Lover Come Back (1961) - film review

Carol Templeton works for a New York advertising agency and prides herself on the honesty and professionalism with which she conducts her business.  Jerry Webster, who works for a rival firm, is quite the opposite, and is not adverse to using underhand tactics (and alcohol) to win a lucrative account.   When Jerry steals a customer from her, Carol decides to take her revenge by exposing him before a committee.  Jerry is cleared of all charges, thanks to fake testimony provided by his model, Rebel, who is rewarded with an appearance in a TV commercial advertising a non-existent product, VIP.   Believing that VIP is real, Carol decides to steal the account to market it by seducing its supposed inventor, Dr Tyler.  Unfortunately, the man she believes to be Tyler is in fact Jerry Webster...

Having made a highly successful twosome in Pillow Talk (1959), Doris Day and Rock Hudson were reunited for another sparkling and endlessly enjoyable rom-com, with cute Tony Randall once again providing additional comedy support to keep the audiences laughing.  With a gag-packed screenplay from Stanley Shapiro, brisk direction from Delbert Mann and effervescent performances from the above named stars, Lover Come Back surpasses Pillow Talk in both charm and entertainment value.  No wonder this was one of the biggest hits of its year and one of Doris Day’s best-loved films.

As well as being a delightfully witty romantic comedy, the film serves as an acerbic, well-observed satire on the morally dubious world of advertising.  Hudson has never looked more confident in a comedy role and sparks off Day as though they had worked together for years.  From their scintillating on-screen chemistry you might almost think they really did have amorous designs on each other...  Needless to say it would not be long before this dynamic duo would be back for a third romp of romantically themed mischievousness, Send Me No Flowers (1964), another slick laugh-a-minute classic.

© filmsdefrance.com 2009

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