Evening star., 1940-08-03

makes one remember with pleasure
what charming people were these
Viennese; and recall with subse-
quent indignation what has hap
pened to them. At the time of the
great debate in December, the pic
ture will be pointed out as the one
in which Olivia de Havilland starred,
but excellent as she is, it would be
more to the point to remember it as
the first picture which Kurt Bern
hardt made in America. Bernhardt
has earned himself niche that
many better known director may
well envy, and that Warner Bros.
wisely may pad with some of their
largest and most comfortable pieces
of paper money.
For a stage show to supplement
my Love Came Back" the Earle
compounded the effervescence of the
picture by hiring Red Skeleton as
star. Bidding temporary au re-
voir to vaudeville to make pic
ture in Hollywood, the resourceful
Red makes a nice centerpiece for
Harry Anger's part of the show.
Based upon a story by Walter
Reisch, my Love Came Back" is
one of those bits of fluff that might
have been merely passable, if that
good, with lesser direction. That was
the kind Of direction which Bern
hardt avoided. He has done his pic
ture in the spirit and tempo of a
Viennese waltz, an animation ol
| those now gay, now sad SnatcheS OF
music which have power to charm
well beyond their actual merit. The
spell of it all had no difficulty in
enveloping the cast which undoubt-
edly is one of the better reasons why
it does the same to the audience.
Central figures in the archly in
nocent plot of MY Love Came Back
are a talented, spirited, beautiful
young violinist Miss de Havilland)
and an elderly manufacturer. In her
beauty and her music, the latter
catches echoes of his lost youth
The experience turns him into a
benefGctor whose intentions are sc
kindly and honorable, actually. that
his aid Is masked by complete
anonymity. The result is some
highly amusing tWo-edged situations
which get the girl into succession
of funny or poignant jams with hel
young suitor, and pop into no enc
of askance viewing on the part OF
his children. BernAardts direction
gets the ultimate value out of every
situation, assisted, of course, by. con-
vincing portraiture on the part oi
the cast and admirable handling OF
the bright dialogue.
There is never moment when
couple of sensible words on the part
Of the Highly involved characters
would not have Strengthened out the
whole mess, but it is a tribute to the
skill of director and cast that the
absence of such speech engenders
no impatience. That's a good test
of the drama of ANY unreasonable
misunderstanding and there are
several dozen Of them in my Love
Came Back"
De sHavilland admirers who saw
the sweetly melancholy Melanie in
Olivias acting ability long before
she was cast for the part. will find
further occasion for II told you SOS
in her impersonation of the sweet
high-strung young violinist of my
Love Came Back" They also will have
opportunity, if they are looking fol
it. to praise Charles Winninger as
the faun at evening, in other words
the elderly benefactor; Jeffrey Lynn
as the bewildered young suitor,
Spring Byington as the understand
ing mother of the old manufacturer
and William Orr and Ann Gillis a.
his Misunderstanding offspring.
Being Viennese in essence, "My
Love Came Back" would necessarily
have much of the gay old city's
famous music. 1t does, moreover
It's swung with capriciousness that
will delight the young without offer
ing the slightest offense on grounds
OF irreverence to the nOt-sO-yOlng
X X
A load of merriment from that
encyclopedia Of jokes and pantomime
which he has amassed in the past
three years is Skeletons contribu-
ton to the stage show which he
heads. What the jokes themselves
lack of spirit, Shelton makes UP
with his own, a special trick which