Strangers When We Meet (1960)

People are voting emotionally.

Better Late Then Never

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The awarded architect Larry Coe (Kirk Douglas) lives a boring marriage with his wife Eve Coe (Barbara Rush) and their two young sons in the suburb. Larry is designing and constructing an unique house to the successful writer Roger Altar (Ernie Kovacs) on the top of a hill. Margaret 'Maggie' Gault (Kim Novak) is a sexy blond sexually neglected by her husband Ken Gault (John Bryant) that lives in the same neighborhood and they have a young son. When Larry meets Maggie at the bus stop of the school bus, he unsuccessfully hits on her. But soon they encounter each other again and they have a love affair. They fall in love with each other, but when their despicable neighbor Felix Anders (Walter Matthau) discovers their affair, they have to decide between loyalty to their families or love."Strangers When We Meet" is a timeless romance that takes place in 1960, but could be in any time. The fight between loyalty and respect to the wife and family and the desire for a sexy woman or a handsome man is eternal and part of the life. The way each part will behave is the variable in this equation of life. "Strangers When We Meet" presents a conventional and moralist commercial conclusion, but totally credible. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "O Nono Mandamento" ("The Ninth Commandment")

I echo the sentiment of the other reviewer. This is so much more than a soap opera...I caught this movie on the late show about 20 years ago and if recall correctly, was going through the end of a relationship at the time. The movie struck a chord, though frankly I'm not sure why I received it's message so deeply. This is my favorite Kirk Douglas movie by far. Kirk is not known for subtlety but he's great here.I typically judge movies by their ring of truth, and this one has it in spades.A must see...

If viewed from the morality of the period, this is actually quite a good movie. It attempted to tell a story about and comment on American family life, particularly on repressed desires and wedded relationships in the suburbs just before the "swinging 60's" exploded. Hearing Walter Matthau sum up his marital role as merely being considered "furniture in his own home" speaks volumes about what this film is about. Kim Novak is the sexy wife and mother to one family. Living down the manicured street is Kirk Douglas, the virile husband and dad in another - both living their lives against the backdrop of 1950's-60's morality. You do the math...Is it worthy of awards? No. Is the conflict entertaining? You bet! Definitely worth a look to those who like films from this era.

This might contain possible spoilers. First off, this is Kirk Douglas in one of his usual roles ( he was once quoted as saying "I've made a career of playing s.o.b's). Kim Novak is quite nice as the wife who doesn't get the total affections of her husband and falls into a relationship with a married man (Douglas). I saw this film on AMC and if you can record it please do, because this film is currently unavailable. It is one of the best films that depicted suburban 1960's Los Angelas. Walter Matthau's performance was probably the best in this film. The scene where he encounters Douglas on the patio at the party and informs him of his knowledge of the affair is really good. Then at the end when he confronts Douglas's wife (Barbara Rush) is disturbing. Matthau was alway's a great actor. The music is pretty good, Ernie Kovaks does a good job also. This is pretty much a chick flick but worth it.