Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writer:

Norman Krasna (story)

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 | Champagne | Playing Footsie | Argument

US TV Schedule:

Mon. May 21

12:45 PM

TCM

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 at Lodge (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	...	Undetermined Role (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 at Lodge (uncredited)
Barbara Woodell	...	Sunny - David's Secretary (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Norman Krasna		(story and screenplay)

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

Original Music by
Edward Ward		(musical score by)

Cinematography by
Harry Stradling Sr.		(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	....	recordist

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

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

Other crew
Tommy Garland	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Betty Hall	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Bob Marlow	....	stand-in (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)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2011) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

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

Also Known As:

"Joies matrimoniales" - Belgium (French title), France
"Mr. und Mrs. Smith" - Austria, Germany
"Den se thelo pia" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Herra ja rouva Smith" - Finland
"Il signore e la signora Smith" - Italy
"Lige børn leger bedst" - Denmark
"Lika barn leka bäst" - Sweden
"Mar V'Geveret Smith" - Israel (Hebrew title)
"Matrimoni original" - Spain (Catalan title)
"Matrimonio original" - Spain
"Mr. & Mrs. Smith" - Belgium (English title)
"O Sr. e a Sra. Smith" - Portugal (imdb display title)
"Su amado enemigo" - Argentina
"Um Casal do Barulho" - Brazil (imdb display title)
"Végre egy jó házasság" - Hungary (imdb display title)

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:

Carole Lombard, in order to twit Alfred Hitchcock and generate publicity about his comment that "actors are cattle", set up a miniature cattle pen on the set. The pen held three heifers, each emblazoned with the name of one of the three stars.

Goofs:

Continuity: When David is gurgling while pretending to be ill, he tilts his towards Jeff twice in subsequent shots.

Quotes:

David:I'd give five bucks to see that cat take a sip of that soup.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style (2009) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Sidewalks of New York

Underrated

It's unfair to look over this film because it is not a true Hitchcock film. It's still a great film, and a great screwball comedy. It is very funny and contains at least two of the funniest scenes I've ever seen, the one where Robert Montgomery plans to have premarital sex with Lombard, thinking she doesn't know that they aren't married, and the restaurant scene, where Montgomery pretends to talk to a really pretty girl who's sitting next to him. You can just barely see Hitchcock in this film - there are a few marvelous camera movements and angles that seem like Hitchcock was sighing, saying, "God, I'm bored!" The two leads, Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery, are wonderful. Everyone else, Gene Raymond as Jeff and Jack Carson as Chuck (he's especially hilarious; I wish he had had even more scenes!), and everyone else, too, is constantly hitting bullseyes.

Unfortunately, in the last 20 or 30 minutes of the film, it begins to fall apart, after the plot moves to Lake Placid. First off, it's begins to grow tiresome. Lombard is starting to come off as unnecessarily cruel. The faux drunken mumblings of Montgomery aren't as funny as they're supposed to be. Jeff's parents are getting in the way. At least the final scene makes up for some of that! 8/10.