Love with the Proper Stranger (1963)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Perhaps some viewers will be enticed by the prospect of Natalie Wood playing opposite Steve McQueen, but here McQueen plays a bit of a boob, thoroughly confused by the opposite sex. The dialogue is full of New York's idea of comedy - "Whaddya want me to do about it?" "You wanna go? Go! Ya got no reason to stay here - fuggetaboutit!" The movie meanders about in trying to find a way for McQueen to actually start caring about what happens to Wood, and we get a little tired of the slow pace in him coming to his senses. Perhaps some will find this to be 'dramatic tension', but I didn't, and I found the end of the movie to be unfulfilling, even trite.

This starts out being an extraordinary drama, and ends up being an excellent romantic comedy. Both are done well, although "Love with the Proper Stranger" might have been better off sticking to the dramatics. Natalie Wood (as Angie Rossini) and Steve McQueen (as Rocky Papasano) are an infectious team. As the film opens Ms. Wood is tracking Mr. McQueen down, to ask for help in obtaining an abortion. McQueen seems to have forgotten the dalliance with Wood (blame it on the scotch).Watch for a brief moment when McQueen looks Wood up and down, in their first on-screen scene; this is, perhaps, when McQueen recalls her, and the point at which he begins to "fall in love" with her character (as the sexual attraction had already reached culmination). McQueen's realization is long and confused; but, Wood visibly "falls in love" with McQueen while watching him interact with his parents. In this case, disposing with the initial sexual attraction has made the characters' "romance" more interesting. This is difficult to play so convincingly; and, the lead performances, along with the direction of Robert Mulligan, are award-worthy.The dramatic highlight will be obvious; the comic highlight is the scene with Wood having dinner with Tom Bosley (as Anthony Columbo)'s family. This scene works so well because it both parallels and contrasts Wood's earlier meeting with McQueen's family (when she fell in love with him). Mr. Bosley heads up a strong supporting cast. Arnold Schulman's script, and the Milton R. Krasner photography, are also outstanding. The unworthy last act is disappointing, but not damning.********* Love with the Proper Stranger (12/25/63) Robert Mulligan ~ Natalie Wood, Steve McQueen, Tom Bosley, Edie Adams

changes horses in midstream from a drama to a kind of farce...but that's not a complaint, both aspects are well-done and the change is not jarring. Mulligan's direction is simple and honest and uncluttered by gimmicks. Some observations: The young men in the film all speak with a characteristic "dees, dems and dose" style Italian-American Brooklynese, and the older generation all speak with stereotypical 1st generation Italian accents. However, Angie's accent is almost non-existent. Certainly not like Marisa Tomei's in My Cousin Vinny. Had she had a thicker accent, I think her character would have been less sympathetic...funny how those accents cause one to categorize people. And consequently, Angie comes off like the most intelligent person in the film.Another minor annoyance: if Rocky and Angie had their one-night stand in the summer (as he mentions), and the action takes place sometime in the fall (they are shivering with the cold while waiting outside in one scene)...it seems inconsistent that she would still have an itty-bitty waist (emphasized by the black dress and apron) at the end of the movie, considering she must be at least 3-4 months pregnant. I do love this movie, and I watch it whenever I see it playing.

Heartachingly stunning in this gritty urban tale of despair and regret, Natalie Wood, as usual, acts up a tsunami. With her big brown eyes beaming and searching for the gentleman who knocked her up, she ventures into a large, packed-in-like-sardines, union hall. She finds him there. It's none other than Steve McQueen. He's a musician. She informs him that she is "going to have a baby." Shame. Shame. Blunt girl. He doesn't recall their tryst. Shame again. The dumbfounded look on McQueen's mug is priceless. She marches out into a bright sunshine. He follows. She whirls around and tells him that his responsibility ends at finding her a doctor--and it's not a obstetrician. It is 1963 (the year I was born) and she, that is, they, are in a world of trouble. A nice, unmarried Italian girl, you see, should never find herself in such a pickle. Never. They pool their resources together. They come up with the cabbage--400 smackers--but are then told by a very abrupt fellow that they need another fifty. They pay his parents a visit at a boccie ball court, somewhere near the East River. The noise from the FDR Drive is deafening. He secures the needed funds and they beat a hasty retreat when Wood's brothers catch wind of their affairs and chase them from the playground and into a building he is familiar with. They lay low for a while. This section of the film shows us that they have wonderful screen chemistry together. They listen to some music on the radio. They drink a little red wine. And they begin to fall in love--they just don't realize it yet. Whew! No more plot for now. I love the director's use of natural light and sounds, especially with the scene over at the boccie court. You hear every single vehicle that lumbers by. Nothing was re-dubbed later. The two leads are perfectly cast in this romantic fable. I know I should cover the starkly grim "abortion scene." But why ruin a beautiful picture with a dose of unneeded ugliness. Did I mention that Natalie was sweet? Heartachingly so.