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Features: DVD
In their second film together, Rock Hudson, Doris Day and Tony Randall light up the screen with laughter aplenty in this romantic comedy that features Day and Hudson as two Madison Avenue advertising rivals. Account executive Hudson uses unethical means of securing accounts while Day lures clients with her charm and knowledge. But when he steals a client out from under her nose, revenge propels her to infiltrate his secret "VIP" campaign in order to persuade the mystery product's scientist to switch to her advertising firm. Unbeknownst to her, the "scientist" is actually Hudson, who's enjoying his deception and her company's expense account. Escapades escalate after Hudson's usually timid employer (Randall) begins a media blitz to promote the non-existent product. Now, it's a frantic race against time as Hudson must invent something, anything, to introduce as the sought-after "VIP". Day sings two songs, including "Lover Come Back", in what The Hollywood Reporter calls a "romantic comedy with sure-fire class" and which garnered an Academy award nomination for Best Screenplay.
Editor's Note
Both a screwball comedy and a satire of the advertising business, Delbert Mann's LOVER COME BACK was the second panel in the Hudson-Day comic tryptich. Advertising account executive Carol Templeton (Doris Day) is infuriated by the ease and sleaze with which Jerry Webster (Rock Hudson), her rival at another ad outfit, attracts big accounts to his firm by plying the clients with demon rum and long-legged chorus girls. When she reports him to the Ad Council, he sends buxom Rebel Davis (Edie Adams) to charm the (all-male) council into a state of blissful inertia. To thank Rebel Davis for her work, Jerry shoots a number of commercials with her for a fictional product called VIP, not intending to use them. But when his perennially bewildered boss Peter Ramsey (Tony Randall) mistakenly airs the commercials, Jerry is forced to come up with a real product. Carol gets wind of this novelty and, determined to land the account, looks up Linus Tyler (Jack Kruschen), the scientist that Jerry hired to create VIP. Always a step ahead of the game, Jerry disguises himself as Tyler to acquaint himself with his attractive competitor. Despite the 1950s stereotypes that colored most gender comedies of the period, the deftness and wit of Hudson, Day, and Randall make this film a genuinely amusing farce.
Plot Summary
Rival Madison Avenue ad executives Jerry Webster and Carol Templeton battle it out -- in hilarious fashion -- for control of a product that doesn't even exist. In the process, the two fall in love.| Jerry comes up with the idea for a product called VIP. But before the merchandise can actually be created, his bumbling boss, Peter Ramsey, accidentally announces that VIP is already available for sale.| When Carol finds out about the new product, she desperately tries to win the account from the man who supposedly developed it. To get her off track and keep her away from the real scientist working on VIP, Webster makes believe he's the inventor. Templeton falls for his scam and attempts to convince him that she should get the new account. Meanwhile, Jerry's masquerade grows more and more complex as he also tries to seduce Carol.| Will Jerry succeed or will Carol figure out what he's up to and turn the tables on him?
| Features | Audio: English Stereo | | Theatrical Trailer | | Scene Selection | | Interactive Menus |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Universal |
| Release Date: 4/6/2004 |
| Running Time: 107 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1962 | | Catalog ID: 21214 | | UPC: 00025192121425 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Available Subtitles: French, Spanish | | Video: B&W |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1962) | | | Paul Henning, Stanley Shapiro, Nominee, Best Writing, Story And Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen |
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| | Professional Reviews | USA Today
"...This is the cream of the Doris Day-Rock Hudson-Tony Randall farces, an affectionately dated satire of Madison Avenue and sexual mores..." -- 3 out of 4 stars 04/30/1996 p.8DSight and Sound
"The tremendous Doris Day/Rock Hudson comedy LOVER COME BACK benefits from a sardonic, very cynical script by Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning..." 05/01/2000 p.66 Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 9 of 10
...one of the best. Funny, fast-moving comedy...Edie Adams stands out in fine supporting cast. - Leonard Maltin
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