Strangers When We Meet (1960)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Richard Quine

Writers:

Evan Hunter (screenplay)
Evan Hunter (novel)

Release Date:

6 October 1960 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

"I LOVE YOU BABY, BUT MY WIFE JUST REFUSES TO UNDERSTAND!"

Plot:

Architect Larry Coe has a wife and family, but becomes embroiled in an affair with beautiful Maggie Gault...

Plot Keywords:

Neighbor | Architect | Affair | Beautiful Woman | Bus Stop

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Larry Coe
Kim Novak	...	Margaret 'Maggie' Gault
Ernie Kovacs	...	Roger Altar
Barbara Rush	...	Eve Coe
Walter Matthau	...	Felix Anders
Virginia Bruce	...	Mrs. Wagner
Kent Smith	...	Stanley Baxter
Helen Gallagher	...	Betty Anders
John Bryant	...	Ken Gault
Roberta Shore	...	Linda Harder
Nancy Kovack	...	Marcia
Carol Douglas	...	Honey Blonde
Paul Picerni	...	Arthur Gerandi
Ernest Sarracino	...	Frank Di Labbia
Harry Jackson	...	Bud Ramsey

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #19591) | South Africa:13LS | UK:12 | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

100 N. Kenter Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Bryna Productions

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~10.3 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~9.5 seconds.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in El crack II (1983)

Soundtrack:

Strangers When We Meet

Eye Opener & Good Show!

I was totally shocked when I saw this film as a kid, home sick from school. Here was one of my movie heroes, Kirk Douglas and the lovely Kim Novak at her sexiest, and they were NOT doing good things in their neighborhood. Ahhhhhhhhh... so THIS is what was happening while I was at school.

This "adult" themed soaper showed that Hollywood was beginning to change its tune when it came to dealing with issues like infidelity. Douglas plays a successful architect who starts an affair with Novak because he's, well, bored. Douglas' macho performance is tempered a bit and we really feel that he is in love with Novak. This isn't a tawdry affair, we're supposed to believe, because Douglas' performance is so strong. It isn't until late in the film do we realize that these types of affairs are incredibly damaging to all involved and that there are no heroes here.

For establishing a subtle ground-breaking subject matter, for a strong Douglas performance, for the neat cars and a really cool barbecue on the patio (hello 60s... you can just see the neighborhood gang out there, firing up the steaks, sipping on gin and tonics and watching a space shot on one of those metal portable TVs) and most of all for the gorgeous Kim Novak, this soaper has a little more depth than you'd expect.

Watch it.