Review, buy 1940s: Mr And Mrs Smith [1941], Laurel And Hardy - A Haunting We Will Go [1942], Charlie Chaplin - The Gold Rush / Pay Day [1942], The Mummy's Hand [1940], Laurel And Hardy - A Chump At Oxford [1940], The Philadelphia Story [1941], Go West-Marx Brothers [1940], Fiddlers Three [1944], Once Upon A Honeymoon [1942], They Got Me Covered [1942], Marx Bros-Go West/Big Store [1940], I Was A Male War Bride [1949], The Man In The White Suit / Kind Hearts And Coronets (1951) (1949), Adam's Rib [1949], Lady For A Night [1942], The History Of Mister Polly [1949], The Foreman Went To France [1942], Without Reservations [1946], Down To Earth [1947], You'll Never Get Rich [1941]

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Review Universal Pictures UK / Mr And Mrs Smith [1941]

Mr And Mrs Smith [1941] (Universal Pictures UK)

Actors & Directors

Robert Montgomery
Carole Lombard
Philip Merivale
Alfred Hitchcock
Gene Raymond
Jack Carson

Release date: 2003-04-21
Run time: 90 min.
Creator: Norman Krasna
RRP: ~~£14.99~~
Price: £3.89

Review Mr And Mrs Smith [1941] / Universal Pictures UK:

Before Hollywood had entirely typecast Alfred Hitchcock as the master of suspense, he was allowed to fashion this elegant romantic trifle starring Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard. It probably won't replace Rear Window or Psycho in your affections, but the film is more than a curious footnote to the director's career. The two leads play David and Ann Smith, a devoted but endlessly squabbling couple who discover their three-year marriage isn't legal. When he unexpectedly hesitates to arrange a second wedding, she storms out in a huff and soon begins dating his solid, dependable business partner Jeff (Gene Raymond). The rest follows the formula laid down by such previous screwball comedies as The Awful Truth (1937) and Bringing Up Baby (1938): David employs fair means or foul to win back Ann's heart, causes all sorts of complicated mischief, then. well, three guesses what happens in the end. The intriguing thing about the movie is how Hitchcock takes Norman Krasna's paper-thin script and adds sly undercurrents of menace. You may note, for instance, that the ostensibly happy Smiths treat each other with subtle sadism right from the start, and that David's tactical pursuit of his ex-wife (spying on her and deliberately offending Jeff's parents) involves them both in humiliations that are really quite sinister and ugly. [+]

Violence seems about to erupt in the recurring scenes where Ann shaves her husband (suggestively holding a razor up to his throat)-and make what you will of our hero's symbolic nosebleeds. There's a touch of Vertigo in one scary moment when a jammed amusement park ride leaves two characters dangling helplessly high above the ground-and a touch of shall we say relief for Hitchcock's well-known love of toilet humour in another oddball sequence. Montgomery and Lombard keep the mood acceptably frivolous, while indicating the flawed nature of the marital relationship. From the evidence of this one-off, Hitchcock might have been among the best comedy directors in the business, had he so wished. -Peter Matthews.

Review Mr And Mrs Smith [1941] / Universal Pictures UK:

Review Laurel And Hardy - A Haunting We Will Go [1942] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

Review Charlie Chaplin - The Gold Rush / Pay Day [1942] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

Review The Mummy's Hand [1940] / 4 Front Video:

Review Laurel And Hardy - A Chump At Oxford [1940] / Vision Video Ltd.:

Review The Philadelphia Story [1941] / Warner Home Video:

Review Go West-Marx Brothers [1940] / MGM Entertainment:

Review Fiddlers Three [1944] / Dd Home Entertainment:

Review Once Upon A Honeymoon [1942] / 4 Front Video:

Review They Got Me Covered [1942] / 2 Entertain Video:

Review Marx Bros-Go West/Big Store [1940] / MGM Entertainment:

Review I Was A Male War Bride [1949] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

Review The Man In The White Suit / Kind Hearts And Coronets (1951) (1949) / WARNER HOME VIDEO S038368:

Review Adam's Rib [1949] / MGM Entertainment:

Review Lady For A Night [1942] / 4 Front Video:

Review The History Of Mister Polly [1949] / 2 Entertain Video:

Review The Foreman Went To France [1942] / Dd Home Entertainment:

Review Without Reservations [1946] / Second Sight Films Ltd.:

Review Down To Earth [1947] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

Review You'll Never Get Rich [1941] / 2 Entertain Video: