bkoganbing When John Drew Barrymore was making films in the 50s he opted for a more modern style than his father John Barrymore ever tried. The elder Barrymore's classical style of acting was quite passé and would never have been accepted. Sad to say that young Barrymore tried and failed to be a James Dean type rebel. For Never Love A Stranger that's especially interesting because supporting Barrymore was an actor who would become the ideal image of cool.With elements taken from Manhattan Melodrama and Little Caesar, Never Love A Stranger is an old fashioned type film that probably was an anachronism in the 50s let alone now. Young Barrymore plays a slum kid who suffers an identity crisis when he discovers his Jewish roots after having been raised in a Catholic orphanage. He goes away but comes back one mean and tough punk who becomes kingpin of the rackets, taking over from Robert Bray who gave him his start. And as it turns out his childhood friend, Steve McQueen becomes the special prosecutor with the mission of bringing Barrymore down.Steve McQueen might have made this film slightly better had he been cast in the lead. But frankly this film was a turgid mess and I doubt that would have helped.

secondtake Never Love a Stranger (1958)You might be most impressed by the early appearance of Steve McQueen, who shows a spark and intensity that makes him rise above the rest of the cast, who are really rather good in all. It says something about star power, which isn't all smoke and mirrors. You might also get a kick that the leading male (McQueen is secondary) is played by John Drew Barrymore, son of the famous John and father of the famous Drew. Sadly, this man of the generation in the middle was troubled and had a mixture of leading roles, never achieving greatness or fame.If the plot is a familiar one about two slum kids in New York growing up into opposite roles, one a thug, the other the area's district attorney (there are several of these films), there is another theme that makes the movie singular. That is the issue of being Jewish, and at times downright anti-Semitism, though handled with kid gloves. The fighting between Catholic boys and the one Jewish kid (McQueen) is standard clan rivalry, with a religious twist. But when the other character, raised in a Catholic orphanage, discovers he is actually Jewish, his first reaction is rebellion. And the movie carries this theme throughout, adding a good if forced second level to work with.I'm not sure it matters, but it's interesting, at least, that McQueen and Barrymore are both not Jewish as far as I know (McQueen in particular doesn't fit the stereotypes, but that's probably okay by itself), nor was the director, Robert Stevens the American (as opposed to the more famous Robert Stevens the Brit). Even more interesting, the book the movie draws from was written by Harold Robbins, whose parents were Jewish immigrants, but when he was a child he claimed (falsely) to have been raised in a Roman Catholic orphanage. For whatever reason, then, the theme is handled with a kind of detachment that makes it odd, and not nearly as affecting as, say, some of the European films that really attack the issue of "passing" for Goy when the Nazi rampage was on (Louis Malle's "Au revoir les enfants" possibly the best). The Barrymore character never does quite accept of address his heritage.Now to be clear, the movie lacks a directorial touch to keep it alive and pertinent. It's a decent if uninspired effort, but the exceptions will make it worth a close look for some.

BILLYBOY-10 1912: Frankie Kane is born, his mom dies, the put him a catholic orphanage. 1928: Frankie is shining shoes for crime boss Silk plus he befriends Steve McQueen (a "Jew-boy") and Julie. Suddenly the orphanage finds out Frankie is a Jew so the kick him out cause "it's the law"). Frankly, Frankie ain't too happy about being a Jew so he joins Silk running money and one day Silk gets shot up so Frankie splits town in a freight car. 1935: Frankie is back in town, bitter, angry, mad, gray around the temples..and broke..he's a bum. Silk hires him as a chauffeur in his 1942 Cadillac (yes, it's 1935...detail, details). 1938: Frankie's hot now in the organization and telling the boss Silk what to do. 1941: Frankie takes over and sets up his own empire but the Governor, mayor,police commissioner & district attorney declare him a menace to society and appoint a prosecutor to get rid of him...a bright young lawyer (gasp):Steve McQueen his old Jew pal. Lots of back & forth, plots and sub plots and more Jew stuff and gangs and Julie who loves Frankie but is Silks gal, but wants Frankie and he wants her an then the final shoot-out (actually where we came in). The end. Whatever flick. Frankie is John Drew Barrymore, son of the famed John...his daughter is Drew. He's not a good actor. Skipped genes I guess. H

writers_reign For once I am in agreement with the majority of posters. The plot may be accurately described as a cliché's cliché since it is that old chestnut about two childhood friends who take different paths until they wind up diametrically opposite one another. Having established something of a neat twist - a mother dies in childbirth and her child, with the best of intentions, is placed in a Catholic orphanage and raised in the religion; years later an accidental discovery reveals that the mother was really Jewish. Rather than exploring the moral and other dilemmas this raises the film prefers to segue into a run-of-the-mill gangster melodrama. It may be novel to see Steve McQueen bullied to such an extent that he needs to be given lessons in self defense but novels don't necessarily make good movies not even when they are written - as this one was - by Harold Robbins. For trivia buffs only.