Chance Meeting (1954) User Reviews

Good But for "the Soft Plash of Cognoscenti Being Sick in their Hats"

[barnesgene · 5/10 · 30 May 2007]

(The quote above is from a review of a concert where Robert Shaw conducted Bach's mighty B-Minor Mass, then followed it with some spirituals for encores.)

A lot of water has crashed over the dam in sexual relationships since this movie was released 53 years ago. Yes, the sexual frankness is a bit higher than we expect, about at the level of "West Side Story" (a woman in her slip sitting up in bed), but the notion that two people can simply fall in love and move mountains to maintain that love seems pretty quaint to us today. You will groan at some of the clichés the lovers spout in the process.

And speaking of "West Side Story", oh, my, there's a lot of "Romeo and Juliet" here as well. There's also a bit of "A Farewell to Arms", but I won't specify what, so's not to spoil.

Well, the film satisfied a craving in the audiences of its day, and we can watch it even today with interest, though it's not particularly compelling anymore. There's good pacing, good film-making, very plausible visuals, and a great crescendo of almost Hitchcockian excitement toward the end, but the plot also depends on some very weak twists to pull it through, I'm afraid.

I stopped the film about ten minutes from the end, and asked myself, "It appears they'll either make it, or they won't. Do I care?" And yes, I had to admit, I was invested in it at that point. I cared. And so I played it, willingly, to the end.

West End Story

[writers_reign · 7/10 · 5 April 2014]

Puffin Asquith rarely turned out a mediocre movie and arguably shot more first-rate films than any of his contemporaries, indeed, if he had made nothing other than The Browning Version in 1951 his place in the pantheon would be secure. In fact he worked with Terry Rattigan on several occasions and it was after shooting the film version of Rattigan's TV play The Final Test that he shot this modern take on Romeo and Juliet updated to the Cold War with the star-crossed lovers (Odile Versois and David Knight) respectively Russian (though this is not so much spelled out as implied) and American. It's interesting that two years later Peter Ustinov wrote a play entitled Romonoff and Juliet in which one of the lovers was unequivocally Russian, and one year after that came West Side Story which translated the same plot into Puerto Rican and American street gangs. Buffs of fifties British films will be in their element with the likes of Josef Tomelty, David Kossoff, Paul Carpenter (Canadian but a fixture, albeit a wooden one, in UK movies of the period), Joan Sims, uncredited as a switchboard operator and even Theodore Bikel, a long way from home, as the secretary to the Russian? Minister. Odile Versois, who graced several British films in the mid fifties, is suitably lovely and fragile whilst in his debut David Knight convincingly conveys the essentially decent lover. Puffin weighs in with some interesting set-ups and catches the mood of the times and all in all it's a minor charmer.

Low key and unconvincing love story

[dj_kennett · 5/10 · 16 April 2001]

This is one of the many films that have a promising synopsis and fail to really engage.

It's the story of two young lovers who meet at the ballet in London. One works in the code room at the US Embassy, the other the daughter of the Soviet ambassador. They decide that love transcends politics and run away together. They have an unconvincing escape across the channel during a violent storm and are last seen sailing away together (to where no-one is sure).

All the potential for drama and conflict between the two bitter enemies is lost and the actors themselves seem unconvinced.

East side story

[dbdumonteil · 21 March 2015]

It's a pleasure for a French to watch highly talented Odile Versois in an Asquith movie;born a Russian (Poliakov) ,this part was tailor made for her:her three sisters were/are also actresses ,the most famous of them being Marina Vlady.In France she was not often given the parts she deserved and she prematurely died in the early eighties.

This could be subtitled "Romeo and Juliet in the cold war" ;An American falling in love with a Russian ambassador's daughter in those somber years is a dead end.Both become suspects,accused of being traitors to their countries.Chased by their own compatriots ,on both side (of the iron curtain although it takes place in england),they take a rebel stand and send a message of love,hope and tolerance to the world.

This is a touching melodrama,well acted by the two principals.

All at sea

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 18 April 2021]

Probably captured the mood of the times but looking extremely dated now. This was made at the height of the Cold War,so presumably people were hoping for a raproachment. Whereas attitudes of the two countries involved would have been far more cynical.

Forbidden love

[calvertfan · 10/10 · 9 March 2002]

Trust me, it is well worth watching! 2 young people meet at the ballet and start a romance, but politically, they can not be together. He is on one side, she the other, and "there is no 3rd side". Yet they defy everyone and continue to see each other, playing a very dangerous cat and mouse game with their superiors.

The movie itself seemed either very pre-code, or very modern, with the details of their relationship and eventually the news that Anna is to have a baby; when of course she is not married to Ted!

Overall I gave it a 10. It held my interest for the entire time, it was happy, sad, heartwarming and heartbreaking, and some of the suspense would have made Hitchcock proud.

A haunting romantic drama about a love-affair between an American and the daughter of the Russian Ambassador during the Cold War.

[richardgillon · 10/10 · 19 December 2006]

The Young Lovers arrested my attention throughout. It was a very tender, but suspenseful, portrayal of love and passion between a young American man and the daughter of a Russian ambassador in London during the Cold War round about 1954. The sense of warmth and companionship in what would have otherwise been a harsh and frightening set-up is well brought out in this gripping film. The story holds one's attention and every minute advances the point of the theme. The characters including the Russian ambassador are all desirable folk which is what makes the film all the more heart-rending. Instead of hampering the progress of the sequence of events, the incidental music is very appropriately timed and adds to the moving effect of the story. The message of the film seems to be that the Cold War is a very insensitive and inhuman era in a society of innocent people who are living their lives.

I should like to obtain a copy of a DVD or video of this film: how can I obtain one?

Good Cold War Thriller

[andyrobert · 10/10 · 23 August 2021]

Billed as a romantic drama, this film starts out as a very touching, "Romeo and Juliet" style love story, with the star-crossed lovers coming from opposing sides of the Iron Curtain. It then builds up into a suspenseful, cold war thriller, finishing with a thrilling chase across England through railway stations, boatyards, and small towns, with Metropolitan Police, MI 5, CIA, and KGB agents in hot pursuit of the runaway lovers.

As other reviewers have noted, the ending seems to be quite open ended, leaving a lot to the cinema audience's imagination.

However, David Kossoff gives a strong political speech towards the end of the film when reading aloud his daughter's farewell letter, with social comments about the futility of the enmity between East and West, saying that it will one day be the downfall of both sides.

The uncredited performances read like a Who's Who of the British Cinema with actors such as: Robin Bailey, Dora Bryan, Joan Sims, Betty Marsden, the ubiquitous Sam Kydd - and am I the only one who noticed Raymond Francis in a similar role to what he played in No Hiding Place as Chief Inspector Lockhart?

Asquith's beguiling update of 'Romeo and Juliet'.

[RogerTheMovieManiac88 · 9/10 · 30 May 2013]

'The Young Lovers' is a polished, suspenseful and deeply affecting cinematic offering from Anthony Asquith that showcases the all-consuming passion that ignites between two young lovers from opposing sides of the Iron Curtain.

Anna and Ted both work in 1950's London and represent their governments. Stationed in a foreign city, they are undoubtedly somewhat lonely. One evening at a performance of 'Swan Lake', these adrift souls find solace with one another in a tenderly-realised scene. Quickly, the diplomatic limits imposed by their work matter less and less as they fall deeply in love. While they continue to meet and arouse suspicion quickly, Anna and Ted are both shown to be exemplary, hard-working representatives of their respective governments. Their diligence and their commitment to their roles makes their instant attraction and the gentle, heartfelt unfurling of their love affair all the more beautiful and exquisite to behold. As their burgeoning closeness is ever-more stymied by overbearing political suspicion, they cannot bear to be apart and venture bravely forth in an attempt to find a third way; a realm in which love can triumph over distrust and enmity. As Anna and Ted sail away, gathered protagonists from East and West come to realise somewhat the pervasive extent of their ingrained suspicions.

Asquith's egalitarian principles are again evident in this movie. Characters are presented in a level-headed, realistic and sympathetic manner. A plea for increased understanding, acceptance and trust courses through the narrative of this movie. Newcomer David Knight is good in his role of Ted but, for me, the beating heart that drives the movie on and imprints it upon one's memory is the wonderfully fragile and believable performance of Odile Versois as Anna.

The romance and suspense combine together nicely, aided by fine cinematography from Jack Asher, to create a wholly engrossing evocation of love striving against imposed and unnecessary barriers. This is a movie to make one's heart beat faster and leave one appreciative of the vitality, the beauty and the boundless yearnings of youth.