Lover Come Back (or When Lovers Meet) (1946): Lucille Ball and George Brent in a post war fluff romcom

Ball in the trailer for  1943's "Best Foot Forward" 

What many people don't know about Lucille Ball is that her career had been going for nearly 2 decades when she rose to international fame on "I Love Lucy". Ball had been climbing up the professional ladder in Hollywood since 1933, and had appeared in small roles in films like That Girl From Paris (1936), Stage Door (1937), opposite Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers, and Room Service (1938), co-starring the Marx Brothers. By 1946, Ball had appeared in more then 60 movies, and had lead roles in several including as herself in Best Foot Forward (1943), and the 1942 drama film The Big Street, costarring Henry Fonda (Ball considered The Big Street her favorite of her film career). 

Lover Come Back, which has also been known as When Lovers Meet to avoid confusion with a 1961 Doris Day-Rock Hudson comedy of the same name, is a breezy, post-war romcom, and it's plot is pure fluff. Ball stars as Kay Williams, a woman who discovers her beloved husband wasn't faithful while away as a war correspondent and reacts by planting clues that she hadn't been faithful either. This film is cute, and thinly plotted.  It is a good showcase for Ball, who also is given a great wardrobe, designed by Travis Banton and Al Teitelbaum. She was a beautiful woman and looks great in all of her outfits.  George Brent plays her husband, Bill.  Brent gets some fun moments, and has a bit of Cary Grant's comedic flair. Most of the time, Brent can be seen playing romantic lead to Bette Davis in romantic dramas such as Dark Victory and The Great Lie, so it is nice to see him in a lead role that is also a comedic one.  

Vera Zorina

Vera Zorina, who gets third billing and was a new name to me,  plays a woman who Bill had been romancing on the side, and while her acting is mediocre, her looks are stunning. There are great supporting players, especially Raymond Walburn, Carl Esmond, and William Wright as eager suitors of Kay's, and Charles Winninger and Elisabeth Risdon as Bill's fuming father and tolerant mother. Winninger got a lot of laughs out of me and I found Risdon to be amusing in her part as the long suffering wife. Louise Beavers is also a delight as Kay's jovial maid, Martha, and it is a typical role for a black actress of the time. The script is often times silly, but the story is not dull, and the film does have some fun moments for Ball's comedic chops as well as Brent's. Throughout I was smiling and giggling, and I think that was the intent of the filmmakers.

Ball and Brent in a promotional image