It Comes Up Love

"It Comes Up Love" was a change of pace for actress/singer Gloria Jean, who was cast in several fast-paced "hep-cat" movies ("What's Cookin?", "Get Hep to Love", and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", Mr. Big", and "Moonlight in Vermont") during the same time period. Unlike those movies, which moved along at often frantic speeds, this movie is very slow-paced---so much so that it tends to drag its feet at times.

While the story is interesting (briefly, a New York man is sought after by his secretary and a socialite, while simultaneously trying to deal with two daughters, one of whom falls in love with his secretary's nephew), if a bit contrived, and the acting is excellent, the movie just doesn't gel in places. The opening 10 minutes hems and haws, while the ending comes about suddenly without much preparation. It doesn't make a lot of sense, and while that was acceptable for the faster-paced hep-cat movies, it doesn't go over well with a movie that depends more on its storyline.

As said, the acting was excellent (check out Mary Lou Harrington as the younger sister) and in fact was one of Gloria Jean's better efforts in that department. The music was also well-done, with Jean singing three songs: "Love's Old Sweet Song", "What the Rose Said", and "Say Si Si". Some of the "Jivin' Jacks and Jills" can be seen at the ball, and The Guadalajara Trio makes an appearance with Leon Belasco and his orchestra. Sadly, Donald O'Connor isn't given much to do in the entertainment department: he barely picks up his feet in one dance with Jean and isn't really given a chance to display any of his many talents.

Overall, this is a decent enough movie, and it appears to be an effort by Universal to appeal to both young and old alike (which it only met modest success with). I don't recall seeing this movie listed on television in the past 30 years, and it's hard to find on the internet, but if you want a copy of it, you can get one from Gloria Jean's website. While IMDb policy forbids the posting of URL's, you can find Gloria's website by using your favorite search engine and the quoted query "Gloria Jean Schoonover".