Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)

Mike Vecchio and Susan Henderson are preparing for their upcoming wedding. However, they seem to be the only two people at the wedding that are happy. Mike's brother Richie and his wife ... See full summary »

Director:

Cy Howard

Writers:

Joseph Bologna (play), Renée Taylor (play),

Stars:

Bea Arthur, Bonnie Bedelia, Michael Brandon

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bea Arthur	...	Bea Vecchio (as Beatrice Arthur)
Bonnie Bedelia	...	Susan Henderson
Michael Brandon	...	Mike Vecchio
Richard S. Castellano	...	Frank Vecchio (as Richard Castellano)
Bob Dishy	...	Jerry (as Robert Dishy)
Harry Guardino	...	Johnny
Marian Hailey	...	Brenda
Joseph Hindy	...	Ritchie Vecchio
Anne Jackson	...	Kathy
Diane Keaton	...	Joan Vecchio
Cloris Leachman	...	Bernice Henderson
Anne Meara	...	Wilma
Gig Young	...	Hal Henderson
Anthony Holland	...	Donaldson
Bob Kaliban	...	Hotel Clerk

Storyline

Mike Vecchio and Susan Henderson are preparing for their upcoming wedding. However, they seem to be the only two people at the wedding that are happy. Mike's brother Richie and his wife Joan are going through a divorce, which is upsetting his overly devout Catholic mother Beatrice. Also, Susan's father is carrying on an affair and her sex starved older sister Wilma is going through her troubles with her husband Johnny. All this is going on while Mike's best friend Jerry is trying to bed the maid of honor, Susan's cousin Brenda.

---

Plot Keywords:

wedding | wedding date | old maid | wedding reception | father in law | 

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 August 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amantes y otros extraños

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original Broadway production of "Lovers and Other Strangers", written by actors Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna, opened on September 18, 1968, at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre and ran for seventy performances. Renée Taylor also performed in the stage play and wrote the screenplay with her husband Joseph Bologna.

---

Goofs

Near the beginning of the movie, when Gig Young and Cloris Leachman are sitting on the couch with a mirror behind them, you can see a reflection of a crew member in the mirror as he tries to move out of the shot.

---

Quotes

Richie Vecchio: Look, it's 1970, it happens to a lot of couples, there's nothing you can do about it.
Frank Vecchio: It's never happened in our family!
Bea: We don't believe in it.
Frank Vecchio: It happens to people who don't give a damn.
Bea: You think the king and queen of England would get a divorce?
Frank Vecchio: Of course not.
Bea: They don't believe in it.
Frank Vecchio: That's why they're together all these years.
Bea: They know what would happen to England if they broke up.
Frank Vecchio: Yeah, but our son believes in it.
[...]

---

Connections

References L'avventura (1960)

---

Soundtracks

"Keepin' Free"
Music by Fred Karlin
Lyrics by Robb Royer (as Robb Wilson) and Jimmy Griffin (as Arthur James)
Performed by Country Coalition

User Reviews

Holds Up So Well After 35 plus years

Classic comedy with legendary comedians (e.g. Stiller and Meara.) Imagine holding up and being topical for more than 35 years! While the superb writing as mentioned holds up fantastically, the 60's style also adds to the overall pleasure of this movie. Do you get the feeling I like this flick! Do yourself a favor and take the time to watch this when you get the opportunity. Check out the cast and see just how amazing an impact this movie had - Bea Arthur year before being cast as Maude in All in the Family (Conrad Bain in small role, to be linked as Maude's neighbor within a couple of years of the movies release.) And the casting director, was he prophetic or what, see how many appeared for the first time in a movie here, Diane Keaton of course, but how about Sly Stallone as an extra, Jerry Stiller, etc, etc.