MartinHafer This sort of film clearly is an example of a so-called 'Pre-Code' film--one that had story elements that clearly would not have been allowed following the enactment of the strengthened Production Code in 1934. As such, plots involving adultery, premarital sex and the like were fair game--and might be shocking to audiences today who assume that sex wasn't invented until the 1960s! "Strangers May Kiss" features a modern woman (Norma Shearer) who sees no need to marriage and carries on with two men (Robert Montgomery and Neil Hamilton)--often going on dates with BOTH at the same time. It's uncertain if the film makers were implying a ménage à trois--though it can easily be inferred. It also is one of the most cynical films when it comes to marriage and infidelity--strongly implying that conventional marriage is a sham. In this film, 'happy marriages' are those where the wife has not yet discovered that their husbands are being unfaithful!! And this is the apparent justification for Shearer's care-free lifestyle. This is a girl who clearly enjoys men (and sex) and makes no pretense about it!As far as the two boyfriends go, the casting is a bit unusual. Neil Hamilton (who usually played well-educated and erudite gentlemen) is quite the bohemian when it comes to women. He travels the world covering revolutions and the like for newspapers and has no interest in marrying Shearer--and makes this clear. Montgomery, on the other hand, is much more conventional (but a bit of a sap) and repeatedly proposed to her--and seems willing to let her have her little fling with Hamilton. It's unusual, as so often in later films Montgomery played the rogue and Hamilton the nice guy. And, Montgomery never would have played such a weak man.Eventually, Shearer makes her choice of the two men and follows Hamilton on his next assignment to rural Mexico. At first she is deliriously happy. However, her liberal-minded views on marriage are put to the test when she discovers he is already married. Considering what she's said throughout the film, this shouldn't have mattered. So how does Shearer reconcile this---does she change her attitudes to the more conventional or does she simply continue this steamy affair regardless of the consequences? Tune in and see in this interesting drama--as the answer isn't that clear until the very end.For lovers of Pre-Code films in all their sleazy glory, this film is a must-see. While it's not a great movie, it is just permeated with the sort of amoral cynicism that would shock many today and makes the movie fascinating. The bottom line is that stories like this that flaunted the moral code of the day (at least the STATED moral code) and featured in idle rich did not resonate well in middle America--though apparently city folk were more accepting of such plots. This disparity alienated many potential viewers and led to the new and rigidly enforced Code.Perhaps the moral of this movie is "be careful what you ask for...you might just get it"! That's because although the film revels in amorality, the end seems to reinforce that perhaps this sort of life isn't all it's cracked up to be--making the film not nearly as cynical as the Queen of Pre-Code films, "Red-Headed Woman"! And, for that matter, not quite as satisfying as the very final end of the film seemed all wrong.

Bucs1960 I give this film a 6 only because it contains the ever elegant Norma Shearer swanning about in those great clothes of the 1930s. The plot borders on the ludicrous......well, maybe I should say the ending is ridiculous but the rest of the film is pretty well done.Basically, it tells the story of a "modern" woman who believes that marriage is for chumps and proceeds to make a fool of herself over Neil Hamilton(!??!), while her faithful and always tipsy pal Robert Mongomery waits patiently in the wings in hopes of winning her hand. Hamilton is extremely unlikeable and after a long affair with Shearer, he deigns to tell her that he already has a wife in Paris but the marriage doesn't mean a thing. Does she care?....nooooo. But she takes up a life of "loose morality" and globe trots through most of cafe society while never forgetting her love for Hamilton. Robert Montgomery, always close by, pulls her irons out of the fire and brings her back to the United States to start over. Then, in the last few minutes of the film, the story descends to sheer melodrama and unbelievablitly. Who shows up but Hamilton, now divorced, and he and Shearer are seen walking out of the theater on their way to a happy life together. Give me a break!!! The attitude of the main protagonists toward man/woman relationships is rather hard to take in this day and age.......but with that said, it is still worth seeing this pre-Code slice of history. Nobody ever looked better on the screen than Mrs. Thalberg.

KyleFurr2 Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery made several films together and this one is not very well known. It's easily at the bottom of the films they made together like Private Lives and Riptide. This one stars off with Shearer and Montgomery as good friends and Shearer is engaged to marry Neil Hamilton. Hamilton is clearly a lowlife who doesn't even pretend to be faithful to Shearer. Montgomery knows this but Shearer won't believe it at first. Shearer then winds up going off to Mexico and then Europe where she does whatever she feels like. Hamilton finds her and tells her that he loves her and she is confused. The ending isn't very good like Leonard Maltin says in his review.

marcslope Very of its time and very tailored to its star: A love triangle that mainly allows La Shearer to wear great clothes, hog all the close-ups, emote theatrically, and win all the audience sympathy. Or most of it, because one of the two swains bidding for her is Robert Montgomery, and in the charm department he easily outclasses the competition, Neil Hamilton. The latter mistreats our Norma horribly, doesn't reveal that he's a married man until he's had his way with her (it's a pretty racy movie for its day), neglects and insults her and doesn't give her a chance to explain why she's become a loose woman (it's because he rejected her, the varmint). But she just goes on loving the rat. For an assembly-line early talkie, it features unusually snappy dialogue (John Meehan is one of the unsung heroes of MGM), and of course the Art Deco ambience is luscious. But the plot doesn't go where you want it to (i.e., this Hamilton guy just doesn't deserve the leading lady), and the 70-odd years have revealed Shearer's much-vaunted star quality to be mostly a bag of actressy tricks.