My Love Came Back (1940) User Reviews

Dig that swing!

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 27 November 2005]

With some great music as background, "My Love Came Back" is a very enjoyable film from Warner Brothers, starring Olivia de Havilland, Jeffrey Lynn, Jane Wyman, and Eddie Albert.

de Havilland plays a promising violinist who catches the musical ear - but mostly the eye - of a benefactor (Charles Winninger). de Havilland innocently lets him escort her to things that will further her musical education, having no idea that her new school scholarship comes directly from him. Mixups and misunderstandings result when she falls for Winninger's business manager, played by tall, handsome Jeffrey Lynn, who comes off in this as sort of an American Ray Milland. Meanwhile, her roommate, played by a vivacious, blond Jane Wyman and her fiancée, the delightful Eddie Albert, try to drag her into their swing music band. Albert and Wyman, along with S.K. Szall and Spring Byington, make up a great supporting cast.

de Havilland is a perfect sweet young thing, playing the comedy very earnestly. Her soft look is in contrast to Wyman, who's positively eye-popping as a blonde. It's hard to connect her with the same actress who would star as the deaf mute in Johnny Belinda, or for that matter, the dowager of Falcon Crest! Lynn never made it to star status, partially because of World War II interrupting his career, but he enjoyed a long one anyway, as well as a career in real estate.

One of the things that makes this film is the marvelous music, not only classical but swing. This is a movie that's well worth seeing and makes for good listening as well.

You'll Simply Have To Swing It

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 5 July 2010]

Two future Oscar winning actresses grace the cast of My Love Come Back, a pleasant lightweight comedy from Warner Brothers. It is ironic that both Olivia DeHavilland and Jane Wyman would have to leave Warner Brothers in order to get serious roles on a continuing basis. Olivia was in continual battle with Jack Warner for those parts and at this point no one was taking Jane seriously enough, her being always cast as the heroine's best friend. That this was a film originally meant for Priscilla Lane and when she proved unavailable, Jack Warner ordered DeHavilland into the film.

The film concerns a phenomenon of the time, swing bands playing swing versions of the classics. DeHavilland is a violin prodigy at a prestigious music school and is ready to be tossed out on her classic when millionaire and music buff Charles Winninger takes an interest in her case. He provides some laundered scholarship money, but when it's discovered he's doing so everyone misinterprets Winninger's motives. Not the least of which are Winninger's children Ann Gillis and William T. Orr and Jeffrey Lynn his Vice President at his music publishing business. Only wife Spring Byington keeps a cool head about her and talk about unusual casting.

Wyman and Eddie Albert are fellow music students who want to start a swing band using the classics. Right around this time Larry Clinton and Freddy Martin were doing just that and populating the Hit Parade with just such material. And of course Tommy Dorsey did an unforgettable swing version of Song Of India. The film in that sense was most topical.

Add Grant Mitchell as the director of the school and S.Z. Sakall as, what else, the old music master from the old country and you've got a really outstanding cast that lifts the material in My Love Come Back quite a bit beyond what it is. It's a good comedy, but not where a couple of actresses named DeHavilland and Wyman wanted to be at this point in their careers.

A delightful programmer

[raskimono · 7/10 · 23 March 2004]

This movie is basic definition of a programmer, a movie devoid of any ideas of its own except those that have been gleamed from other movies, and characters that are composites of characters that we have seen in other movies, stock characters so they are called. That said, the movie is delightful and it was a hit in its year of release, not a big hit for a hit none the less. Olivia de Havilland, a few years before becoming Oscar winning actress headlines this stepper. Obviously, it was to escape movies like this that Olivia sued WB and won but there is a fun to this cut-out characters. The story is that of a girl whom is a violin prodigy and has a school scholarship but is working on the side to make money to send back home to the suffering family. To make things easier, a benefactor gives money to her disguised as a scholarship. This causes people to think she is his "unknown woman". Complications arise and all is well that ends well. Note, there is a bit of whimsy flight of fancy on the part of director Curtis Bernhandt who turns Olivia and co-star Jeffrey into peris dancing on a large scale of written compositions for great classical music as they dance to the music.

A Movie Of Small Pleasures.

[tjonasgreen · 19 March 2004]

This pleasant little picture is of interest primarily as it illustrates Olivia de Havilland's development as a star at Warner Bros. after GONE WITH THE WIND. If this picture had been done at Universal a few years later, the plot about mistaken identity with a classical music background might have been perfect for Deanna Durbin. Done a few years earlier it might have made a very funny screwball comedy with Jean Arthur. As it is, the title suggests that Warners was trying to sell this as a 'women's picture' rather than a comedy, and de Havilland plays it straight and very naturally. In fact, looking far less glamorous than Jane Wyman does as her friend, Olivia looks ravishing and is completely delightful, though her touch with comedy is heavy. Frankly, this film should have been livelier and the raciness implicit in the plot is unfortunately undercut at least partly by de Havilland's earnestness in the role.

Of interest to certain viewers will be the presence of two young actors getting The Build Up, neither of whom made it as stars. Jeffrey Lynn is tall, charming and very handsome, but not a memorable screen presence. Blond and big-jawed, you may wonder why William T. Orr didn't work more, but his bio suggests he had his eye on other career prospects: he married Jack Warner's stepdaughter and had a very long career as a TV producer. In addition, handsome young George Haywood has a walk-on near the beginning, making one wonder who at Warners had such a sharp eye for male pulchritude . . .

Unassuming comedy distinguished by fun cast

[csteidler · 7/10 · 29 March 2017]

Olivia de Havilland is smart and funny as Amelia Cornell, star pupil and violinist at a prestigious music academy.

Wealthy patron Charles Winninger means well when he instructs his company's vice president (Jeffrey Lynn) to start sending de Havilland $100 scholarship checks to help her make ends meet; unfortunately his patronage looks fishy and starts a round of misunderstandings and modest deceptions that keep the plot moving but are really not too worrisome.

Along the way, de Havilland and Lynn meet and fall for each other, not surprisingly. Jeffrey Lynn never made it too big in Hollywood but he did have several featured roles right around this period, and he's actually quite good—handsome, energetic, snappy.

De Havilland's roommate Jane Wyman (also a violinist) and her boyfriend Eddie Albert (piano) are hilarious as fellow musicians hoping to form a swing band—really, the scenes featuring Wyman and Albert are the movie's funniest.

S.Z. Sakall is fun as always as the academy's orchestra conductor; Spring Byington has a fine bit as Winninger's smart wife; and William Orr and Ann Gillis are both good as suspicious siblings.

I guess it's all pretty silly….Olivia de Havilland certainly had more challenging starring roles. Still, as a light comedy the picture is completely enjoyable. Also: de Havilland delivers a great last line!

Very enjoyable film!

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 19 January 2013]

Fresh off her success in "Gone With The Wind", Olivia de Havilland breezes through this charming semi-musical/light comedy.

De Havilland plays a young violinist who shows great promise, but is having trouble making ends meet. She decides to leave her music school and perform in a swing band, but at the same time catches the eye of an older tycoon (Charles Winninger), who decides to anonymously sponsor her to continue in school. Winninger, however, is married, and while he makes a likable fool of himself, de Havilland catches the eye of his subordinate -- a young bachelor. But, there are some misunderstandings (of course!) about the intentions of De Havilland. All works out in a delightful conclusion at a dance party.

De Havilland is wonderful here. She makes the film! Winninger is always entertaining, and no less so here, although in today's world he comes off here as sort of an old letch, although considering film-making in the 1940s, innocently so. His giddiness in some of the scenes is quite charming.

I rather liked Jeffrey Lynn here as the subordinate. I was not familiar with him, but apparently he did most of his work in television beginning in the 1950s.

Whom I didn't like was Winninger's son, played by William T. Orr. Fortunately he did most of his work later, in television, behind the camera.

Eddie Albert is tolerable, but this is far from his impressive later work as a supporting character actor. Jane Wyman developed into a fine actress...but not yet! Spring Byington, as always, is a delight. Grant Mitchell, and S.Z. Sakall have capable supporting roles.

Another star here, however, is the musical score. Great waltzes at a ball, some nice swing, and some other classical music. Though not done in those days, this would have made a nice score album.

Recommended!

My Love Came Back- Maybe It shouldn't have! **

[edwagreen · 4/10 · 12 December 2006]

The best part of this film was the musical interlude where a serious band plays swing. Other than that sequence, you can forget this film.

It's 1940 and everyone is so young here. Fresh from her Oscar nomination as Melanie Hamilton in "Gone With the Wind," Olivia de Havilland plays a promising violin student who needs to make money for her indigent family. She will be forced to leave where she is studying since she is on a scholarship and the latter forbids her from giving violin lessons.

Enter the lovable Charlie Winninger as a music impresario who secretly gives additional scholarship money to her so that she can remain. When the money is funneled by way of Jeffrey Lynn, sparks fly. When the adult children of Winninger find out, they think that their father is having an affair with deHavilland. Then, they turn their attention to Lynn.

A very youthful Eddie Albert and Jane Wyman have supporting parts as players in the band who really want to swing with the swing music.

Lynn is rather droll as de Havilland's love interest. The chemistry between them never really ignites.

With the writing going somewhat awry, you'd think that the able Winninger and others could pull it through. Sweet, ever pleasant Spring Byington plays his wife but she really plays her role as having to do it under contract.

Olivia De Havilland is delightful!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 29 May 2018]

Associate producer: Wolfgang Reinhardt. Executive producer: Hal B. Wallis. In charge of production: Jack L. Warner. Copyright 20 July 1940 by Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc. A Warner Brothers-First National picture. New York opening at the Strand: 12 July 1940. Australian release: 12 September 1940. 7,805 feet. 86 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Aged tycoon attempts to sugar-daddy a young violinist.

PRINCIPAL MIRACLE: Olivia De Havilland's second film release after Gone With The Wind (the first was Raffles) provided quite a change of pace for the star which she handled surprisingly well.

COMMENT: Olivia De Havilland in a light and somewhat wacky romantic comedy? Well, here she is-and she's delightfully charming too! Admittedly, she has an amusing script to play, she's supported by some extremely competent artists led by Charles Winninger and Ann Gillis, and she's surrounded by absolutely luxurious production values that are often brilliantly co-ordinated by director Curtis Bernhardt.

The music score is a special delight.

Nice cast in pleasant lightweight comedy...

[Doylenf · 24 May 2001]

Olivia de Havilland seldom got a chance to exploit a gift for comedy during her long stay at Warner Bros., but occasionally she did and this is one of her better efforts. She's charming as a gifted violinist who has a secret sugar daddy (Charles Winninger) sponsoring her studies. Misunderstandings occur when Jeffrey Lynn and Winninger's children suspect the worst. Jane Wyman and Eddie Albert are amusing as fellow musicians and the excellent supporting cast includes Grant Mitchell, S.Z. Sakall and Spring Byington.

It's a lot of fluff done in a sprightly style with a musical montage that is done in innovative style with the two stars waltzing against a background of musical notes. Director Curtis Bernhardt said de Havilland was delightful to work with during this particular movie--but was not too happy with her attitude two years later when she played Charlotte Bronte in "Devotion". He felt she was behaving in a self-important manner. Anyway, here everything clicks--and it's nice to see her enjoying herself in a comedy role for a change.

Some comedy and music for all ages in 1940

[SimonJack · 8/10 · 30 January 2021]

"My Love Came Back" is another film that must have stretched the minds and imagination of the Warner Brothers team for a title. Youth, age, music, family, romance, and comedy are what this film is about. Considering the year, it seems a good and much more descriptive title might have been, "Music for all Ages."

This isn't a musical in the sense of revues or plays set to music. Rather, it resembles musical biography when the subject or main character is a musician - singer, song writer, composer, instrumentalist. The star here is Amelia Cornell, a gifted and outstanding violinist in the Brissac Academy of Music. Olivia de Havilland plays the role superbly in a fictional story that mixes some fine classical and swing music into something of a wacky story. It's a good one, but it involves a few subplots and genres that are centered around the musical world.

Thus, it mixes in business, family, friendship, livelihoods, and study with jealousies, suspicion, misconceptions, innuendo, romance and comedy. The humor is in the situations, and it holds this whole plot together, which otherwise would not be very good as drama. What brings this all to life and makes it such an enjoyable film is a cast of superb supporting actors and emerging stars of the day. The second female lead is Jo O'Keefe, played by Jane Wyman. She and de Havilland would go on to win Academy Awards, and they would be in one more comedy together - "Princess O'Rourke" in 1943.

The male lead isn't so well defined, although Jeffrey Lynn has first billing as Tony Baldwin. His role is okay, but Lynn never seemed to put much life or oomph into his roles. But Charles Winninger as Julius Malette and Eddie Albert as Dusty Rhodes add to the zest that Amelia and Joy provide. S.Z. Sakall is very good as Gez Payer, the academy music conductor. Spring Byington is good as Mrs. Malette in a somewhat subdued role from her normal persona. Grant Mitchell is the best known of the rest of the cast, as Dr. Kobbe. William Orr and Ann Gillis play Malette grown children, Paul and Valerie.

This is a humorous, warm and entertaining film that fans of any of its cast, especially, should enjoy.

A sweet, blithe romantic comedy unlike any other!

[caribeno · 5 August 2002]

"My Love Came Back" is the inappropriate title for this sweet, blithe romantic comedy that was unlike anything Olivia de Havilland ever did. Olivia de Havilland winningly displays fine comedy talent and really makes the movie shine beyond what was apparently a programmer film, although she is ably assisted by Jeffrey Lynn and S. Z. Sakall (beginning his most famous period, as a Warner Brothers supporting player). Eddie Albert and Jane Wyman make for believable foils for de Havilland and make an ingratiating, warm comedy team. A film beautiful to watch for its shimmering black and white cinematography, breezy yet warm score, and, once again, the radiant comedic performance of Olivia de Havilland to carry the picture.