The Other Love

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Free admission. No advance reservations. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis. The box office opens one hour before the event.

The Other Love

Year: 1947
Country: U.S.
Language: English
Runtime: 99 min.
Digital. B&W.

Based on an unpublished short story by Erich Maria Remarque, The Other Love explores the existential themes of love and death that recur throughout his novels, such as Three Comrades and Arch of Triumph. The plot concerns a concert pianist, Karen Duncan (Barbara Stanwyck), convalescing from tuberculosis in the Alps, who is tempted by a short, adventure-filled life as opposed to the sedate existence in the sanatorium that offers her a chance at a future. She must choose between two lovers: her doctor (David Niven) and an impetuous race car driver (Richard Conte). Director André de Toth, though better known for helming gutsy and tense low-budget Western and film noir projects than for high-fashion “woman’s pictures,” guides his stellar cast, as well as cinematographer Victor Milner and composer Miklós Rózsa, to deliver a moody and melodramatic gem.

An early feature from Enterprise Productions, The Other Love was released to significant fanfare with an equally large marketing pitch. The independent production company was founded as an alternative to the vertically integrated major studios, with the egalitarian hope that talent partnerships would yield larger profit participation for all involved. The rollout for The Other Love spared no expense, with months of advance print and radio advertising, extensive promotional tie-ins and a U.S. premiere aboard a DC-6 airliner. Unfortunately, Enterprise’s bloated budgets took a toll, and the studio only lasted three years until its bankruptcy — though not before releasing such classics as Body and Soul (1947), Ramrod (1947) and Force of Evil (1949).

After the premiere and preview screenings of The Other Love, the original longer ending was replaced with one deemed more palatable to American audiences for its general U.S. release. This original version, now restored, has not been seen by audiences since the 1940s.—Jillian Borders

DCP. Production: Enterprise Productions, Inc. Distribution: United Artists. Producer: David Lewis. Director: André de Toth. Screenwriters: Ladislas Fodor, Harry Brown. Based on a story by Erich Maria Remarque. Cinematographer: Victor Milner. With: Barbara Stanwyck, David Niven, Richard Conte, Gilbert Roland, Joan Lorring.

Restoration funding provided by the Century Arts Foundation. Restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive from the 35mm original nitrate picture negative, nitrate fine grain positive and original nitrate track negatives. Laboratory services by Roundabout Entertainment, Inc., Audio Mechanics, Simon Daniel Sound. Special thanks to Paramount Pictures Archive, FotoKem, Deluxe Media Audio Services.