Mr. And Mrs. Smith (1941) All dedicated film buffs and Hitchcock fans of course know we're not kidding with the subtitle of this post......
Yes, indeed, the Master Of Suspense really and truly directed one genuine, bona fide fluffy romantic comedy with not a single gun, knife or dead body anywhere in sight....
If you believe all the legends surrounding this oddball item, Hitchcock was talked into it by its star Carole Lombard, who sadly perished in a plane crash at the height of her young career, only a year after this film's release.
Lombard, a born comedienne, famously pranked the director for his "actors are cattle" remark by bringing cows on the set with the names of the film's actors hanging on the pens. (And enjoyed even more fun at Hitchcock's expense by taking over direction of his signature cameo and demanding multiple takes....)
So did any of these jolly hijinks make the film itself any funnier?
It depends on your affection (or lack thereof) for this particular genre of romantic comedy that flourished on Broadway and in films throughout the 1930's and into the 40's...
These projects involved witty, upperclass big city sophisticates, always dressed to the nines, lobbing witty ripostes at each other as if competing in a verbal version of ping pong.
Our sparkling, dashing couple here, the Smiths (Lombard and Robert Montgomery) are quite the precious, too-cute-for-the-room pair. The film opens with them holed up in their luxurious apartment for over 6 days.....because they swore that after any argument, they'd never leave their abode until they finally kissed and make up.
Cause, when you're a rich and pretty movie character, you can do that.
But wait! Here comes a curveball out of nowhere for the lovebirds......the town they got married in fell afoul of some complicated gerrymandering, rendering all marriages performed there as null and void....non existent.
The Smiths find themselves suddenly, as Gwyneth Paltrow would put it, uncoupled. Lombard takes huge umbrage at the situation, accusing Montgomery of wanting to pursue the bachelor freedom he secretly dreamed of all along. Montgomery, furious at her for harboring such a thought, sets out to win her back while still trying to make her even crazier than she's making him.
As you might imagine, none of this resembles anything close to normal human behavior, Hitchcock, exhibiting no real interest or connection to this material or these characters, followed the script to the letter like a journeyman for hire.
But he gets no help from the screenplay here. We can't remember a single laugh-worthy line in any of the dialogue, which forces the actors into frantic yelling or just making funny faces at each other.
We did smile more than a few times though at Gene Raymond, stuck in the thankless role of a would-be suitor of Lombard's, thanks to her newly unmarried status. He gets a chance to do some nifty physical shtick after Lombard plies him with enough booze to render him close to comatose.
Nothing much else to say here......as an example of its genre, the film stays stubbornly forgettable. And anyone who'd check this out hoping to spot traditional Hitchcock flourishes....well, don't hold your breath waiting to see any. The Master functioned as nothing but a clock puncher on this one. He left it all up to the script and the actors.......and neither component does better than okay.
For film historians primarily and Hitchcock aficionados will want to take in at least one viewing. One's more than enough. 2 stars (**). (And consider we're being extra kind because it's Hitchcock....)
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