My Love Came Back

Two future Oscar winning actresses grace the cast of My Love Come Back, a pleasant lightweight comedy from Warner Brothers. It is ironic that both Olivia DeHavilland and Jane Wyman would have to leave Warner Brothers in order to get serious roles on a continuing basis. Olivia was in continual battle with Jack Warner for those parts and at this point no one was taking Jane seriously enough, her being always cast as the heroine's best friend. That this was a film originally meant for Priscilla Lane and when she proved unavailable, Jack Warner ordered DeHavilland into the film.

The film concerns a phenomenon of the time, swing bands playing swing versions of the classics. DeHavilland is a violin prodigy at a prestigious music school and is ready to be tossed out on her classic when millionaire and music buff Charles Winninger takes an interest in her case. He provides some laundered scholarship money, but when it's discovered he's doing so everyone misinterprets Winninger's motives. Not the least of which are Winninger's children Ann Gillis and William T. Orr and Jeffrey Lynn his Vice President at his music publishing business. Only wife Spring Byington keeps a cool head about her and talk about unusual casting.

Wyman and Eddie Albert are fellow music students who want to start a swing band using the classics. Right around this time Larry Clinton and Freddy Martin were doing just that and populating the Hit Parade with just such material. And of course Tommy Dorsey did an unforgettable swing version of Song Of India. The film in that sense was most topical.

Add Grant Mitchell as the director of the school and S.Z. Sakall as, what else, the old music master from the old country and you've got a really outstanding cast that lifts the material in My Love Come Back quite a bit beyond what it is. It's a good comedy, but not where a couple of actresses named DeHavilland and Wyman wanted to be at this point in their careers.

"My Love Came Back" is the inappropriate title for this sweet, blithe romantic comedy that was unlike anything Olivia de Havilland ever did. Olivia de Havilland winningly displays fine comedy talent and really makes the movie shine beyond what was apparently a programmer film, although she is ably assisted by Jeffrey Lynn and S. Z. Sakall (beginning his most famous period, as a Warner Brothers supporting player). Eddie Albert and Jane Wyman make for believable foils for de Havilland and make an ingratiating, warm comedy team. A film beautiful to watch for its shimmering black and white cinematography, breezy yet warm score, and, once again, the radiant comedic performance of Olivia de Havilland to carry the picture.

Amelia Cornell (Olivia de Havilland) is a gifted but always late violinist. She has to give lessons against the rules of her scholarship. She needs the money for her family. Wealthy businessman Julius Malette (Charles Winninger) is taken with her. He agrees to take over the Presidency of the Academy to help her. He assigns his right-hand man Tony Baldwin (Jeffrey Lynn) as his replacement at the company although his son Paul is terribly jealous. Amelia's friends, Dusty Rhodes (Eddie Albert) and Joy O'Keefe (Jane Wyman), introduce her to modern swing music and she decides to quit the Academy. In order to keep her, Julius gives her more money, but assigns Tony to pay for it.

This is a very sitcom kind of rom-com. It is a few white lies turning into some romantic chaos. The main thing is that Winninger is able to keep his motive pure. I would maybe keep Tony with Valerie. She has a cuter chemistry and better first scene. There is no need for Amelia to pair up with anybody. All in all, this is charming and cute little misunderstanding that isn't very threatening. It makes for fine light entertainment.

The best part of this film was the musical interlude where a serious band plays swing. Other than that sequence, you can forget this film.

It's 1940 and everyone is so young here. Fresh from her Oscar nomination as Melanie Hamilton in "Gone With the Wind," Olivia de Havilland plays a promising violin student who needs to make money for her indigent family. She will be forced to leave where she is studying since she is on a scholarship and the latter forbids her from giving violin lessons.

Enter the lovable Charlie Winninger as a music impresario who secretly gives additional scholarship money to her so that she can remain. When the money is funneled by way of Jeffrey Lynn, sparks fly. When the adult children of Winninger find out, they think that their father is having an affair with deHavilland. Then, they turn their attention to Lynn.

A very youthful Eddie Albert and Jane Wyman have supporting parts as players in the band who really want to swing with the swing music.

Lynn is rather droll as de Havilland's love interest. The chemistry between them never really ignites.

With the writing going somewhat awry, you'd think that the able Winninger and others could pull it through. Sweet, ever pleasant Spring Byington plays his wife but she really plays her role as having to do it under contract.

Olivia de Havilland is smart and funny as Amelia Cornell, star pupil and violinist at a prestigious music academy.

Wealthy patron Charles Winninger means well when he instructs his company's vice president (Jeffrey Lynn) to start sending de Havilland $100 scholarship checks to help her make ends meet; unfortunately his patronage looks fishy and starts a round of misunderstandings and modest deceptions that keep the plot moving but are really not too worrisome.

Along the way, de Havilland and Lynn meet and fall for each other, not surprisingly. Jeffrey Lynn never made it too big in Hollywood but he did have several featured roles right around this period, and he's actually quite good—handsome, energetic, snappy.

De Havilland's roommate Jane Wyman (also a violinist) and her boyfriend Eddie Albert (piano) are hilarious as fellow musicians hoping to form a swing band—really, the scenes featuring Wyman and Albert are the movie's funniest.

S.Z. Sakall is fun as always as the academy's orchestra conductor; Spring Byington has a fine bit as Winninger's smart wife; and William Orr and Ann Gillis are both good as suspicious siblings.

I guess it's all pretty silly….Olivia de Havilland certainly had more challenging starring roles. Still, as a light comedy the picture is completely enjoyable. Also: de Havilland delivers a great last line!