Lovers and Other Strangers
Lovers and Other Strangers is a 1970 American romantic comedy film directed by Cy Howard, adapted from the 1968 Broadway play of the same name by Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna. The cast includes Richard S. Castellano, Gig Young, Cloris Leachman, Anne Jackson, Bea Arthur, Bonnie Bedelia, Michael Brandon, Harry Guardino, Anne Meara, Bob Dishy, Marian Hailey, Joseph Hindy, and, in her film debut, Diane Keaton. Sylvester Stallone was an extra in this movie.[2]
| Lovers and Other Strangers | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Cy Howard |
| Produced by | David Susskind |
| Screenplay by | Joseph Bologna David Zelag Goodman Renée Taylor |
| Based on | Lovers and Other Strangers (play) by Joseph Bologna and Renée Taylor |
| Starring | Beatrice Arthur Richard Castellano Bonnie Bedelia Gig Young |
| Music by | Fred Karlin |
| Cinematography | Andrew Laszlo |
| Edited by | David Bretherton Sidney Katz |
Production company | ABC Pictures |
| Distributed by | Cinerama Releasing Corporation |
Release date | August 12, 1970 |
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,550,000[1] |
| Box office | $7,700,000[1] |
The film was nominated for three Academy Awards (it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song), and was one of the top box-office performers of 1970. It established Richard S. Castellano as a star (receiving an Oscar nomination for his performance) and he and Diane Keaton were cast in The Godfather (1972). The Oscar-winning song, "For All We Know", was composed by Fred Karlin, with lyrics by Bread's Jimmy Griffin and Robb Royer. It was famously covered by The Carpenters.
Lovers and Other Strangers was released by Cinerama Releasing Corporation. It was released on VHS in 1980 by Magnetic Video, but soon went out of print. The Magnetic Video release was a collector's item for many years, but the film was eventually re-released on VHS by CBS/Fox Video in the 1990s. It is now available on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment, and on Blu-ray by Kino-Lorimer.[3]
Taylor and Bologna followed up with their second screenplay the following year, Made for Each Other in which they also starred.
Plot
Mike Vecchio and Susan Henderson are engaged to be married. Mike wants to call off the wedding, arguing that it would be hypocritical for them to get married when they have already been living together for a year and a half. Mike relents on calling off the wedding after learning that Susan went to her first Halloween party dressed as a bride.
Susan's WASP-ish parents, Hal and Bernice, are experiencing their own issues, as Hal has been having an extramarital affair with Bernice's sister, Kathy, who is afraid of ending up a spinster and is using the wedding to get some commitment from Hal. Susan's older sister Wilma and her husband Johnny are parents of two children. Wilma is feeling her age and misses the passion they had at the beginning of their marriage, while Johnny is more interested in watching Spellbound on TV than giving his wife attention.
Mike's brother Richie and his wife Joan have grown "incompatible" and are considering divorce. Mike's Italian-American parents, Frank and Bea, are relentlessly trying to dissuade Richie and Joan from divorcing. Mike and Susan "fix-up" bridesmaid Brenda and usher Jerry for the wedding, and nebbishy self-imagined playboy Jerry spends most of the weekend trying to "score" with Brenda.
These stories all play out through the rehearsal, wedding, and reception.
Cast
- Beatrice Arthur as Bea Vecchio
- Bonnie Bedelia as Susan Henderson
- Michael Brandon as Mike Vecchio
- Richard Castellano as Frank Vecchio
- Robert Dishy as Jerry
- Harry Guardino as Johnny
- Marian Hailey as Brenda
- Joseph Hindy as Ritchie Vecchio
- Anne Jackson as Kathy
- Diane Keaton as Joan Vecchio
- Cloris Leachman as Bernice Henderson
- Anne Meara as Wilma
- Gig Young as Hal Henderson
- Anthony Holland as Donaldson
- Bob Kaliban as Hotel Clerk
- Amy Stiller as Flower Girl / Carol
- Charlotte Jones as Johnny's Mother
- Morton Marshall as Father Gregory
- Conrad Bain as Priest in Confessional (uncredited)
- Connie Mason as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
- Jerry Stiller as Jim (uncredited)
- Sylvester Stallone as Groomsman (uncredited)[2]
Release
Home media
The vinyl LP soundtrack of the film was released by ABC Records in 1971, catalogue #ABCS 0C 15.[4] It has not been released on compact disc. The film was released by MGM on DVD on July 6, 2004 in full-screen format. The film was released on Blu-ray by KL Studio Classics on March 19, 2019 in anamorphic format with an HD master from a 4K scan of the original camera negative, and includes an audio commentary by film historian Lee Gambin.[5] The aspect ratio for the Blu-ray is 1.85.1 (i.e., the screen dimensions of the original film).[6]
Reception
Box office
The film was popular at the box office, earning $7.7 million in gross rentals in North America. It recorded an overall profit of $790,000.[1]
Critical response
The film received positive reviews.
Accolades
- Nominee Best Supporting Actor – Academy Awards (Richard S. Castellano)
- Nominee Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy Awards (Joseph Bologna, David Zelag Goodman, Renee Taylor)
- Winner Best Original Song (For All We Know) – Academy Awards (Fred Karlin, Robb Royer, Jimmy Griffin)
Footnotes
- "ABC's 5 Years of Film Production Profits & Losses", Variety, 31 May 1973, pg 3.
- http://www.stallonezone.com/main/1970/10/sly-scores.html
- https://www.amazon.com/Lovers-Other-Strangers-Blu-ray-Arthur/dp/B07LDNGRSX Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- https://www.discogs.com/Fred-Karlin-Lovers-And-Other-Strangers/release/7035438 Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- https://www.amazon.com/Lovers-Other-Strangers-Gig-Young/dp/B00020X87U Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Lovers-and-Other-Strangers-Blu-ray/133415/ Retrieved 3 September 2019.