Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) has all the taste of vanilla ice cream, and leaves the viewer with the same emptiness. It's a terribly bland screwball comedy wherein the deeper implications of marriage and lying are undermined by unfunny and painful revelations masked as plot advancement. This, one of Hitchcock's few times he worked as director for hire, possesses none of the magic of the best of Hitchcock's material.

Ann Smith (Carole Lombard) and David Smith (Robert Montgomery) are a couple who habitually undergo huge fights and temper tantrums, and after one of the longest periods of emotional silence (3 days), David is notified that their marriage is not legally binding, since it was conferred out of state. Unbeknownst to him, Ann is also notified, and so when David suggests a night on the town, she expects the night to end with a new marriage. However, David never propositions her with a new marriage that night, and when Ann exposes his transgression, David denies any wrongdoing. Yet lost within this entire film is David's explanation for why he didn't acknowledge a desire to remarry Ann, which is what dooms the film to mediocrity.

And so a typical bedroom farce scenario is played out, wherein Ann tortures David by tempting his best friend Jeff Custer (Gene Raymond). Yet the immorality of Jeff's decision to romance his best friend's "wife" asks for explanation and development, and this being a screwball "comedy," such exceptations are never received. Given his importance, Jeff's character should possess some morality for his friend's recent loss, rather than his opportunistic attempt at matchmaker. Even the explanation that all of Jeff's moves are done to rekindle Ann and David's love fails to resolve his moral ambiguities. Instead, what remains is a love triangle that is morally and ethically repugnant, when it wishes to be breezy. These types of inappropriate misfires lead to a conclusion that is bland and thoroughly expected, but never really earned.

There are some nice moments in the film, such as when Jeff and Ann get stuck on the ferris wheel during a thunderstorm. And Lombard has a nice screen presence, but the ideas cannot overcome the execution, which is dull and often inappropriate or not developed.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith: 5/10