Jan Van Rooyer, a young Dutch artist, working in a London private art gallery, cheerfully arrives at the large mews flat owned by Jacqueline Cousteau. The door is open and he goes in and has a drink and puts on a loud jazz record. Around 20 minutes later uniformed police arrive and start questioning him. Inspector Morgan arrives soon after. They have had a phone call from the flat and on investigation, Jacqueline is found dead in the bedroom – so Jan has much explaining to do. He explains the relationship in a series of vignettes. They had met in the gallery and she had asked for private lessons in his studio. She tells him she is married, but when she starts to model for him, they become lovers, despite their age difference and very different social backgrounds.
The investigation finds little evidence of his innocence but it proves that Jacqueline had more than one lover. During the police search, Jan had pocketed an envelope of cash in the flat with his name on it. The inspector finds it and the £500 inside is concluded to be a "pay off". However, Jacqueline rematerialises. The dead woman in the flat is a nightclub singer and not her. Jacqueline is married to a high ranking public figure: Lord Fenton. The police reveal the dead woman is her husband's mistress, "Jacqueline Cousteau". The wife had assumed her identity, then killed her.[6][7]
Virginia McKenna turned down the part of Lady Fenton. Losey wanted the part of the police officer to go to Peter O'Toole but it was offered to Stanley Baker, who would go on to make several films with Losey.[8]
Losey says John Davis of Rank wanted references to the corruption of the police and the class system to be removed but the filmmakers held firm and changes were not made.[2]
The film was one of Stanley Baker's favourites.[9]
The film was shot from March to May 1959. The budget comprised £40,000 put up by the German producer and £98,000 provided by Sydney Box Associates.[1]
Reception
Box office
Sydney Box has stated that he sold the film to Paramount in the US for twice what it cost, putting it in profit,[1] although another source says Box sold it for cost.[2]: 132 In the UK the film made a profit of £160,000.[2]: 133
Critical reception
The New York Times Eugene Archer found the film "absorbing", noting that "Joseph Losey proves himself a strikingly adept technician with an alert and caustic personal style."[10][11]The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Some unusually pointed and intelligent dialogue exchanges, notably in the love scenes, an adroit dovetailing of flashbacks and direct action, give a routine thriller plot a certain edge and intensity."[12]
The Manchester Guardian described the film as "a well-made and intriguing if far-fetched 'whodunnit' in which the love story, leading to the murder, is more real than cosy."[13]
Leslie Halliwell said: "Tolerable, comparatively sophisticated murder puzzle: rather glum-looking, but the plot holds the interest."[14]
The Radio Times Film Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "This usually overlooked entry in the Joseph Losey canon is actually quite a daring and sophisticated investigation into British attitudes towards sex, class and the establishment in the late 1950s. The story is pretty unremarkable but Losey's assured handling of character and location forces you to share the plight of Dutch painter Hardy Krüger."[15]
Retrospective appraisal
“[T]he efforts of Losey and his collaborators to make the story credible give the film a richness, a multi-layered complexity, and thus a range of thematic, social and political resonance…”—Critic James Leahy in Senses of Cinema (2002) [16]
Biographer Foster Hirsch reports that the film garnered “strong reviews in both England and America.” Subsequent to Chance Meeting (titled Blind Date in England) Losey’s reputation for creating “cult” movies emerged in Great Britain.[17]
Characterizing the film as “a thinking man’s thriller,” Hirsch adds: “The murder-mystery genre serves as a platform for Losey’s cynical statements about the British class system” as well as an indictment of “corruption and influence” in Scotland Yard.[18]
Film historian James Leahy in Senses of Cinema, declares: “As far as I’m concerned, Blind Date is the most underrated of Losey’s films…”[19]
