A New Kind of Love (1963)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Melville Shavelson

Writer:

Melville Shavelson (writer)

Release Date:

23 December 1963 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

The fashion industry and Paris provide the setting for a comedy surrounding the mistaken impression that Joanne Woodward is a high-priced call girl...

Plot Keywords:

Call Girl | Fashion | Paris | Journalist | Couturier

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Steve Sherman
Joanne Woodward	...	Samantha (Sam) Blake / Mimi
Thelma Ritter	...	Leena
Eva Gabor	...	Felicienne Courbeau
George Tobias	...	Joe Bergner
Marvin Kaplan	...	Harry
Robert Clary	...	Frenchman at Restaurant
Jan Moriarty	...	Suzanne, Model with Umbrella
Joan Staley	...	Danish Stewardess
Robert F. Simon	...	Bertram Chalmers, Sherman's Boss
Maurice Chevalier	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Keith Dahle	...	Shopper (as Galen Keith Dahle)
Frank Sinatra	...	Singer behind opening credits

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Company:

Llenroc Productions

Quotes:

Samantha Blake: Hello, cherie.

Movie Connections:

References La dolce vita (1960)

Soundtrack:

You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me

"It's like eating one peanut!"

That quote, uttered by a tearful Joanne Woodward, is the perfect summation of this frothy sex comedy: It gives us a brief taste of something delicious before breaking off and leaving us cold and disappointed. Let's start at the beginning. Paul Newman is at his coolest as a slick swinger, and Joanne Woodward is appealing as the unkempt, androgynous fashion consultant everyone keeps mistaking for a man. There's a terrific opening, followed by some snappy montages and split screens. But then, about halfway through, the fun's over and the frustration begins. Suddenly everything is presented before the camera in a very bland manner as the plot becomes a ponderous romantic chase into nothingness. The characters begin spouting cliches about love and marriage. And to top it off, the film pulls that awful hooker-housewife double standard still widely in use today: If a man enjoys sex he's a playboy, if a woman enjoys sex she's a tramp. The whole thing becomes so obtrusive and heavy handed that not even the charm of Paul, Joanne, and the bubbly Eva Gabor can save it. Despite being set in red hot, exquisitely photographed Paris, A New Kind of Love's traditional, preachy, and ultimately boring sensibilities would be more at home in suburban Iowa.