Vuelve amor mío

Of the three Rock Hudson-Doris Day films my absolute favorite is Lover Come Back. It's not only a good sex comedy for Doris and Rock, but it's also a very funny satire on the advertising business of Madison Avenue.

In Pillow Talk Doris was an interior decorator and Rock a songwriter. They haven't changed their characters at all, but now are both in the advertising business.

Through an incredible combination of circumstances I couldn't possibly write Rock has created commercials for a product that doesn't exist and the doofus son of the agency he works for, Tony Randall, has ordered them given full blown airing. With Doris nipping at his heels for unethical practices, Rock and Tony hire a nutty scientist played by Jack Kruschen to come up with some kind of product for the commercials.

In the meantime Doris mistakes Rock for the scientist and now we're back to the plot of Pillow Talk as Rock decides to make some time with Doris. It gets pretty wild and wacky, especially after Kruschen invents something that has some very unforeseen consequences.

All the cast members do just fine in this very bright comedy that has me splitting a gut with laughter every time I see it. In addition to the cast members mentioned, I should also single out Edie Adams as the southern model who Hudson makes the commercials with.

Also to be singled out in what turned out to be his farewell screen performance is Jack Oakie who plays the southern client who Rock steals from Doris and gets all the wacky nonsense started.

Even given the changing mores, Lover Come Back holds up quite well and today's audience will love it as I do.

Some may consider the Rock Hudson / Doris Day comedies of the 50's and 60's to be dated, corny, and sexist to boot but I find them still to be clever and sparklingly funny, and, viewed today, wonderfully innocent. The comic chemistry between Doris Day and Rock Hudson was unique and ranks with other classic pairings such as Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. This movie will always have a nostalgic place in my memory, as it was the first 'adult' comedy I saw. I was fifteen and saw it in Radio City Music Hall with my church youth fellowship group on a trip to New York. My, how risque it seemed! Of note is Jack Oakie's delightful bit as the southern colonel in what turned out to be his last feature film ("Just a tay-uch!")

This Doris Day/Rock Hudson comedy is a vast improvement over their previous one, "Pillow Talk". At least, both stars seem to be having a relaxed time with one another, under the direction of Delbert Mann. It helps a lot that the tremendously talented writing team of Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning are around to give the movie lots of laughs with what they created.

The idea of warring advertising executives works well. Doris Day plays the uptight Carol Templeton, a girl from the provinces that manages to land a plum job in a Madison Avenue firm and lives in a fantastic Manhattan apartment that was only to be found in the movies. Carol dresses with style, but one wonders whose idea was to have her wear those hideous hats she constantly sports.

Carol's enemy turns out to be Jerry Webster, the playboy adman who steals everything from Carol's reach. As played by Rock Hudson, this is one of his best roles in comedy. Somehow he made us believe he was that man who has a knack to get what he wants, especially from the adoring women he charms.

The basic premise of the film is the constant battle between Carol and Jerry. Both stars do some of their best work as they clash over the new product that suddenly appears in ads all over the place. VIP is something nobody knows about, yet Carol wants to get the account. VIP turns out to be a product that gives its user a great feeling for only 10 cents. Sampling the product at the Ad Council, where Carol takes Jerry to be tried for his unprofessional conduct, turns out to be one of the best things that ever happened to Carol and Jerry and all the ones that have a taste of the product.

Doris Day was a beautiful comedienne. Her wholesome figure and natural charm is one of the best things this film has going for it. Rock Hudson also is excellent with his take of the lecherous Jerry. Tony Randall plays another of his neurotic characters. Edie Adams is only seen shortly, but in her few scenes, she is wonderful. Jack Oakie makes a great appearance as the Virginian with a taste for girls and booze on a business trip in Manhattan.

This is a comedy for Doris Day and Rock Hudson fans.

Classic Day/Hudson sex comedy, with the two playing battling ad execs. This one is very funny and well paced, with the usual battles and confusion between Day's gullible virgin and Hudson's charming cad.

What struck me most about this movie was exactly what an awful, awful person Hudson plays. An interesting aspect of movies of this time is how many of them feature male characters who have no morals or scruples, but even by the standards of the time Jerry Webster seems particularly odious. And for me this is what makes this movie 7-star instead of 8-star. Because the movie insists that you have some sympathy for his character. If he were not played by a charming handsome guy no one would have sympathy for him. He deserves a horse-whipping. He doesn't get one, alas, but the movie is quite funny.

I love this movie. It's one of the wittiest and funniest comedies I've ever seen, and I can watch it over and over again without getting tired. I like "old" movies, but most comedies of the 50's and 60's contain some scenes where I can't help feeling a bit embarrassed because they are so old fashioned and can't be understood or laughed at 50 years later. But this movie is still perfect, although the mentalities have changed so much. The actors (Day, Hudson and Randall) are wonderful and there are not many pictures that catch the 60's better: the furniture, the clothes... And besides, is there an actor (or man) nowadays who has so much sex-appeal as Rock Hudson without looking as if he was 15 or without having many muscles and no brain? I love the song "Lover Come Back" and the opening credits too. If you like romantic comedies with wit, spirit and great actors, watch this one!