In addition, he was eager to work with Mulligan, then riding on the great success of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). He was also attracted to the notion of filming the offbeat love story with its frank and then risky treatment of abortion, on location in New York, where he got his start in acting.
Trained at the prestigious Actors Studio, he was always torn between box office success and a desire to be seen as an accomplished actor like the man he considered his chief rival, Paul Newman (who was actually director Robert Mulligan's first choice for Love with the Proper Stranger).
McQueen's motives for taking the role weren't strictly commercial, however. Pairing him with one of the top young actresses of the day, Natalie Wood, Love with the Proper Stranger (1963) added a new dimension to McQueen's appeal and helped propel him to the superstar status he would maintain over the next decade. Later, she sees him near the Macy's employees' entrance carrying a sign reading: "Better Wed Than Dead."Īfter the success of the Army comedy Soldier in the Rain (1963) and the blockbuster World War II adventure that made him a major star, The Great Escape (1963), Steve McQueen took on his first romantic lead in a film that would expand his audience beyond male action fans and make him just as popular with female audiences. Shortly thereafter, a possible reconciliation with Rocky ends in a bitter quarrel. Though she loves him, Angie realizes that Rocky fears marriage and she decides to reconsider Colombo's proposal, for he has let it be known that Angie is expecting his child. However, when the two finally confront the reality of abortion, Rocky refuses to let Angie face the ordeal.
Having learned of the availability of a "doctor" to solve their problem, Rocky tries to raise the necessary money, then looks up Angie at her job in Macy's and takes her to meet his unsuspecting parents, who immediately like her. Unaware of her pregnancy, Angie's brothers and mother want her to marry Colombo, the shy owner of a small restaurant and also of Italian extraction. She informs him that she is pregnant and asks him to recommend a doctor, whereupon he consults his current girl friend, Barbie, a stripper, but she jealously throws him out. Rocky, a musician, is paged at his Manhattan union hall by Angie, with whom he spent a night at a summer hotel.
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