A New Kind of Love

A New Kind of Love is a 1963 American romantic comedy film written, directed, and produced by Melville Shavelson and starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Frank Sinatra sings "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" over the opening credits. Plot Steve Sherman, a womanizing American newspaper columnist, is exiled to Paris after unwittingly sleeping with his publisher's wife. On the plane, Steve meets Samantha "Sam" Blake, whom he mistakes for a man due to her tomboy appearance, and the two instantly dislike each other. A career woman, Sam works as the head buyer for a large department store in New York City, copying designs from high-end fashion houses to be recreated and sold at her store for a fraction of the cost. Accompanied by her boss Joseph "Joe" Bergner and colleague Lena O'Connor, Sam travels to Paris in order to scour couture houses and fashion shows for inspiration. During the St. Catherine's Day celebration, where young unmarried women pray for husbands, an intoxicated Sam has a vision in which St. Catherine advises her on how to attract potential men. Following a complete makeover at a beauty salon, Sam emerges donning a blonde wig, red lipstick, and glamorous clothes. Meanwhile, Lena, who is secretively in love with Joe, forlornly watches him become romantically involved with Felicienne Courbeau, the store's French agent. Steve runs into Sam at a café, but fails to recognize her, mistaking her for a high-class prostitute. Sam plays along with the charade, as a means of revenge for the way he treated her on the plane, and adopts the alias Mimi. Steve decides to interview Sam as she feeds him fabricated tales involving sexual dalliances with some of Europe's most powerful men. He then publishes her scandalous tales in his new column, which proves an instant success. As the two spend more time together, they begin to develop feelings for each other.