Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

tavm After seeing some scenes and knowing about this movie for years, I finally saw the entirety of this movie just now on YouTube. Natalie Wood confronts Steve McQueen at a crowded scene to tell him she's pregnant. From there, we see how each one lives and hear their feelings on the matter at hand. This was quite a fine drama about what romance is and how one defines what one feels is right about how to handle such delicate situations. There's also some funny stuff involving newcomer Tom Bosley as someone who crushes on Ms. Wood but is otherwise socially awkward around her. So on that note, I highly recommend Love with the Proper Stranger.

frankwiener I don't consider myself a huge fan of love stories, but every now and then one comes along that really works for me, and this is one of those rare occasions. While some reviewers consider the subject matter and the prevailing culture of the film to be "dated", do movies have to mirror the 21st century in order to be important, interesting, or even entertaining? I never dismissed "Casablanca" as "dated" because it happened to take place in 1941, a time when even this old geezer didn't yet exist. Now, why would I do that?This month's tcm star of the month being Natalie Wood, viewers were treated to a fascinating introduction by Wood's former husband, Robert Wagner, and her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, who was raised by Wagner since infancy. I very much appreciated their special, personal rapport and their "inside knowledge" regarding the making of this film, as well as the two other films shown on the same night, "Splendor in the Grass" and "West Side Story".The success of this movie, brilliantly directed by Robert Mulligan ("To Kill a Mockingbird"), revolved around the highly engaging interaction between the two main actors, Natalie Wood as Macy's salesperson Angie Rossini and Steve McQueen as musician Rocky Papasano, but I don't think that their performances would have been as alluring without a very intelligent and complex script, as written by Arnold Schulman. Another vital element of the film's appeal was the outstanding supporting cast, especially Tom Bosley as an awkward, love-stricken restaurateur, Hershel Bernardi as Angie's possessive, produce pushing brother, and Edie Adams as an exotic dancer who also serves as Rocky's roommate of the moment. Portraying their characters as victims of intense personal crisis, both Wood and McQueen very credibly project an entire spectrum of feelings that convey their general state of extreme confusion and frustration. I especially appreciated how McQueen developed his character from unlikable to sympathetic in the course of the film, often employing his entire body in the process, and how Wood enabled us to share the wide range of emotions that Angie endured at a time of severe inner turmoil. The scene of her initial attempt at leaving the only home that she had ever known, for better or for worse, should "hit home" with anyone who had experienced a similar situation in their lives, including myself. Bravo Natalie. Loved the clothes hanging out of the hastily packed suitcase. Nice touch.Without fatally destroying the end of this movie for anyone who has never seen it, I was still left guessing how it would end until the very last scene. Even though the ending had its corny aspect, we need to accept the time as the dawn of the protest movement, so the final scene may have had a very different impact on an audience back in 1963 than it does in 2016. I still loved the final resolution. It actually brought tears to my hopelessly sentimental eyes. How about you?

Red-Barracuda Love With The Proper Stranger is a romantic comedy with some very serious undertones. It basically tells the story of the result of a one night stand where a girl becomes pregnant and the chap responsible is forced to deal with the situation. At the time, the themes of unmarried pregnancy and back-street abortions were pretty shocking stuff. To today's audiences, this sort of stuff is now covered without a seconds thought in daytime soap operas, so it might be difficult appreciating the daring qualities of this production. However, the scenes where Natalie Wood visit's the abortion 'clinic' are still fairly grim. It has to be said that they sit relatively uncomfortably within the movie as a whole, as the tone otherwise is mainly light-hearted with quite a bit of comic interplay between the various characters. In my opinion it doesn't damage the film however, as it gives it a little bit of an edge and helps add our sympathies to Wood's character. It does have to be said that despite the presence of Steve McQueen, this is undoubtedly Natalie Wood's film. She is the heart and soul of the production and it's hardly surprising that she was nominated for an Oscar off the back of this. Although quite how McQueen's character could forget having a liaison with someone like Natalie Wood is a little mystifying, is he insane? Anyway, generally speaking, McQueen is forced to take a back seat in this film but he is good none-the-less. The film also boasts a fine comic appearance by Happy Days regular Tom Bosley. Quite amusingly he even looked middle-aged way back then! On the down-side, the film does seem to end perhaps too abruptly, it gave the impression that the film-makers had ran out of their allocated time and just wanted to wrap things up quickly. This is, however, a very minor complaint.Love With The Proper Stranger is a quality romantic-drama with comic moments. It's a nice showcase of 60's New York with a lush score accompanying it. However, at the end of the day, I would recommend it mostly for Natalie Wood. I thought she was terrific.

john_meyer I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, so I know first-hand what movies were like back then. The subject matter for this movie and how it is treated were definitely pushing the envelope of what the studios would allow, and what audiences were ready to see at that time. Often, however, films that are daring can't quite get beyond the self-congratulatory "look at us and how daring we are being" and actually take us somewhere we haven't been before or tell an original story.The overall structure of the movie is fine, but it fails on two main points. First, at no time are we given any reason to see why the two characters are attracted to each other. While they are both gorgeous people to look at, and both well-versed in the 1950s morality that says you should do "the right thing," there is no quality, no dialog, and little action that would make one character attracted to the other. It is true that Steve McQueen's character does some amazingly kind and considerate things, but I cannot think of one thing Natalie Woods' character does that would make anyone attracted to her as a person. He rescues her, helps her, tries to understand her, defends her, and gets in a fight for her, but she never does one thing to help him, elevate him, intrigue him, or motivate him. Other than her amazing looks, we are given no reason why McQueen would fall in love with this perfect stranger.The second and bigger failing is the direction. The screenwriter provides very sparse dialog, and most scenes find the actors posing, glancing, leaning, sitting, standing, moving, and generally fidgeting their way through scenes, as if random motion is going to convey some inner feelings. This is obviously entirely the work of the director. Emotions seem to turn on and off with almost every cut, and at times it is impossible to tell what the heck is going on.This random motion turns to random Emotion in the final scene of the movie, something I guess I should have expected, but something which does not logically follow anything that comes before it, especially the immediately preceding scenes.I have seldom seen a movie with a more thoroughly botched ending.And finally, while others see chemistry between McQueen and Woods, I saw absolutely nothing. To me, chemistry is what we saw many years later between McQueen and Faye Dunaway in the original "Thomas Crown Affair." That was pure electricity. By contrast, this is barely a spark.