Une certaine rencontre

Very satisfying movie that involves us completely in the conflicted relationship of the leads, played beautifully by McQueen and Wood (evidently Paul Newman was originally slated for the part). We find ourselves really rooting for them to get together. Sounds like a soap-opera "chick flick", but the story is sufficiently gritty and has enough comic touches to appeal to the guys, too. B&W works well to emphasize the New York atmosphere of the flick, with its many locale shots. The ethnic Italian ethos is well-captured, too. And to top it off is a wonderful score by Elmer Bernstein, whose music veers awfully close to sounding like that other Bernstein (and that's not a criticism!). I don't know why we don't see this one more often; thank you American Movie Classics.

This film has always struck me as Natalie Wood and Steve

McQueen's best work in movies. Both would go on to successes

and failures, but neither would seem as natural and as unaffected

on screen again.

The story of a good working-class Italian girl in New York who gets

pregnant by a man she hardly knows, is very strong stuff for 1963.

So is their decision to have an abortion. Roe vs. Wade was nearly

a decade in the future. Mulligan shows a very gritty, dirty, New York

which has emerged from the 50s as a crumbling relic of a city,

nowhere as clean and shiny as it is today. McQueen is a callow

young musician, not looking to settle down with anyone, let alone a

single pregnant girl, even if he is at fault.

The trip to a bad neighborhood to get the abortion is chilling, and

Wood's absolute terror is genuine here. McQueen being

reluctantly honorable is very sexy here. The rest of the film with her

facing down her overly protective Neanderthal brothers and getting

her own apartment, follows the young lovers as they try to do the

right thing. Steve's poster--"Better wed than Dead," is a sweet

coda.

I loved this movie. It struck this teenager at the time, as a very

sophisticated film. Natalie Wood is incandescently beautiful in

black and white and still the loner, McQueen's intensity is a bit

more subtle than usual. Good supporting cast. This was an era

where the final black and white movies were being made--TO KILL

A MOCKING BIRD, BIRD MAN OF ALCATRAZ, THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY, PSYCHO were the last gasp of this

medium.

Long overdue for DVD release.

Watched out of necessity rather than choice (due to limitations inherent in my DVD recorder's system), I really did not expect to be bowled over by this one – not least because I had been underwhelmed by the subsequent collaboration between director Mulligan and leading man Steve McQueen, BABY THE RAIN MUST FALL (1965), earlier this year – but I was. That said, I knew of its reputation as one of the best showcases for both McQueen and co-star Natalie Wood (she even received an Oscar nod for her work here) – and I certainly agree, going so far as to say that they were probably never better. In essence, this is MARTY (1955) for a younger and more reckless generation (though the protagonists, in this case, are anything but "dogs") – demonstrating the same feeling for the place (New York) and a particular section of its people (Italian immigrants). The narrative (accompanied by a lovely, yet sturdy, Elmer Bernstein score) basically resolves itself in a series of extended scenes set in domestic, working or urban environments – with the most unusual being the opening sequence at a ballroom-cum-employment agency where musician McQueen hustles his way to the odd engagement and, later, when he and Wood hide from her overprotective brothers inside his family's dilapidated dwelling (where Jack Jones is even briefly heard crooning the film's title tune). In this respect, plaudits must go to Arnold Schulman's exceptional Oscar-nominated script: it is no coincidence that his name atypically precedes even that of the supporting cast! Incidentally, while I included the film among my "Drama" viewing (involving, after all, the attempt to abort an unwanted pregnancy borne of a one-night stand), it features almost as much comedy – that, being just as well-observed, adds another layer to the intended realism. Wood's relationship with her possessive family is especially entertaining but also her efforts to dodge, and later withstand, gawky admirer Tom Bosley (in an impressive debut) – whose equivalent in McQueen's life is played by Edie Adams: the former, in fact, has no qualms about taking 'new' girlfriend Wood to her flat while she is away at work! Also, though the latter stages descend into repetitive confrontations between the stars, this does eventually pay off in a hilarious finale – with McQueen deciding to conform to Wood's idealized view of love (even if it means embarrassing himself in public) rather than lose her. In conclusion, I had tried to get hold of this one back in January to be included in my planned retrospective to commemorate the recently deceased Mulligan: while that attempt did not pan out at the time, I happened again upon it just this week, obviously managing now to acquire a copy of the film; for the record, I still have a couple more of the director's efforts to check out (both also delayed for some reason from that initial tribute) i.e. THE GREAT IMPOSTOR (1961) and BLOODBROTHERS (1978).

I awoke at 3:00 am last night to Love With The Proper Stranger. I hadn't seen it in probably 35 years. I adored it. When I first saw it in 1963 I was 16 and it made a terrific impression about abortion which were in the back alley stage. Today, I look at it, thankful that women don't have to do than anymore. But, mostly I think of how wonderful Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen were together.

What struck me was how "modern" it looked. I think that was partly because it was filmed in black and white. I know that might sound strange. I think part of it had to do with their clothing. Natalie looked stunning in Edith Head's costumes (wish I had that black dress with the pearls today) and Steve looked very normal in his trench coat. Backdrops of New York City looked present-day.

I must have seen it many times in the 60's since I knew lines that were coming, early this morning, before they were said by either of these great actors.

The development of this movie from a drama, into a romantic comedy was done brilliantly and very naturally. I loved the way Natalie used her eyes to speak and how Steve did the same.

My only regret is that neither of them are with us today.

I will have to see if this has come out on DVD. I'd love to have it.

My other favorite movies of hers were Splendor in the Grass (I went out and purchased Wordsworth's poetry immediately after seeing it) and Inside Daisy Clover.

I really like this film. It's exciting to watch these two wonderful talented actors working together. "Love With the Proper Stranger" is always a favorite and I'm irresistibly hooked on repeated viewing.

Natalie Wood is the feisty young working woman struggling for her chance to be independent, to live away from the family (attached Italian parents and brothers in NYC setting) and be on her own terms. Steve McQueen is the center of opposite attraction: the problem and the goal. He is a union musician who is trying to be financially independent; he also has close family ties with both endearing mother and father. Edie Adams is in a supporting role as McQueen's girl friend with an apartment to lean on. Tom Bosley is the kind and good-hearted suitor that Wood's character's family approves. It's a heart-warming, very much a 60's love story that touches on the tough subject of abortion, yet brims with humor, drama and affectionate smiles.

Shot in black and white; music by Elmer Bernstein, with the theme song sung by Jack Jones; produced by Alan J. Pakula; the film is keen and sensitively directed by Robert Mulligan. His films include the award winning 1962 "To Kill A Mockingbird"; the intriguingly haunting 1972 "The Other"; an unforgettably fun 1961 "Come September" with Gina Lollobrigida & Rock Hudson, Sandra Dee & Bobby Darin in Italy; the 1971 classic coming of age film "The Summer of '42" with lovely Jennifer O'Neill; and another poignant coming of age story from a girl's point of view in 1991 "The Man In the Moon", with Reese Witherspoon in her impressive film debut.