The Cool Channel DVD Review: Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) Posted by J.D. Dunn on 10.19.2006
What else would a film with that title be about but divorce?
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941)
D:Alfred Hitchcock W:Norman Krasna Starring:Carole Lombard, Robert Montgomery, Gene Raymond, and Jack Carson. MPAA: NR Runtime: 95m.
The Film:
Never let it be said that Hitchcock didn't have a whimsical side. This entire film is proof. With nothing better to do while he prepared for his next thriller "Suspicion," Hitchcock agreed to do a favor for his friend Carol Lombard (he had been renting her home after her marriage to Clark Gable) and direct this light little comedy. Although he had some fun with it, it's clearly atypical Hitchcock and not really up to his standards.
Montgomery and Lombard play the title characters, a couple who are starting to experience the usual marital problems – those being that after the lust has died down, they actually have to live with one another. In fact, as the film opens, we see almost literally that point in time as Ann and David Smith wake up after a night of what one assumes is drunken, gluttonous make-up sex. Apparently, according to the staff, they do this quite often.
Ann thinks she has a "system" for marriage – no leaving after a fight unless you make up, respect each other as human beings, and a wife should conduct herself to please her husband. She also has the habit of asking him certain hypothetical questions. One morning, she asks him if he would still marry her if he had it to do all over again. He responds, truthfully, that he wouldn't want to give up the freedom, nearly causing another row.
Because of a technical, legal snafu involving the incorporation of the county where they were married, it turns out that Mr. and Mrs. Smith's marriage is not valid at all. Suddenly, David actually does have it to do all over again. When he doesn't immediately ask her to get remarried, Ann kicks him out of the house.
David spends the night at the local country club where he gets some sage advice from fellow marriage veteran Chuck Benson (comedian Jack Carson), who tells him just to ignore her and she'll beg him to come back. That doesn't work, as she immediately has several suitors. He then threatens to cut her off financially, but she gets a nice job at a department store. Quite simply, David learns, he needs her more than she needs him.
When David's straight-laced best friend Jeff (Raymond) swoops in to take Ann for himself, David has to convince her to come back to him against her better judgment.
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
One of the clever touches from screenwriter Norman Krasna is the naming of the lead characters. Of course, "Smith" is a name usually associated with people who want to get married in secret. Instead, this film turns that inside out and dissolves the marriage of two people whose marriage was open and honest.
The 411: There isn't much to say about the film other than it's mildly diverting. Hitchcock had a skillful hand at comedy, but he usually used it like garnish on a big meal, not as the meal itself. The film isn't quite manic enough to be a screwball comedy, but it does allow Montgomery some funny antics. Lombard remains one of the most beautiful women ever put on film, and she also delivers a clever performance as too-smart-for-her-own-good Ann Smith. I wouldn't say I'd recommend it over the screwball films of a Howard Hawks or Preston Sturgis, but it's a breezy film to spend a lazy afternoon with. B-
