Lover Come Back (1961)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writers:

Stanley Shapiro (written by) &
Paul Henning (written by)

Release Date:

3 March 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

A riotous new twist in the art of gentle persuasion!

Plot:

Jerry Webster and Carol Templeton are both in the advertising business, but for different agencies....

Plot Keywords:

Advertising | Cabin | Impersonation | Aquarium | Invention

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Rock Hudson	...	Jerry Webster
Doris Day	...	Carol Templeton
Tony Randall	...	Peter 'Pete' Ramsey
Edie Adams	...	Rebel Davis
Jack Oakie	...	J. Paxton Miller
Jack Kruschen	...	Doctor Linus Tyler
Ann B. Davis	...	Millie, Carol's Secretary
Joe Flynn	...	Hadley
Howard St. John	...	Mr. John Brackett
Karen Norris	...	Kelly, Jerry's Secretary
Jack Albertson	...	Fred
Charles Watts	...	Charlie
Donna Douglas	...	Deborah, Peter's Secretary

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Germany:o.Al. | USA:Approved (certificate #19927) | UK:PG | Australia:G (original rating) | Australia:PG (cable rating) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:Btl | West Germany:16 (nf) (w)

Company:

7 Pictures

Trivia:

Jack Oakie's final movie appearance.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: The shadow of the book mike is visible on the back of Carol Templeton's office chair.

Quotes:

Jerry Webster: Your trouble is that you're still living in the shadow of your Father. You're even afraid to get rid of his old car.
Peter 'Pete' Ramsey: You don't realize how completely he dominated me ever since I was a little boy. Just once I spoke back to him. He cut a switch from a tree and gave me such a whipping, in front of this girl. It was a shattering experience.
Jerry Webster: Pete, all kids get whippings.
Peter 'Pete' Ramsey: But I was twenty five, the girl was my fiancé.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Gwine to Rune All Night

"Miss Templeton, I'm Taking You In!"

In New York's Fifth Avenue 'hive' of advertising agencies, the executives are either 'workers' or 'drones'. The former are industrious and diligent (and female), and the latter (the men) get by on wining and dining their clients. Carol Templeton is very much a worker, and she resents losing an account to Jerry Webster, the drone of all drones. One of Jerry's schemes (should that be 'scams'?) is the invention of "Vip", a non-existent commodity. He markets the new product so successfully that Vip becomes an overnight sensation. Throw in a severe case of mistaken identity, a nutty professor and a bungled seduction, and you have all the ingredients for a pleasant and well-constructed romantic comedy.

This was the second of the three Day-Hudson movies, and probably the best. Tony Randall is consistently funny as Peter Ramsey, the ineffectual company boss. Day does the humour very well, even if the main part of her duties is to pull a series of exasperated faces. There's a good split-screen graphic and a funny moose joke. Rock's woollen suit is amusing, and I liked the witty conclusion to the aquarium scene. Just one thought - why is Doris's hair so resiliently bouffant immediately after she steps out of the sea?

Everybody knows now that Rock Hudson was gay, but it goes without saying that this was far from universally acknowledged back in 1961. Is it my imagination, or does the film contain a vein of subtle "Rock-is-one-of-those" drollery? He makes a tongue in cheek speech to Doris, telling her that he can never be a real man to her. When the effeminate co-worker informs Doris that he has a lilac carpet in his apartment, she does a highly significant double-take. Rock keeps saying things like "I am not undersexed!" He tells Doris that he's taking her in - is he doing the same to the movie audience?

Finally, given that no lovers part, and indeed there ARE no lovers in the entire film, one wonders about the choice of title ...