan Fontaine is simply great in this movie.
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Joan Fontaine was so often cast in moody, introspective roles in somber dramas that her prowess in comedy was seldom explored. Here it certainly is--she gets the chance to play a woman who is entirely different in the eyes of three men who loved her in the past (George Brent, Don deFore and Dennis O'Keefe)--and are now telling their stories to the man about to marry her (Walter Abel). In flashback we see Susan as a plain-Jane who becomes an actressy type, an intellectual and a glamorous sophisticate. It's a pleasure to see Fontaine enjoying herself in a demanding comedy role for a change--with excellent support from her co-stars, particularly George Brent as an ex-husband. Rarely shown on TV, it's one you have to catch on one of the cable channels and well worth viewing.
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The Affairs Of Susan has Walter Abel ready to marry Joan Fontaine and at a big blowout three guys who've had history with this woman who is a famous stage actress show up to tell Abel about their experiences. The trio are an ex-husband who is a theatrical producer played by George Brent, a rich financial backer from the west who is Don DeFore and Dennis O'Keefe a rather pretentious and iconoclastic writer.
All of them see Fontaine in a different way because they all dealt with her at different stages of her in her growth as a human being. All three bring out different aspects of her personality. One thing is for sure all three are still carrying a statue of liberty size torch for her.
The film got Oscar recognition with a nomination for original screenplay. I think it kind of takes a bit from the Ginger Rogers classic Tom, Dick, And Harry. And if you think about it The Affairs Of Susan is a less serious version in many ways of The Bad And The Beautiful.
Fontaine and her men do well in the roles. But you really ought to notice Rita Johnson who is a rival actress to Fontaine. Funniest scene in the film is what Johnson does to try and spoil Fontaine's opening night.
I also love the opening title as that quartet of Susan's men sing If You Knew Susie. After 72 years the film still sparkles. -
George Brent was my fave of the guys.
And the star of the movie being a Joan, playing a Susan who is cast in a stage production of Joan of Arc- wasn't expecting that!
Joan of Arc follows me, I swear. There's some connection between us! Me and the name Joan, it's a big deal! The only thing it was missing was an "Alice in Wonderland" mention (but there is an Alice Flemming in an uncredited role- so Alice-Joan connections strike again!)!
Not one of my favorites. It kind of dragged for me, though maybe I just haven't been in the mood for it. This seems like a part perfect for Jean Arthur though, and I kept wishing it were her. In certain parts of the film, Joan looks like Jean too! Fun fact: Jean is a variation of the name Joan!'
Not the best, but still good. Glad I saw it. -
Oh, oh, oh what a girl! OK, so those aren't the lyrics to "If You Knew Susie", but that song does open this 1945 screwball comedy, a late entry in the genre that had ended after a few early 40's William Powell & Myrna Loy gems. Yes, Hollywood did make these on occasion, mostly with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. Romantic comedies going forward after World War II mostly were either fantasies ("The Bishop's Wife"), political ("State of the Union") or precursors to television sitcoms ("Father of the Bride"). Hollywood still loved farce, hence actors like Bob Hope, Martin & Lewis, Joan Davis and Lucille Ball. This one, however, utilizes a bit of topical to tell its story; Susan actually appears to be more than one person, sort of a comical "Three Faces of Eve". And as played by Joan Fontaine, you're going to get more than just the wide-eyed sweet girl she normally played, as she drives at least three men crazy with her fickleness.
The Oscar Nominated screenplay gives us a story seen through flashback as a seeming support group of men tell their experiences with the pretty young woman. George Brent, an ex-husband, is a Broadway producer who got made her a star and is the focus of much of the storyline. Walter Abel, Dennis O'Keefe and Don DeFore are the other men of completely different personalities who becomes victims of Susie's obvious indecisiveness. Rita Johnson adds another viper character to her credits, playing a jealous actress who gets Fontaine drunk on her opening night, causing Brent to want to break her leg rather than wish Fontaine to (for good luck) break hers. A funny scene of a stereotypical New York married couple arguing in the park helps get Fontaine together with one of her many men. The script sometimes gets a little too chatty, but overall, it offers lots of humor. -
jotix1009 November 2009A seldom seen film that will delight fans of Joan Fontaine. Directed by William Seiter, and based on a story of Thomas Monroe, this Paramount release of 1945 showed up on a cable channel not long ago. Not having seen it, we decided to take a look. This was a vehicle for Ms. Fontaine, a beautiful actress that enjoyed a popularity during those years.
Susan Darrell, a beautiful actress is the object of the admiration, and perhaps love of four different men. They include Roger, a theater producer, Mike, a man with some money made in lumber, Bill, a somewhat successful writer and Richard, a political figure. Roger is the one that really loved her and made her a star. Susan being an honest girl from Rhode Island, didn't fit in his theatrical world. Her frankness gets her in all kinds of problems and sadly, she and Roger get divorced. Years after establishing herself as a theatrical figure of the New York stage, Susan, who has stayed single, is courted by the three men. Roger is always around and it becomes clear her heart belongs to Roger.
Joan Fontaine showed she was as good a comedienne in this type of fare as many of her contemporaries. She is a pleasant presence in any of her films. George Brent is a wonderful Roger; it is clear why Susan will prefer him above others. Don DeFore plays Mike, the man from the West that would like to make Susan his. Walter Abel is pleasant as Richard, the man that wants to marry Susan. Dennis O'Keefe appears as Bill, the writer. Elegant Rita Johnson is seen as Mona Kent, the rival actress that tries to derail Susan's ambitions as an actress. -
Joan Fontaine, before 1945, only made a few comedies, and they were B pictures. In this movie, she changes her personality with every new man she meets. She met four men, and she changed her personality four times. Each time she is a different type of woman: shy, movie star, social, and intellectual. She is very funny in each of the roles as she tries to readjust to the new life, and try to find the right man. She finally ends up with her first husband, but goes through a lot to find out he is the right one. Very funny, I recommend it.
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Everyone gives it their best try, but the movie seems to be trying just a tad too much. Should you watch it? A qualified YES -- it depends on what you're looking for. George Brent as rugged and wronged-- nope. Joan Fontaine as beautiful and brave-- not really. A well-paced, well crafted film-- hardly. However, if you do decide to watch it, PAY ATTENTION; it has dialogue that does sparkle (at times) physical humor that's very funny (at times) and it has Mary Field (at times.) If you watch this movie, watch it to see how Mary Field presents Susan's maid to the audience. It seems no one really knows Susan. Well, her maid does! Watch Field interact with each of the main characters, heck, just watch the way she opens the door. She IS someone and she does it right and saves this bedroom farce from banality (at times.)
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planktonrules21 May 2017Joan Fontaine plays the title character, a super-alluring women who is adored by four men--all of which want to marry her. While I thought Fontaine was a decent enough actress, here she seemed miscast as I couldn't see any of the sex appeal that the four men found in her. As for the story...well...it was just okay.
The story begins with a very impulsive Richard (Walter Abel) insisting that Susan marry him. Then, quite impulsively, he insists they marry tonight and move across the country to DC. However, when he sees that Susan has three other men who adore her, he decides to invite them all to meet so he can learn more about them...and his bride to be. Each, in turn, tells their story. The first is Susan's ex-husband, Roger (George Brent) and the other two are guys who fell for her once she and Roger were no more (Don Defore and Dennis O'Keefe). Then, when the film ends, Susan must choose one of these guys...or none (as back then choosing two or three or all four was DEFINITELY not an option).
The story was pretty weak and Fontaine neither convincing nor giving one of her better performances. Overall, this clearly has time- passer written all over it. Not a bad film....just not all that good a film. -
Walter Abel is getting married to Joan Fontaine, so he wants to learn more about her from her exes, in "The Affairs of Susan." She was married to George Brent and Don Defore, and engaged to Dennis O'Keefe. They all tell their story of meeting her and the personality of Susan they knew and loved. When I started the film, it felt a little forced. But the film's entertainment really starts with George Brent's flashback, as he was her first husband. Their chemistry is great and they make for a sweet couple, but of course their relationship sours and Susan loses her unpretentiousness, resulting in their divorce, thus leading to the others' tales. All the actors are well cast and their stories are so engrossing, but it's all about Susan, and Joan Fontaine gives a great and relatively restrained performance as Susan, who goes from guy to guy, learning who she is and what she wants out of life. I know this sounds serious, when in fact it was a delightful comedy-drama. In fact, Walter Abel was quite disturbed when he saw all of the gentlemen's pictures in her apartment. She had not told him, in the brief time they knew each other, before his proposal, about any of her past. But what happens when he learns more about his fiancée? When you add up all "The Affairs of Susan," what has any of them learned? It seems that Susan....
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AAdaSC16 September 2016Walter Abel (Richard) wants to marry Joan Fontaine (Susan). However, he is not comfortable with her past and calls her previous 3 suitors for a meeting. The main part of the film takes place in flashback as George Brent (Roger), Don Defore (Mike) and Dennis O'Keefe (Bill) recount their stories about their life with Fontaine thus far. At the end of the film, who gets the girl ?
The film isn't very interesting – it has a totally unrealistic plot and after 40 minutes, nothing had happened. I wanted to enjoy the film but things just plod along aimlessly. Fontaine finally delivers some funny lines after we hit the flashbacks but it's not enough. All the men are pretty unappealing so we have no-one to root for and just don't care about the outcome. I fell asleep during this. It's too long and boring despite Fontaine's efforts. -
lee_eisenberg24 February 2018Obviously, "The Affairs of Susan" has some dated depictions of gender relations. But aside from that, it's a funny movie, with Joan Fontaine playing a woman whose fiancé (Walter Abel) finds out about her previous relationships. All her previous lovers have a story about her wacky antics. The humor is more subtle than what we're used to, but when it bubbles up, there's plenty of laughs to be had! While not the greatest comedy ever, it's still one that you're bound to enjoy. I sure did. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Story but lost to "The House on 92nd Street" (which was actually the more important movie that year).
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donrogers4222 August 2006James Agee wrote for The Nation:
I would like to be able to make "The Affairs of Susan" sound half as bad as it is, but I know when I'm licked. In this interminable film, which might be described as a Make's Progress, Joan Fontaine is photographed as Joan of Arc; the Maid looks as if she were testifying, for a handsome fee, to every nice thing the Voices told her about Lysol.
Miss Fontaine also appears as a lake-shore innocent, in trousers and a thinly knit jersey; in a series of gowns and negligees which are still more earnestly calculated to refute the canard that, if the Hays office permitted, she would be ashamed to make a clean breast of her "development" (I think the word is); and in a collection of horn-rims, tight hair, ties, and sharp tailoring which, if they suggest nothing admissibly human, may at least roughly approximate Mayor LaGuardia's mental image of "Trio".
Thihs sort of thing makes me all the angrier because Miss Fontaine has proved that she is an actress worth building a good picture around -- or even worth using in one that doesn't build around anyone.
About Dennis O'Keefe's characterization of a writer, I feel less kind. He achieves it purely by letting his hair get rather long behind the ears. In objecting to this, I am probably the only living writer who has to cast his stone through a glass house; and much as I loathe haircuts, I have been trying ever since I saw this picture to brace myself to enter a barber shop.