Lover Come Back/Pillow Talk

Rock Hudson and Doris Day had one of the sweetest chemistries in the movies--as demonstrated in several light comedies, including this film's predecessor, 1959's Pillow Talk. The two similar films feature a handsome, duplicitous Hudson duping--then falling for--an earnest Day. In Lover Come Back, the two play Jerry Webster and Carol Templeton, rival advertising agents, vying for the same clients--until Jerry makes up a product, Vip, to get out of a scrape. As Madison Avenue catches Vip fever, Jerry falls deeper into the facade-and into love with Carol, who schemes to steal the nonexistent account away from him. Tony Randall plays Peter Ramsay, Webster's hapless boss. While Day and Hudson are as adorable as ever (and would continue to be in 1964's Send Me No Flowers), a standout is fellow Pillow Talk and Send Me No Flowers costar Randall. He's an effective foil--both comically and physically (as he stands next to the much taller Hudson). Their brands of humor blend charmingly: Hudson's sardonic coyness, Day's innocent sweetness, and Randall's nervous edginess. Look for a pre-Brady Bunch Ann B. Davis as Mille, Carol's loyal assistant, and a pre-Beverly Hillbillies Donna Douglas as Ramsay's secretary. --N.F. Mendoza

Pillow Talk

Jan Morrow (Doris Day) and Brad Allen (Rock Hudson) have never met, but they're sworn enemies because of one small appliance in their lives: the telephone. The two share a party line, and Jan is outraged over the amount of time Bill spends wooing women over the phone. A convenient triangle emerges when a client (Tony Randall) of Jan's--she's an interior decorator--falls in love with her and happens to be Brad's old college chum. When Brad makes the connection, he decides to try to court Jan himself, to make her more sympathetic to his phone woes. Of course, she'd never go for such a heel, so he passes himself off as Rex Stetson, a Texas rancher visiting New York. The ensuing tale, albeit predictable, is lots of fun, with some quick-witted dialogue and some clever use of split-screens for the phone calls. Thelma Ritter is hilarious as Jan's always-hung-over maid, Alma; and the pairing of Rock and Doris works beautifully, as always. --Jenny Brown