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

"Love Affair" (1939) Reveiw: Dunne and Boyer shine in a romance film that doesn't feel old hat

Love Affair , starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer, is truly one of the quintessential romance films of the 1930's. It has been remade twice, most notably as An Affair To Remember in 1957, by the same director, Leo McCarey (That version starred Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr). The story follows a famous French playboy and painter Michel Marnet as he falls in love with American singer Terry McKay. They two meet shipboard and Terry is at first weary of his playboy image and does not want to have her picture taken with him. Later however at port, they visit Michel's grandmother, played by a memorable Maria Ouspenskaya, and realize they are in love with each other. Later, before they disembark the ship, they agree to meet atop the Empire State Building in 6 months if they are fiscally able to marry each other, even though they are each kept by other people (Lee Bowman and Astrid Allwyn).

What is wonderful about Love Affair is that even though it's been done before (like in Chained from 1934, starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable) it doesn't feel old hat and doesn't lag or get boring. This was the first time I had seen Dunne or Boyer, and both are completely wonderful and captivating in their roles. They have a good chemistry together as well. Dunne is an amazing actress. She was a good comedic and dramatic actress as well as an amazing vocalist. She gets to show off all three skills here. Boyer plays his role to perfection and goes through the range of emotions believably. The film never at any point seems overtly melodramatic or corny. The script is full of funny moments as all as tear jerking moments. Bowman and Allwyn as Dunne and Boyer's "others" respectively, turn in good performances, but they maybe seem understated only because of Dunne and Boyer's chemistry. Ouspenskaya is the other draw here, and she is simply wonderful and memorable in her role as Grandmother Janou.

Dunne and Boyer lovingly embrace before leaving each other.

The film also has amazing 1930's period flavor, including it's costumes and sets. Some of the sets and costumes just made me go "Wow!". In short, it is a nearly perfect and well crafted film. It will make you laugh as well as tug at your heart-strings.