Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Film Review

Whether it was the prospect of working with Carole Lombard, one of the top American actresses of the day, or a keen desire to extend his directorial repertoire, Alfred Hitchcock had few reservations when he accepted the commission to direct this screwball comedy, the first of two films he directed for RKO - the other being Suspicion (1941).  Tellingly, Mr & Mrs Smith would be the only pure romantic comedy he would make during the American phase of his career, although he had directed a few during his earlier period in England.

In comparison with other screwball comedies of this era, Mr & Mrs Smith is pretty insipid stuff, a flat tasteless beer compared with the frothy tastebud-tickling champagne of Lubitsch.   Hitchcock barely appears interested in the film, which shows little of the flair and innovation that we see in most of his other films.  The chief difficulty is the screenplay, which combines the most infantile lacklustre plot with the most irksomely banal characterisation and dialogue.  There are one or two good jokes, but these are pretty few and far between, and for the most part the film is dull, plodding and characterless.

There's an irony in the fact that Hitchcock's film comedies generally have less humour in them than his more serious films.  Hitchcock's natural style of comedy is black humour, used sparingly to undercut tension and provide relief for the audience, thereby adding depth and contrast to his films.  He is far less adept at raising laughs in a more conventional kind of comedy, as Mr & Mrs Smith amply demonstrates.

Film Synopsis

David and Ann Smith have been happily married for three years and so the latter is mildly surprised when, one day, the former admits that he would have preferred to have stayed single if they had their time over again.  That same day, husband and wife are separately informed that, owing to a boundary change in the town where they were wed, they are not in fact legally married.  When David fails to reveal the fact to her, Ann is furious and declares that it is best that they separate.  Still madly in love with Ann, David asks his best friend and colleague Jeff to try to win her around and persuade her to marry him again.  Unfortunately, Ann has made up her mind and instead decides to take Jeff as her husband...