Affair with a Stranger

Affair with a Stranger
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Roy Rowland
Produced by	Robert Sparks
Written by	Richard Flournoy
Starring	Jean Simmons Victor Mature Mary Jo Tarola Monica Lewis Jane Darwell Dabbs Greer Olive Carey
Music by	Sam Coslow Roy Webb
Cinematography	Harry J. Wild
Edited by	George Amy
Distributed by	RKO Pictures
Release dates	June 20, 1953 (1953-06-20) (US)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Affair with a Stranger is a 1953 American comedy-drama starring Jean Simmons and Victor Mature. It was directed by Roy Rowland, and was originally to be released as Kiss and Run.

The film centres on the rumoured marital troubles of a successful playwright. As various people who came into contact with the couple reminisce about the couple's past, the story of the relationship and the budding affair that is potentially destroying it is told through a series of flashbacks.

Upon release, the film was met with lukewarm reviews, Bosley Crowther of The New York Times calling it "a virtual collection of cliches".

Plot

On a train, playwright Bill Blakeley fends off the romantic flirtations of Janet Boothe, an actress from his play. But when wife Carolyn decides not to join him, Bill makes a dinner date with Janet, who plants a story with a gossip columnist about the Blakeleys possibly heading for a divorce.

Friends and acquaintances begin recalling how the couple met. Carolyn Parker was a fashion model who bought a Toledo, Ohio newspaper each day. Bill pretended to be from Toledo as well to get to know her, only to learn that Carolyn's actually from England and has been buying the papers for a neighbor.

After their marriage, Bill's struggles to find work, combined with his gambling, force Carolyn to support them. He finally takes a job as a waiter and slips a copy of a manuscript to a customer, a producer who makes Bill's play a success.

One night, Carolyn must miss the opening of a play because she is having a baby. The child dies and she can have no more. Bill is as supportive in her hour of need as she had been in his.

Concerned that he might be vulnerable to an ambitious actress, however, Carolyn takes the next train to New York. She runs into Bill at the station and into his arms.

Cast

• Victor Mature as Bill
• Jean Simmons as Carolyn
• Monica Lewis as Janet
• Jane Darwell as Ma

External links

• Affair with a Stranger at IMDb