Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Amateur movie with Big budget

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

'Love with the Proper Stranger" is much more than a standard comedy-romance and drama. Using elements of these genres it explores and shows aspects of mores, culture, time and place of the past. It's a snapshot of mid-20th century America. More specifically, of city life within boroughs. And explicitly, pregnancy that results from a one-night stand. Other reviewers have noted that this was before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973.I agree with those reviewers who say that this may be Natalie Wood's finest performance. She does a superb job at Angie Rossini, going through a range of emotions and stages. Steve McQueen is Rocky Papesano, and he does very well in an atypical role. The supporting cast all give very good performances as well. Edie Adams is especially good as Barbie, and Penny Santon is very good as Mama Rossini.Judging from reviews I've read, it's clear that different people will view a twist in this plot differently. That has to do with the hero rescuing the heroine from a planned abortion. The title is interesting. "Love with the Proper Stranger" seems to say that if one picks the right person, or type of person, for an affair (even a one night stand), it will lead to love, marriage and a life together. In the case of the woman, the man will stand by her, protect her, and fall for her. In the case of the man, he will find her attractive, be drawn to her and fall for her. And, in the course of that love developing, there is no thought of destroying the baby that brought them together.A nice little subplot in this film looks at an old-fashioned idea of chivalry and decency. That is another man who loves the girl, wants to marry her and will tell his relatives that he is the father of the child. This all may seem strange in the 21st century, especially to younger people. In a society that has few taboos or restrictions on sex, and that espouses equality of gender traits, choice and tolerance – in such a society the time-honored mores of responsibility, honor, sacrifice and fidelity may seem strange indeed.This film deserved the five nominations it received for Academy Awards.

"The times, they are a'changin'." – Bob Dylan Arguably director Robert Mulligan's best film, "Love With The Proper Stranger" is a charming romantic movie about a carefree jazz musician (played by the charismatic Steve McQueen) who has a brief romantic affair with a shop-girl (played by the cute Natalie Wood) and inadvertently gets her pregnant. Rather than face her strict Italian-American family, Steve and Natalie decide to find a back street abortionist, but chicken out once the weight of what they intend to do hits them. Steve, a progressive type who sees no reason to get married, let alone limit himself to one woman, and Natalie, who sees no reason to stay with a man who doesn't adhere to her romantic and fantastical notions of true love, then part ways and go on with their lives. Of course, over the film's final hour they are slowly drawn back together and fall in love.The film's low key direction, excellent performances and lively location shooting in New York's Little Italy are top notch, but what makes the film interesting is the way it captures a mood shift in the US. This was an era of second wave feminism, contraceptives, women's liberation movements, free sex and abortion. As such, this film is filled with young people turning their backs on customs, values and family/religious codes and nervously testing the waters of the sexual revolution. By the film's end, pre WW2 romantic values and the liberative force of the 1960s, as well as issues of social norms, family obligations and personal independence, have all been reconciled. Cue the obligatory happy ending.The film was deemed sensational and risqué back in the 60s, but is pretty much status quo today. On the plus side, the film's aesthetic, which mixes fairy tale notions of romance with gritty black and white cinematography and grungy cinema verite techniques, is still pretty unique. In the following decades, cinematic feminism would take the form of "bionic women", "action heroines", chicks with "buns of steel" and leotard wearing ladies with cellulite busting super powers. Two steps forward, one step back.8.5/10 – Worth one viewing. Part of a wave of 60's gender cinema ("The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", "Shampoo" etc etc)

Love With The Proper Stranger is a romantic comedy with some very serious undertones. It basically tells the story of the result of a one night stand where a girl becomes pregnant and the chap responsible is forced to deal with the situation. At the time, the themes of unmarried pregnancy and back-street abortions were pretty shocking stuff. To today's audiences, this sort of stuff is now covered without a seconds thought in daytime soap operas, so it might be difficult appreciating the daring qualities of this production. However, the scenes where Natalie Wood visit's the abortion 'clinic' are still fairly grim. It has to be said that they sit relatively uncomfortably within the movie as a whole, as the tone otherwise is mainly light-hearted with quite a bit of comic interplay between the various characters. In my opinion it doesn't damage the film however, as it gives it a little bit of an edge and helps add our sympathies to Wood's character. It does have to be said that despite the presence of Steve McQueen, this is undoubtedly Natalie Wood's film. She is the heart and soul of the production and it's hardly surprising that she was nominated for an Oscar off the back of this. Although quite how McQueen's character could forget having a liaison with someone like Natalie Wood is a little mystifying, is he insane? Anyway, generally speaking, McQueen is forced to take a back seat in this film but he is good none-the-less. The film also boasts a fine comic appearance by Happy Days regular Tom Bosley. Quite amusingly he even looked middle-aged way back then! On the down-side, the film does seem to end perhaps too abruptly, it gave the impression that the film-makers had ran out of their allocated time and just wanted to wrap things up quickly. This is, however, a very minor complaint.Love With The Proper Stranger is a quality romantic-drama with comic moments. It's a nice showcase of 60's New York with a lush score accompanying it. However, at the end of the day, I would recommend it mostly for Natalie Wood. I thought she was terrific.

Underneath this desperately wanna-be social comedy about the wrong choices of early 60's casual sexual relationships, is a could-have-been brilliant static family drama about abortion, societal expectations & norms, and personal independence vs. family obligations. Unfortunately, every time Robert Mulligan's film heads correctly (the abortion sequence, Angela's brother's interference, the Colombo family dinner, Barbie's apartment, etc) in the direction of possible groundbreaking, uncharted drama it afterward veers OFF-COURSE into endless Natalie Wood histrionics! Less Natalie, more McQueen would have been a smart move. Especially, regarding his musical occupation and the background of how their sexual tryst landed them where they are when the story begins. The disappointing ending is SAPPY beyond words! Although, the entire film benefits from the New York location filming, but it's not terrific... regardless of Sally Field's recent selection of this film for presentation on TCM.com.