7.5/10
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52 user 16 critic

Love with the Proper Stranger (1963)

Unrated | | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 25 December 1963 (USA)
Angie Rossini is an innocent Italian Catholic Macy's salesgirl, who discovers she's pregnant from a fling with Rocky, a musician. Angie finds Rocky (who doesn't remember her at first) to ... See full summary »

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Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 1 win & 6 nominations. See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
Anne Hegira ...
Beetie
...
Julio Rossini
Mario Badolati ...
Elio Papasano
Penny Santon ...
Elena Karam ...
The Woman
...
Anna
...
Mrs. Columbo
E. Nick Alexander ...
Guido Rossini
...
Gina
Augusta Ciolli ...
Mrs. Papasano
...
The Priest
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Storyline

Angie Rossini is an innocent Italian Catholic Macy's salesgirl, who discovers she's pregnant from a fling with Rocky, a musician. Angie finds Rocky (who doesn't remember her at first) to tell him she's pregnant and needs a doctor for an abortion. He finds her a doctor and they work together to raise the money. Can these two strangers find love with one another before it's too late? Written by Kelly

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

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Their first meeting was casual... See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Certificate:

Unrated | See all certifications »
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Details

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Release Date:

25 December 1963 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Une certaine rencontre  »

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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Westrex Recording System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Tom Bosley. See more »

Goofs

At the musicians' meeting, Joe (the music venue booker) wears glasses in the long shot. His glasses come on and off in the close up when he talks with Rocky. See more »

Quotes

Angie Rossini: It seems very funny, putting you together with a family, somehow.
Rocky Papasano: Well, what did you think - I got hatched out of an egg?
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Hope & Gloria: Love with an Improper Stranger (1995) See more »

Soundtracks

Love with the proper stranger
by Johnny Mercer and Elmer Bernstein
Sings: Jack Jones
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

Natalie and Steve Never Better
13 May 2004 | by See all my reviews

This film has always struck me as Natalie Wood and Steve

McQueen's best work in movies. Both would go on to successes

and failures, but neither would seem as natural and as unaffected

on screen again.

The story of a good working-class Italian girl in New York who gets

pregnant by a man she hardly knows, is very strong stuff for 1963.

So is their decision to have an abortion. Roe vs. Wade was nearly

a decade in the future. Mulligan shows a very gritty, dirty, New York

which has emerged from the 50s as a crumbling relic of a city,

nowhere as clean and shiny as it is today. McQueen is a callow

young musician, not looking to settle down with anyone, let alone a

single pregnant girl, even if he is at fault.

The trip to a bad neighborhood to get the abortion is chilling, and

Wood's absolute terror is genuine here. McQueen being

reluctantly honorable is very sexy here. The rest of the film with her

facing down her overly protective Neanderthal brothers and getting

her own apartment, follows the young lovers as they try to do the

right thing. Steve's poster--"Better wed than Dead," is a sweet

coda.

I loved this movie. It struck this teenager at the time, as a very

sophisticated film. Natalie Wood is incandescently beautiful in

black and white and still the loner, McQueen's intensity is a bit

more subtle than usual. Good supporting cast. This was an era

where the final black and white movies were being made--TO KILL

A MOCKING BIRD, BIRD MAN OF ALCATRAZ, THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY, PSYCHO were the last gasp of this

medium.

Long overdue for DVD release.


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