Tonight's movie was "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" - not the 2005 action flick by that name, which resulted in Brangelina - but the unrelated original film from 1941, starring Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery. This one is a comedy, directed by - of all people - Alfred Hitchcock! If you've ever seen his TV series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", you know Hitch had a droll sense of humor, but who would've ever thought him capable of Screwball? I had heard of this earlier "Smith" film, but didn't know who directed, and just assumed it was the basis for Brad and Angie's remake, which turned out not to be a remake at all, they just borrowed the title.
Our Smiths are a happily married couple, sort of. When we meet them at the beginning of the movie, they are awakening in their messy New York apartment. Dishes are strewn about with half eaten food, couch cushions are askew. Montgomery has a three day growth of beard. Lombard still lingers beneath the bedcovers. Once they make it to the breakfast table, we discover the reason for their disheveled appearance. They have an unorthodox marriage, based on a set of rules. One rule states that, after an argument, they are not allowed to leave the bedroom until they make up. This is very suggestive for 1941 as you can imagine. But the script is not gonna linger on that aspect because of the Hays Code, and anyway, as the story begins, it's all about the bickering, not the romance (and in a lot of Golden Era films, the bickering was the romance, or what led to it).
Montgomery is a lawyer, and while he's been away from the office, speculation has mounted among the secretaries about the latest marital spat : "How long has this one been going on"?, "The last one lasted six days"! Wife Lombard is a stickler for their marriage rules. She recites them by number, and no rule is more strictly enforced than the "mandatory make-up" after a fight. Meanwhile, work has piled up at the firm. Montgomery's law partner (Gene Raymond) pleads with him to control his wife. Then, on his first day back at work, an older gentleman pays Mr. Smith a visit. This man is a representative of the county clerk in Idaho, where the Smiths were wed. Through a technicality (humorously explained by Charles Halton, the actor playing the role), it turns out that, legally speaking, Mr. and Mrs.Smith are not married after all. Halton visits Mrs. Smith at home, too, with the same news, and now the stage is set for the ultimate bickering showdown. Since they were never technically married, will they go through the ceremony again in order to make it legal, or.........will the scheming begin? This is a Screwball Comedy, so you can guess the answer.
In the 1930s, unmarried men and women generally did not live together, and in the movie, Carole Lombard's mother is horrified by the situation. "What will people say"?, she asks her daughter. Lombard tells Mama not to worry, they are gonna apply for a new marriage licence in the morning. "We'll be married by the end of the week", she says reassuringly. But her mother is not assuaged. "I never liked that man in the first place. Now's your chance to get rid of him"!
The couple try to put a happy face on the situation by recreating the atmosphere of their first date. "Remember that dress you wore"? She finds it in her closet and puts it on, but now it's a little too tight. The buttons are bulging. "What was the name of that restaurant? Ahh, yes...Mama Lucy's. Let's have dinner there tonight"! They go to the restaurant, but it's not as they remembered. The neighborhood has declined and Mama Lucy's is dilapidated. The Smiths' attempt at a romantic recreation is failing. One thing leads to another, and before their dinner is over they are fighting again. This time it's really bad. Carole Lombard storms off to call a taxi. Montgomery follows her home, expecting to adhere to the "make-up" rule once again, but this time it won't apply. Lombard is packing her things and moving back in with her mother.
This will set the stage for a rival to enter the picture. Montgomery has taken to following Lombard around town in a taxi because he can't believe she is serious about breaking up with him. "She'll come running back any day now", he tells the cabbie. One morning, when he sees her entering his building, he orders the driver to stop : "You see, I was right! She's coming to visit me now". He jumps out of the cab and runs up the back stairway, hoping to beat Lombard to his office, and indeed, when she walks in, he is sitting behind his desk as if he'd been there all day. "I see you've come to your senses", he announces rather smugly. "I certainly have"!, she replies, and with that, she walks right past her "ex"-husband and knocks on the door of his law partner and best friend, Jeff (Gene Raymond). "Oh hello, Jeff", she coos. "Yes, I'm ready right now. Did you make the reservation"?
Then, to Montgomery she announces : "Jeff and I are going on a date! He is taking me to a nice restaurant". Nicer than Mama Lucy's, she means. Much hijinx and mirth will ensue after this point in the movie. We know that Lombard's primary intent is to make Montgomery jealous, but will it go farther than that? After all, Jeff is very handsome and quite the gentleman. Montgomery, true to his nature, won't give up. He follows Jeff and his "wife" to the restaurant, with a hastily arranged date of his own, thinking "two can play at this game". He hopes to make Lombard jealous, too, but the woman he has brought along is more of a Broad than a Lady, so his ploy doesn't work. The only thing left is for Montgomery to hope his wife will get tired of Jeff, who appears too good to be true, with his Southern manners and his perfect physique. In truth, Jeff is a bit of a stuffed shirt. He has no sex appeal and his conversations are boring. Lombard begins to sense this, and Montgomery may see things turn in his favor if only he can quit behaving like a knucklehead for five minutes.
The movie loses some of it's energy after Gene Raymond takes the romantic reins, but it's more the fault of Hitchcock than Raymond, who is very good as "Jeff". I think that Hitch, maybe being new to Screwball Comedy, let some of the "Boring Jeff" scenes run a bit too long, and it takes a little steam out of the engine. However, this is a minor complaint. Overall I loved "Mr. and Mrs. Smith". Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery are as perfect a screen couple as Myrna Loy and William Powell in the "Thin Man" movies. I'm catching up with Lombard, having recently seen several of her films, and as far as I'm concerned she can do no wrong. She's got the right combination of sophistication and goofiness, and is a natural in front of the camera. No wonder she was called "The Queen of Screwball". As for Robert Montgomery, he could apparently do it all, from high comedy to horror. Watch him in "Smith" and then, the very next night, watch him in "Night Must Fall", an early and very scary movie about a serial killer. We can add him to our list of underrated actors, he was really great.
Two Very Big Thumbs Up for "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", an unexpected treat from Hitchcock, on any other day the Master of Suspense. /////
That's all for today. I will see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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