Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Theatrical Release Poster

Gene Raymond

**Mr. & Mrs. Smith** is a 1941 American screwball comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Norman Krasna, and starring Carole Lombardand Robert Montgomery. It also features Gene Raymond, Jack Carson, Philip Merivale, and Lucile Watson.

## Plot

Ann and David Smith are a married couple living in New York Citywho, though happy, have fights that last for days before they reconcile.

One morning, Ann asks David if he would marry her again if he had it to do over. Although he says he is very happy with her now and wouldn't marry anyone else, he says he would not.

Later that day, Harry Deever, an Idaho county official, informs David at work that due to a jurisdictional mishap, their three-year-old marriage license from Idaho is not valid. Since Deever is a family acquaintance of Ann's from Idaho, he stops by their apartment to tell Ann and her mother the same thing. Ann does not mention this to David. She believes he will remarry her that very night when he invites her to a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant they frequented before they were married.

When they arrive at the restaurant, it has declined in quality and become rundown, and they return home. Ann grows impatient and confronts David, accusing him of not wanting to marry her again. David protests and claims he was going to ask her shortly, but Ann dismisses him and kicks him out of their apartment.

David spends the night at his club, but when he goes home after work the next day Ann's maid refuses him entry. David waits in the lobby and sees Ann return with an older gentleman. Believing the man is her suitor, David becomes angry and disheartened. He follows Ann and threatens to withhold support. He gets her fired from her new job (the older gentleman is not her suitor, but her new boss). Ann tells David she has no intention of ever marrying him again.

David's friend and law partner, Jeff Custer, tells David he will talk to Ann and persuade her to remarry. However, when David arrives that evening, he finds that Jeff has instead agreed to legally represent Ann. Jeff asks Ann to dinner the following night in David's presence. David tells Ann that if she agrees to the date their marriage is over, but Ann accepts the invitation.

After dinner, Ann and Jeff go to the 1939 New York World's Fair, but they become stuck on the parachute ride and are exposed to hours of rain many feet up in the air. When they get back to Jeff's apartment, he plans to put on dry clothes and return to the fair, but Ann feeds the teetotaler "medicinal" liquor ostensibly to prevent a cold, and he becomes drunk. Ann returns home.

Ann and Jeff begin to date seriously, and Ann meets Jeff's parents. They decide to take a vacation with Jeff's parents at a Lake Placid skiing resort — the same resort where Ann and David had earlier been planning to holiday. Upon arriving at the resort, they find that David has rented a cabin next to theirs. When confronted, David faints. David pretends to be sick and delirious while Ann fawns over him. When Ann discovers his deception, she becomes furious. While they argue heatedly, Jeff walks in. He knows Ann and David are meant for each other when Ann tries to manipulate him into fighting David.

Ann decides she wants to get away to the lodge by ski, even though she does not know how to ski. David offers to help her put on her skis, but instead places her in a position that prevents her from standing up. As she struggles and threatens him, she frees one foot, but then feigns helplessness by reattaching the ski. David realizes her pretense, and silences her ranting by kissing her.

## Cast

* Carole Lombard as Ann Krausheimer Smith
* Robert Montgomery as David Smith
* Gene Raymond as Jefferson Custer
* Jack Carson as Chuck Benson
* Philip Merivale as Ashley Custer
* Lucile Watson as Mrs. Custer
* William Tracy as Sammy
* Charles Halton as Harry Deever
* Esther Dale as Mrs. Krausheimer
* Emma Dunn as Martha
* Betty Compson as Gertie
* Patricia Farr as Gloria
* William Edmunds as Proprietor at Lucy's
* Adele Pearce as Lily
* Emory Parnell as Conway

## Trivia

* Carole Lombard directed Alfred Hitchcock's cameo, making him do repeated retakes.
* This is Alfred Hitchcock's only screwball comedy. He was talked into directing it by Carole Lombard.
* This was the first Alfred Hitchcock film to be shown on American network television.
* Carole Lombard was a devoted Democrat, whilst Robert Montgomery was a Republican. During breaks in filming, Lombard made a point of running into the studio parking lot and putting election bumper stickers advocating the re-election of Franklin D. Roosevelt on Montgomery's car.