Quel tipo di donna

Outstanding 50s love story. I saw this film about 30 years ago as part of a double feature at the Cameo Theater (now the Crowbar nightclub) on Washington Avenue and 14th Street, South Beach. Tab Hunter is at his prime. Tall, well-built, handsome, and blond; the All-American boy. Playing a paratrooper named Red, he and his Sergeant (Jack Warden in his typical outstanding performance) meet two women on a train. Sophia Loren and Barbara Nicolas are the "ladies of the night", with whom they all found love in the big city. If you like Tab Hunter, and want to see the lovely and shapely Sophia, this film is a must-see. A rainy night delight. 10 out of 10.

Did anyone notice the Tab Hunter character's casual attitude toward mild violence directed at the Sophia Loren character? Probably not, since this sort of thing was so standard in 1950s films (more so than in the 1930s or 1940s) that most people simply don't notice it. This is just one of the elements that make this film a travesty IMO.

I just watched That Kind of Woman on TCM. I'm generally not into old movies, but this one seemed very interesting and it proved to be more than that. It is definitely not your typical love story, of which I am also not usually fond. The dialogue in the script blew me away. Walter Bernstein must have taken great pains to write this screenplay. I definitely want to read the story on which it was based.

The host on TCM said that this movie never became very popular despite the fame of Sophia Loren and Tab Hunter, and I can see why. It's comment on the society of that time was probably not highly regarded by the movie critics and people of influence during that era. I, however, thoroughly enjoyed the social criticism found in the plot, and the acting was phenomenal. Jack Warden and Barbara Nichols stole the show in my opinion. I am definitely going to check out more movies by Sidney Lumet, as well as, writings by Robert Lowry. If you're the kind of person who enjoys discovering a diamond in the rough, you will love this movie.

Sophia Loren and Barbara Nichols as best buddies ? Tab Hunter and Sophia as a couple ? You have to admit it has a ring of absurdity about it and yet not only does it work, it works quite magically in this modest, extremely winning film.

From its earliest days the movie industry plucked from obscurity those blessed with good looks, thrusting them to instant stardom. Besides their physical attributes, some had an innate ability to act, others were coached and with time learned their craft, while many simply never quite got the hang of it. Sophia Loren clearly belongs to those for whom acting came as natural as did her beauty. "That Kind of Woman" was made in the period of her first English language films. By this time she had an easy command of the language and complete command as a starring screen presence.

From his earlier films it's pretty evident that Tab Hunter did not quite possess an innate acting ability, although he certainly deserves full marks for effort. However, after seven years in the business he had acquired some skills and under Sidney Lumet's direction he delivers an excellent performance. It's nicely underplayed, combining just the right balance of strength and vulnerability. He was also in the prime of his legendary handsomeness.

The success of screen romances is largely based on chemistry. From their very first scene together, there's a surprisingly genuine chemistry between Loren and Hunter which is the very core of the story.

There's wonderful support from George Sanders, Barbara Nichols, Keenan Wynn and a terrific, young Jack Warden.

All in all, a somewhat forgotten but immensely enjoyable film.

I first saw this film around 1968 when I was age sixteen, long before Tab Hunter came out of the closet. I remember the strong impression I had that he looked unnatural and phony in this part. To me he seemed robot-like, lacking passion and natural mannerisms. But most of all it was that empty doe-eyed radar stare that he locked on Sophia Loren's face in every scene with her. That would've driven me crazy on set. Hunter had zero chemistry with Loren. After the movie I said to my friends, "Nobody will ever convince me that Tab Hunter was a hot leading man or a teen heart throb in the 1950s, this guy wouldn't know what to do with Sophia Loren if he had her in bed". I contrasted his performance with that of Paul Newman in 'Hud' and 'The Hustler'; now there's great acting and natural cool, there's your leading man.

Sophia Loren disowned this film when it was released in 1959. Tab Hunter said it was his favorite film. I knew Hunter was gay long before he came out, but even Montgomery Clift and James Dean were good leading men, so it wasn't the fact that he was gay. Young Tab Hunter simply didn't have the acting skill or the natural screen talent to play the part of Red. Some people claim that he was supposed to have bad chemistry with Loren in this film, but that's just a feeble excuse. Maybe he was supposed to be inexperienced and a bit naïve, but not have bad chemistry, and he most certainly wasn't supposed to do a bad job of acting with Loren. My critique remains the same now as it did in 1968. I agree with Sophia Loren and the critics of 1959, who felt that casting Tab Hunter as Red was the primary cause of this film's failure. I think Loren's performance was outstanding, the other actors performances and the other production aspects of this film were quite good.

Although I thought Tab Hunter was poor in this film and other films of his youth, I became something of a fan of his in his later life. He did some stage acting and made some nutty films later. But I thought he grew into a fair actor and a very good author as he got older, and he became a more 'real' person. When he came out as gay, of course, he became more comfortable and much happier in life. He co-wrote a #1 best seller autobiography published in 2005. In the book he revealed that he was miserable and felt like a misfit throughout his entire youth, and felt he didn't belong in the Hollywood film star business. To me that fact was very transparent. Gay was very unacceptable then, was treated as a mental disease, and was even against the law in some states. I can't imagine the suffering that must have caused members of the gay community.