Finally Saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941)
Bill Anderson
afternoon "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" was one of them. I'd put off watching it
for a couple of reasons: a) On general principles I want there always to
be some new Hitchcock film out there with potential to surprise and
delight me; and b) Having read about this one I thought I probably
wouldn't be particularly impressed. I was right about b).
It wasn't a bad movie exactly. My problem with it was that I expect
Hitchcock films to be at least a cut above ordinary, and this one didn't
make the grade. It was a romantic comedy reminiscent of "The Awful
Truth," but lacking that movie's with and charm. Sure, I half-heartedly
chuckled a few times, but only at incidental jokes, never at the main
premise, which I found tiresome.
Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard were still battling and making up
after three years of marriage when they discovered their marriage
license was invalid. As they struggled with the question of whether to
make their marriage official or go their separate ways, I just sat there
wishing they'd get on with the story. The ending was a foregone
conclusion and the semi-amusing journey to it began to seem interminable
after a while.
As we watched, my companion suggested the ending might involve the
revelation that the whole thing had been a misunderstanding and they had
been legally married all along. I think her idea might have actually
have made the conclusion more interesting, but only slightly so. She
also noticed a scar on Lombard's cheek, which I had no idea existed. I
went Googling and sure enough, the scar was the result of an auto
accident when Lombard was 19. For me, that was the most interesting
part of the movie.
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a minor Hitchcock in which the touch of the
master is little in evidence. This one could have been churned out by
any decent director.
--
Bill Anderson
I am the Mighty Favog
Bill McClain
> She
> also noticed a scar on Lombard's cheek, which I had no idea existed. I
> went Googling and sure enough, the scar was the result of an auto
> accident when Lombard was 19. For me, that was the most interesting
> part of the movie.
I've always noticed that, but thought it might be chickenpox. Gene Kelly had
a similar scar, caused by a bicycle accident according to the IMDB.
You are right it is a minor effort. I laughed at Montgomery's excitement at
the thought of sex with a woman not his wife, and Lombard's outrage at his
excitement.
-Bill
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Bill Anderson
> On 2010-01-02, Bill Anderson <billand...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> She
>> also noticed a scar on Lombard's cheek, which I had no idea existed. I
>> went Googling and sure enough, the scar was the result of an auto
>> accident when Lombard was 19. For me, that was the most interesting
>> part of the movie.
>
> I've always noticed that, but thought it might be chickenpox. Gene Kelly had
> a similar scar, caused by a bicycle accident according to the IMDB.
>
> You are right it is a minor effort. I laughed at Montgomery's excitement at
> the thought of sex with a woman not his wife, and Lombard's outrage at his
> excitement.
>
I dug out my copy of the Truffaut/Hitchcock interviews just to see what
was said about the movie. The discussion of it was very brief, and most
of what was said dealt with a joke. (Carole Lombard brought cows onto
the set because Hitchcock had been quoted as saying that "all actors are
cattle.") One Hitchcock comment though does seem to confirm my
observation that there's little evidence of the Hitchcock touch in "Mr.
and Mrs. Smith." After establishing that he'd done the film as a favor
to Carole Lombard, he said, "Since I really didn't understand the type
of people who were portrayed in the film, all I did was to photograph
the scenes as written."
Bill McClain
> After establishing that he'd done the film as a favor
> to Carole Lombard
I wouldn't have been able to say no, either.