MR. AND MRS. SMITH: Blu-ray (RKO, 1941) Warner Archive

There is a very old adage about ‘sticking with what you know.’ It may not help to progress in one’s character, but otherwise, it generally serves as a cautionary lesson on precisely what is to be done when venturing too far afield of one’s comfort zone. Another adage immediately comes to mind here. Something about ‘curiosity killing the cat,’ advice unheeded by director, Alfred Hitchcock with the release of his only romantic comedy, Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941). Hitchcock once mused, if he had made Cinderella, his audience would be looking for a body in the coach. Point taken. By 1941, Hitch’ was already well-established as the master of suspense on two continents – most recently, thanks to a pair of American-made exemplars in that genre; the Oscar-winning Gothic thriller, Rebecca, and, WWII espionage caper, Foreign Correspondent (both made and released in 1940). Important, I think, to denote, not everything Hitchcock made was spun into box office gold. That isn’t a ‘put down’ or ‘tear down’ of the master’s otherwise impeccable track record. Indeed, Hitchcock hit the bull’s eye far more often, and, in the process, established not only a cinematic language to create suspense, but also trademark the template from which all other aspiring connoisseurs of the thriller have long since been copycatting, with varying degrees of success. So, hats off to Hitch’!

And furthermore, to clarify, Mr. and Mrs. Smith is not a bad movie. Just a highly generic one, and for any movie made by Mr. Hitchcock, this simply will not do. After Hitchcock’s meteoric North American debut, producer, David O. Selznick toyed with the idea of developing future in-house projects for his star director. Alas, Selznick’s ambitions on several mid-decade mega-projects resulted in Hitchcock being loaned out like a prize bull for the bulk of his indentured servitude by Selznick for some quick cash. This, he abhorred, but could do absolutely nothing about. So, Hitch’s first loan out was to RKO where he dabbled in screwball comedy. The result was Mr. and Mrs. Smith, scripted by Norman Krasna, to tell the rather conventional tale of married couple, Ann (Carole Lombard) and David (Robert Montgomery) who are struggling to find reasons to stay married. The problem, it seems, stems from the couple’s ‘one question a month’ rule. Ann asks David if, given the opportunity to go back in time, and, knowing then what he knows now, would he still have married her. In a moment of pure honesty, David confesses that although he loves his wife, he also misses his bachelor's freedom. This leads Ann to erroneously deduce he no longer loves her at all.

David’s response is made even more problematic when the couple learns their marriage is not legal because of a state boundary dispute. Recognizing he has been free all along and assuming the question is therefore moot, David decides to propose marriage to his wife again. Only, now Ann contemplates the practicality of spending the rest of her life with a man who, however briefly, doubted he had made the right decision aligning his own with hers. Mr. and Mrs. Smith is admirably nutty – masterfully pulled off by Lombard's penchant for plying her craft to this frazzled madcap, and, by Montgomery's willingness to play a sort of Bud Abbott to her Lou Costello. Alas, given Hitchcock’s prowess in the field of suspense, it remains a little off-putting, even to enjoy the semantics of this ‘he said/she told’ byplay without at least one or two prerequisite moments of heightened suspense. As Mr. and Mrs. Smith is, in fact, a screwball comedy, no such moments are forthcoming. And, truth to tell, Krasna’s script is a fairly pedestrian affair – serviceable, though hardly unique or worthy of Hitchcock’s time and efforts. It's familiarity to Leo McCarey’s superior ‘couples at odds’ screwball classic, The Awful Truth (1937) – costarring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, as warring marrieds, newly divorced, but on the crux of a crying gag – tows the line with far more ingenious nuggets of wisdom.  

One sincerely wonders what could have been going through the executive brain trust at RKO. Seemingly aware such material is not of his ilk or choosing, Hitch’ shoots with an uncharacteristic non-Hitchcockian flair. Truly, without his credit in the titles, Mr. and Mrs. Smith could have as easily hailed from a stock member of RKO’s B-serials in the director’s chair. Solid and more than salvageable, Mr. and Mrs. Smith strangely lacks humor – an even bigger mystery, as Lombard is at the top of her game. Quite possibly, the fault here is owed Bob Montgomery. He’s certainly no Cary Grant. Nor is he playing to his own usual strengths of character. So, what we have is Montgomery straining for empathy and laughs and getting only marginal affirmation he is doing what he ought, can and should to sell this as a ‘laugh-a-minute’ rom/com. Easy to see why Mr. and Mrs. Smith is Hitchcock’s only rom/com. Not that anyone ever dared to beg him return to the genre. The picture founders - badly on occasion - from a complete lack of comedic subterfuge. Not even Lombard’s broad gestures can salvage it. Part of the charm of any screwball comedy is reveling in those unanticipated nuggets of lunacy that connect the dots from joyous defeat to happily-ever-afters so sweet. As such, the journey is more rewarding than the destination, which is always a foregone conclusion. But in Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s case, the opposite is true. One merely wishes for Hitchcock to get on with it.

Our plot begins in earnest with Manhattan marrieds, Ann and David Smith. Although presumably in love, the couple have frequent disagreements that can last for days. When Ann asks David if he would have married her, knowing what he knows now, and receives a pregnant pause to her query, she is ready to cut all ties instantly. So, when Idaho county official, Harry Deever (Charles Halton), informs the couple – separately - their marriage is invalid, Ann decides to keep her knowledge of this a secret from David, believing he will propose to her again. However, when a romantic dinner does not lead to a renewal of David’s declaration of love, Ann is heartsore and angry. She throws David out of their fashionable apartment. In reply, a bitter David gets Ann canned from her job. Ann then informs David she has no intention of ever being wed to him. Interceding, presumably on David’s behalf, is ‘good’ friend, Jefferson Custer (Gene Raymond), who has ulterior motives. Jeff promptly asks Ann to dinner. She accepts, much to David’s chagrin. The date goes horribly awry when Ann and Jeff get stuck on a parachute ride in the rain. Afterward, she takes Jeff back to his apartment, getting him quietly drunk on ‘medicinal’ liquor before returning home. Nevertheless, Ann and Jeff agree to see a lot more of one another, eventually taking a vacation to Lake Placid where Ann and David first met, only to discover David has taken the cabin next to theirs. When David feigns illness, Ann dotes on him, causing Jeff to realize Ann still has feelings for David and vice versa. The next day, Ann fakes an injury on the slopes and David obliges with her skis. When Ann pretends to protest, David silences her in a passionate kiss.

Though Mr. and Mrs. Smith did show a profit on RKO’s ledgers, it was not to the studio’s liking altogether; nor, decidedly, Hitchcock’s. Initially pitched by Krasna to Lombard, who was wildly enthusiastic, it was through Lombard’s auspices and clout at RKO that the picture was ultimately green lit. Hitchcock was merely the catalyst to see it through, and his disassociation with this 94-min. programmer shines through. Hitchcock’s ‘casting’ likely stemmed from an interview he gave in 1939, where he praised Lombard’s talents but also pointed out he felt she was being wasted in comedies.  So, rather than cast Lombard in a serious drama or thriller Hitchcock might have directed, the studio’s reasoning was to force Hitchcock to make a comedy with her. Though Hitchcock’s admiration for Lombard remained intact after their working together, he never warmed to Mr. and Mrs. Smith and, in retrospectives on his work, generally refused to acknowledge it, except in passing. The real problem with the picture is that it’s not a riot. In spots, it’s not even passably funny. As it’s certainly not playing to Hitchcock’s métier as the master of suspense, the ‘mutt’ factor is abysmally second rate at best. At 94-mins. Hitchcock is working overtime to cram the movie with ‘cute’ vignettes. But there’s a lot more heavy-handed saccharine than light-hearted sweetness here. And his economy comes across as more perfunctory than perfectly pitched. In the end, we are left sincerely wanting and wishing someone, somewhere, somehow had done something more, something better, and something more worthy of all the talents involved.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith arrives on Blu-ray via the Warner Archive (WAC) and in a superior hi-def release that easily bests their tired old DVD from nearly 3 decades ago. This B&W transfer advances in overall image clarity. Grain is properly placed and looks indigenous to its source. Contrast is uniformly excellent with deep, velvety blacks. Age-related artifacts have been eradicated.  Fine details abound. The DTS 2.0 mono is solid with zero hiss and pop. Very nicely done, indeed. Extras are ported over from the DVD and include a very brief featurette and theatrical trailer. Bottom line: Mr. and Mrs. Smith is disposable Hitchcock. For completionists only. The Blu is superior to the DVD, but a quality transfer of a dull movie is still a dull movie with a quality transfer – period! With so many gems under the Warner banner, as yet unmined, spending time and money on chestnuts like Mr. and Mrs. Smith is simply unforgiveable. Regrets.

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

2

VIDEO/AUDIO

4.5

EXTRAS

1