Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

AFFAIR WITH A STRANGER tells a familiar tale of a rags-to-riches playwright William Blakeley (Victor Mature), who falls in love with and marries Carolyn Parker (Jean Simmons). After a few years of blissfully happy marriage, their impending divorce is announce in the gossip- columns. Through a series of flashbacks we see how their affair started and blossomed, then find out more about the cause of the divorce rumors, as Blakeley has a stillborn love affair with manipulative starlet Janet Boothe (Monica Lewis). Roy Rowland's film unfolds at a brisk pace, with plenty of opportunity for comic moments from Mature himself (in a surprisingly witty role), supported by Mary Jo Tarola and Dabbs Greer as the Murrays, close friends of the Blakeleys. Simmons doesn't have to do much, but she does have one frenetically comic scene where she prepares for William's first visit, falls over a living-room rug, tears her dress and ends up nearly upsetting a freshly-prepared plate of chicken. It is only due to Ma Stanton's (Jane Darwell's) timely intervention that Carolyn eventually composes herself sufficiently to receive her would-be suitor. For anyone interested in film history, AFFAIR WITH A STRANGER offers a fascinating insight into early Fifties attitudes towards marriage, in which the woman is expected to remain faithful at all times, while men are inevitably accepted as being frail-natures; they are always liable to have extra-marital affairs. The wife must accept this, and upbraid her husband for his transgression, but never dangle the prospect of divorce in front of him. It seems as if males have the freedom to let their eyes wander, but women must remain loyal at all times, even when they are as attractive as Simmons in this film.

Having just watched this I thought I'd post a comment.A fine film, with lots of deft touches.Victor Mature is very enjoyable to watch in this.Jean Simmons is perfect for her role.And supporting the story there is a range of wonderfully talented actors who play their parts so well.It is old fashioned, sure, but that is no bad thing.Definitely worth a watch. The script is good.Highly enjoyable and very entertaining.I rate this 8 out of 10.

This is the first movie I ever saw Jean Simmons in. The movie is somewhat sentimental but still likable. I fell in love with Jean Simmons watching it. Her presence jumps off the screen and you can see the difference between a good actress and a great actress. Presence. Victor Mature is also very good in the role he plays. It is not his genre and you can see that he was wasted by not doing more of these kinds of roles. The rest of the actors in the movie do a very good job as well. I remember when I was watching the movie I really got into routing for their relationship to endure. I really liked the way the story unfolded and the way it came out with flashbacks. All in all a good movie to watch on a Sunday afternoon.

I really enjoyed this film. I have never seen a black and white movie filmed with the theme of flashbacks. the plotline is interesting and even though it is from the 50's everyone can relate. It is clearly a movie that will stand the test of time. The best thing about the movie is the way the lead actor can so eloquently portray the man who lives off a dream. The lead actress also does a great job, in my opinion she is very good and i would like to see more of her movies. This film is special because it was the first to film a child actor. That was told to me by my grandmother so I am sincerely sorry if I am wrong about the child actor thing. All in all this is a great movie and I give it 9 stars.