Uriah43
This movie takes place in Madison Avenue with a hard-working advertising executive named "Carol Templeton" (Doris Day) trying to land a valuable account. Unfortunately, despite her hard work the account is taken by a rival named "Jerry Webster" (Rock Hudson) who works for a another firm and uses methods that are questionable at best. Because of these unseemly tactics, Carol initiates a formal legal complaint to have Jerry Webster's advertising credentials revoked. Naturally, this worries both Jerry and his boss, "Peter Ramsey" (Tony Randall) and in order to get out of this mess Jerry cleverly invents an advertising scheme for a non-existent product called "VIP" for which the lead witness for the prosecution named "Rebel Davis" (Edie Adams) becomes the main star. However, this doesn't deter Carol in her attempts to reveal the truth and because of this the falsehoods become much larger and more personal than initially intended. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a nice little comedy which contains some good humor here and there along with some decent acting by all of those just mentioned. To be totally fair, however, it is rather dated and as a result it may not appeal to all viewers. In any case, I enjoyed this movie for the most part and have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.
museumofdave
Criticizing this particular romantic comedy is like saying something bad about The Sound of Music. It simply isn't done! The enduring truth of this particular romantic comedy lies in it's dead-on reflection of the dinosaur social and sexual attitudes of it's time--not what was actually happening on the streets and in America's bedrooms (as Victorian sexual mores were finally collapsing in the sixties)--but what older white men in power were hoping would happen, instead--that women, after making a little noise, would behave, settle for nice clothes and a well-appointed apartment, and settle down, and shut up. The film clearly demonstrates that the only way to establish honesty in relationships was to dress up nicely and play parlor games with people's emotions.This is quintessential fluff--very well-produced fluff with two very attractive stars--but fluff nonetheless, with little wit or literate dialogue or plot surprise--after five minutes, it's easy to guess the rest, is it not? Are there any surprises or are there any memorable lines? I am a great fan of vintage films and indeed of Doris Day (she's amazing in the Ruth Etting biopic, Love Me Or Leave Me, or in Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much) and wanted to enjoy this one, but found it far too synthetic to add up to much, except as a fascinating artifact of a time we hope is gone forever, even in the movies.
Spikeopath
Lover Come Back is directed by Delbert Mann and written by Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning. It stars Doris Day, Rock Hudson and Tony Randall. Music is by Frank De Vol and Eastman colour cinematography by Arthur E. Arling. Plot finds Day and Hudson as rival advertisement executives who work for rival companies. Though having never met, both have had enough dealings with each other from afar to have formed less than favourable opinions of each other. When a chance meeting occurs, a case of mistaken identity sees Hudson's Lothario pretend to be a meek and virginal doctor type; which provides interesting results.If it isn't broke, don't fix it. After Pillow Talk, the first and hugely popular pairing of Doris Day and Rock Hudson, Lover Come Back follows a similar filmic trajectory. Pillow Talk's formula is a template well worth following, what is arguably surprising is that this is every bit the first film's equal. There's a bit of satire in the Oscar Nominated screenplay, as plot takes in the world of advertising, but mostly this is about great gags, both visually and orally, and the thrill of watching three lead performers expertly making the material work. The chemistry of the performers is set in stone, the colour appealing and director Mann keeps it brisk. Yes it goes exactly where you think it's going, but to be honest if it didn't end the way it did I would have put my foot through the TV! With purple faces, beards, sly sexual eggings, alcoholic candy and a horny moose! What's not to like here? A delightfully fun and engaging comedy. 8/10
TheLittleSongbird
I am a big fan of Doris Day, and Lover Come Back is no exception. It is stylish, with the beautiful production values, lovely music and sophisticated direction. It is witty, with a great story and a funny script, I have to admit those anti-advertising jokes are still amusing. And it is beautifully performed. Rock Hudson is immensely likable and charming and Doris Day hasn't lost her warmth. They are well supported by Tony Randall(in another of his better performances), Edie Adams and Jack Kruschen. My only real criticism is the ending really, I know it is all to do with taste but I do find the ending rather tasteless. Overall though, it is a delight of a film. 9/10 Bethany Cox
AD
