HER LOVER'S SON-HARD CANDY FILMS
Julia Heaslet
Lover Come Back is a 1961 American Eastmancolor romantic comedy film released by Universal Pictures and directed by Delbert Mann. It stars Doris Day and Rock Hudson and is their second time working together. The supporting cast includes Tony Randall, Edie Adams, Ann B. Davis, and Donna Douglas.
The story is similar to that of Pillow Talk in that it includes mistaken identity as a key plot device. Although not as well known as Pillow Talk, the script by Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
In a New York advertising agency, Jerry Webster, a Madison Avenue ad executive, has achieved success not through hard work or intelligence but by wining and dining his clients, even setting them up on dates with attractive girls.
Jerry's equal and sworn enemy at a rival agency is Carol Templeton. Although she has never met him, Carol is disgusted by Jerry's unethical tactics and reports him to the Ad Council. Jerry avoids trouble with his usual aplomb, sending a comely chorus girl, Rebel Davis, to seduce the council members.
In exchange for her cooperation, Jerry promised Rebel a spot in commercials, so he goes ahead and arranges shoots of some featuring her for "VIP", a nonexistent product. He has no intention of allowing them to be shown, but the perplexed company president, Pete Ramsey, orders them broadcast on television.
This means Jerry must come up with a product quickly. So, he bribes a chemist, Dr. Linus Tyler, to create one. When Carol mistakes Jerry for Tyler, he pretends to be the chemist, so that in her attempt to steal the account from Jerry, she is actually wining, dining, golfing, and frolicking at the beach with him as Tyler.
Carol ultimately learns the truth. Appalled, she once more reports him to the Ad Council, this time for promoting a product that does not exist. Jerry, however, arrives at the hearing with VIP, a mint-flavored candy Dr. Tyler has just created. He provides many free samples to everyone there, including Carol.
VIP turns out to be intoxicating, each piece having the same effect as a triple martini. Its extreme effects lead to a one-night stand between Carol (who has a low tolerance for alcohol) and her bitter rival, Jerry, in a motel in Maryland, complete with a marriage license.
Slightly in advance of the film's release, as was the custom of the era, a paperback novelization of the screenplay was published by Gold Medal Books. The author was a renowned crime and western novelist Marvin H. Albert, who also made something of a cottage industry out of movie tie-ins. He was the most prolific screenplay novelizer of the late '50s through the '60s and, during that time, the preeminent specialist at light comedy. Albert also wrote the novelizations for one of Doris Day, Rock Hudson, and Tony Randall's other films together Pillow Talk (1959), and another romantic-comedy starring Doris Day, Move Over, Darling (1963).
The film received positive reviews from critics. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called the film "one of the brightest, most delightful satiric comedies since 'It Happened One Night.'"[3] Variety declared, "This is a funny, most-of-the-time engaging, smartly produced show."[4] Harrison's Reports gave the film a rating of "GOOD", adding: "It's lots of fun most of the time even though the theme of boy fights girl, boy falls in love with girl and vice versa has been done quite often and in similar detail before."[5] Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "we can testify to the frequent hilarity with which everybody concerned has infused this familiar farcical mixup, double-entendres and all."[6] Brendan Gill of The New Yorker called the film "extremely funny and therefore not to be missed,"[7] and Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post deemed it "funny and worldly from start to finish ... Blond Doris has never been more attractive or spirited and Hudson has become an adept farceur."[8] The Monthly Film Bulletin offered a less enthusiastic review, writing: "Alas, the aquarium scene is the film's high-water mark. After it, the sex comedy is transformed into slushy romance ... Occasionally Tony Randall's satirical zaniness salvages a laugh, but Rock Hudson and a subdued Doris Day, who do well enough with the wisecracks earlier, put little life into the love scenes when these usurp the narrative."[9]
Miss Mae pulls Ron Kottemann inside the Roman Chewing Candy cart through Uptown streets on May 22, 2018. The clang of the bell and the clop clop of the mule announce the cart's arrival, just as they did when Sam Cortese started the business in 1915.(Photo by Frankie Prijatel, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
Miss Mae, the Roman Candy man's current mule, has been on the job for three months. Ron Kottemann keeps her in a stable behind his Uptown home. (Photo by Frankie Prijatel, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
A mule and carriage is something you don't ordinarily see on any city's streets anymore, but New Orleans is more reluctant than most to give up her memories of things past. The Roman Candy car moves down St. Charles Avenue beside the iconic streetcar. (NOLA.com The Times-Picayune archive)
The oldest known photo of the Roman Candy man's grandfather and the cart he constructed, the same one he uses to this day. Candy cost 5 cents then and is now only $1. (Photo by Frankie Prijatel, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
Kirsten Lucia, 7, in her 'Roman Candy Man' float as the first-graders at St. Francis Xavier school on Metairie Road in Old Metairie hold a Mardi Gras parade.(Photo by Donald Stout, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune archive)
The Roman Chewing Candy cart makes its way under the lives oaks in New Orleans. 'If it gets hot, you just find a little shade,' said Ron Kottemann, who took over the more than 100-year-old business in 1971. (Photo by Ted Jackson, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune archive)
Daniel Kottemann, great-grandson of the founder of Roman Candy Chewing Candy, sells and makes taffy at the Audubon Zoo. He works with his father, Ron, who took over the family business in 1971, after his grandfather Sam Cortese died.(Photo by Frankie Prijatel, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
A photo of the Roman Candy man, Ron Kottemann, with his family outside his Uptown house, which was where Kottemann's grandfather, Sam Cortese, lived as well. (Photo by Frankie Prijatel, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
The oldest known photo of the Roman Candy man's grandfather, Sam Cortese, and the cart he constructed. The cart first hit New Orleans streets in 1915 and it is the same one that Ron Kottemann uses today. (Photo by Frankie Prijatel, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
A common sight before Hurricane Katrina, the Roman Candy wagon reappeared on St. Charles Avenue at Joseph Street. On Wednesday October 12, 2005, Ron Kottemann sells candy to Brian Tauzier on his second day of business since his return. Tauzier said he has been buying the sweet stuff since he was a kid. 'It's good to have it back,' Tauzier said. (Photo by Eliot Kamenitz, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune archive)
The Roman Candy man with his son Daniel, left, at his Uptown home. Daniel plans to continue the candy business once his father retires from it. Right now, the younger Kottemann works a second cart at the Audubon Zoo and makes candy at special events. (Photo by Frankie Prijatel, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
Ron Kottemann twists his Roman Chewing Candy on the first Saturday of the New Orleans Jazz Fest, April 26, 2014. The Kottemann's have been selling at the festival since 1973. (Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune archive)
The Roman Candy man sits on the porch of his Uptown home. He inherited the candy business from his grandfather, Sam Cortese, and now lives in the house where his grandfather once lived. (Photo by Frankie Prijatel, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
Festival goers buy Roman candy during the New Orleans Jazz Fest at the Fair Grounds on Saturday, April 28, 2018. Ron Kottemann first sold candy at the festival in 1973. (Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
Miss Mae watches from her barn on May 22, 2018, as Ron Kottemann pulls the 103-year-old Roman Chewing Candy cart in place, so mule and man can start their day. Horses and mules who pulled the cart have called this Uptown barn home for more than 100 years. (Ann Maloney, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
Ron Kottemann makes Roman candy during Jazz Fest at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans on Saturday, April 28, 2018. The candy is clear before it cools and flavors are added. (Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
The Kottemanns are among the oldest vendors at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Here, Ron Kottemann sells candy on Saturday, April 26, 2014. (Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune archive)
Miss Mae, the latest mule to pull the Roman Chewing Candy cart, shows off her long eyelashes as she is harnessed on May 22, 2018.. Miss Mae is in training to pull the 103-year-old cart through New Orleans city street. (Photo by Ann Maloney, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
Daniel Kottemann, great-grandson of the founder of Roman Candy Chewing Candy, Sam Cortese, sells and makes taffy at the Audubon Zoo. Daniel plans to take over the business when his father, Ron, retires. (Photo by Frankie Prijatel, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
A common sight before Hurricane Katrina, the Roman Candy wagon reappeared on St. Charles Avenue at Joseph Street. On Wednesday October 12, 2005, Ron Kottemann sells candy to Brian Tauzier on his second day of business. Tauzier said he has been buying the sweet stuff since he was a kid. 'It's good to have it back,' Tauzier said. (Photo by Eliot Kamenitz, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune archive)
The Roman Candy man with his son Daniel, left, and Miss Mae, the mule, at his Uptown home. Daniel plans to continue the candy business once his father retires from it. Right now, Daniel works a second cart stationed at the Audubon Zoo. (Photo by Frankie Prijatel, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune)
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