Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Norman Krasna (story)
Norman Krasna (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 January 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Lombard and Montgomery Get Hitched As They're Getting Unhitched ! [DVD USA]

Plot:

Not a typical Hitchcock movie, this is a comedy about a couple who learn that their marriage was not valid.

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | New York | Snow | Chianti | Blind Date

Cast

Carole Lombard	...	Ann
Robert Montgomery	...	David
Gene Raymond	...	Jeff
Jack Carson	...	Chuck
Philip Merivale	...	Mr. Custer
Lucile Watson	...	Mrs. Custer
William Tracy	...	Sammy
Charles Halton	...	Mr. Deever
Esther Dale	...	Mrs. Krausheimer
Emma Dunn	...	Martha
Betty Compson	...	Gertie
Patricia Farr	...	Gloria
William Edmunds	...	Proprietor Lucy's
Pamela Blake	...	Lily (as Adele Pearce)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Alexander	...	Bellhop (uncredited)
Murray Alper	...	Harold, Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Waiter Captain (uncredited)
Georgia Carroll	...	Attractive Woman in Night Club (uncredited)
Francis Compton	...	Mr. Flugle (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Nightclub Dance Extra (uncredited)
Alec Craig	...	Thomas, Beefeaters Club Clerk (uncredited)
Sayre Dearing	...	Nightclub Extra (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Cop (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Attractive Woman's Escort (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Nightclub Extra (uncredited)
Jack Gardner	...	Elevator boy (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Nightclub Extra (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man passing David Smith on Street (uncredited)
D. Johnson	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Robert Emmett Keane	...	Store Manager (uncredited)
Beatrice Maude	...	Jeff's Secretary (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Dining Taxi Driver (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Emory Parnell	...	Conway (uncredited)
James Pierce	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Ronald R. Rondell	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Ralph Sanford	...	Store checker (uncredited)
Stanley Taylor	...	Lodge Clerk (uncredited)
Russell Wade	...	Nightclub Extra (uncredited)
Allen Wood	...	Bellhop (uncredited)
Barbara Woodell	...	Sunny - David's Secretary (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Norman Krasna		(story)
Norman Krasna		(screenplay)

Produced by
Harry E. Edington	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Edward Ward

Cinematography by
Harry Stradling Sr.		(director of photography) (as Harry Stradling)

Film Editing by
William Hamilton

Art Direction by
Van Nest Polglase
Albert S. D'Agostino		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Irene		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dewey Starkey	....	assistant director

Art Department
Lawrence P. Williams	....	associate art director (as L.P. Williams)

Sound Department
John E. Tribby	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Vernon L. Walker	....	special effects

Music Department
Roy Webb	....	musical director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1941) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1957) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Fox Hills Video (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (2008) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

South Korea:12 | USA:TV-G | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:7 (1945) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6670) | UK:U (video rating) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Alfred Hitchcock]about halfway through the movie passing David Smith in front of his building.

Quotes:

Mr. Harry Deever: I guess she's changed some huh?
[refering to David's wife]
David: Well, she's... changed a little.
Mr. Harry Deever: She once chased a dogcatcher half a mile with a baseball bat.
David: Well, she hasn't changed as much as you think.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Mr. Hitchcock Meets the Smiths (2004) (V)

With the Right Expectations, It Works Well Enough

This is a good example of a movie that could be quite disappointing for anyone who had too many or too specific expectations for it. It's an Alfred Hitchcock movie, but it's not at all like any of his better-known films. The offbeat premise leads you to expect a 1930s-style screwball comedy, but instead it has a different brand of humor altogether.

The tone of the film blends together the screwball plot idea with Hitchcock's dry sense of humor and the upbeat charm of Carole Lombard. It's something of an odd combination, but it works all right as long as you don't have too many preconceptions.

Lombard and Robert Montgomery work well as "Mr. & Mrs. Smith", who find out at the beginning of the movie that they are not really married. Most of the story that follows moves at a decent pace, and although there are never any big laughs, there is some good material. It never really hits high gear, but once you get used to the pace, most of it works well enough.

It does slow down quite a bit towards the end, as things run out of steam, and this keeps the movie from being better. A grand climax in the screwball tradition might have made it a very good movie. Instead, as it is, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" is a pleasant, generally amusing, slightly above-average romantic comedy.