Love with the Proper Stranger
Love with the Proper Stranger is a 1963 American romantic comedy drama film made by Pakula-Mulligan Productions and Boardwalk Productions and released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Robert Mulligan and produced by Alan J. Pakula from a screenplay by Arnold Schulman.
| Love with the Proper Stranger | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Robert Mulligan |
| Produced by | Robert Mulligan Alan J. Pakula |
| Written by | Arnold Schulman |
| Starring | Natalie Wood Steve McQueen Edie Adams Herschel Bernardi Harvey Lembeck Tom Bosley |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
| Cinematography | Milton R. Krasner |
| Edited by | Aaron Stell |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8.5 million |
| Box office | $3,600,000 (rentals)[1] |
The film stars Natalie Wood, Steve McQueen, Edie Adams, Herschel Bernardi and Harvey Lembeck. The film also marked the screen debut of Tom Bosley and features a brief, uncredited appearance by the director's younger brother Richard Mulligan, who later became a well-known television actor.
The film's title song, written by Elmer Bernstein and Johnny Mercer, was recorded by Jack Jones.
Plot
The film tells the story of Angie Rossini (Natalie Wood), a salesclerk at Macy's department store who finds herself pregnant after a one-night stand with musician Rocky Papasano (Steve McQueen). When she tracks him down, he doesn't remember her. She wants the name of a doctor for an abortion. Meanwhile, Angie is being pressured by her older brothers, played by Herschel Bernardi and Harvey Lembeck, to marry the unappealing restaurateur Anthony (Tom Bosley).
Rocky and Angie scrape up enough money for the crude backroom abortion. But when he and Angie meet the abortionist, who turns out not to be a doctor, Rocky refuses to let her go through with the dangerous procedure. The maturity he shows in doing this brings them closer. After meeting her brothers, Rocky decides to "take his medicine" by marrying her. Angie is insulted and turns him down. Angie wants romance, with "bells and banjos".
As an act of independence, Angie moves out of her family home. She begins dating Anthony, who offers to marry her. By acting aloof, she attracts Rocky, whom she invites to dinner at her apartment. At dinner, he makes advances on her and is rejected. Angie says she does not want to make the same mistake again. They quarrel and she throws him out. The next day, Rocky waits for her outside Macy's, ringing bells and playing a banjo, and wins her heart.
Accolades
The film was nominated for five Academy Awards for:[2]
- Best Actress in a Leading Role (Natalie Wood)
- Best Art Direction-Set Decoration Black-and-White (Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson, Sam Comer, Grace Gregory)
- Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Milton R. Krasner)
- Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (Edith Head)
- Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen (Arnold Schulman).
The film was also nominated for two Golden Globes Awards for Steve McQueen and Natalie Wood in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories.
Also, the film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated[3]
References
- "Big Rental Pictures of 1964", Variety, 6 January 1965, pg 39.
- "NY Times: Love with the Proper Stranger". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-12-25.
- "AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-19.