Mr. and Mrs. Smith is one Hitchcock film that you hear almost nothing about, and there's a good reason why- it stands out like a neon light among the director's work, because it's virtually his only work as a known director that is not a thriller, nor has any no real thriller elements. According to the early auteur critics, the movie should suck, or at least be bland and generic, but Hitchcock is clearly the author of the movie, and it's quite good. In fact, were it not for a long and unnecessary conclusion, this would be among the top tear of Hitchcock's work, and among the top of all screwball comedies.
The movie stars the radiant Carole Lombard as the apparent Mrs. Smith of the title. I say apparent because it's soon revealed that due to a legal technicality her six years of marriage to Mr. Smith (Robert Montgomery) are invalid and she's really still Ms. Krausheimer. It doesn't look it's going to be any problem for the, to get re-married until Mr. Smith makes a dumbass statement at the breakfast table that despite his love for his wife, he still wishes to be a bachelor. After a romantic dinner that evening goes horribly wrong, Krausheimer decides she has no desire to marry Smith and bars him for the apartment, inviting her mother (Esther Dale) who was never exactly a fan of Mr. Smith to begin with, to move in with her. The rest of the episodic film recounts Mr. Smith's futile efforts to make up with his wife, who has decided to marry his "best friend" Jeff (Gene Raymond), despite the fact she obviously doesn't love him.
The movie is genuinely funny and very entertaining. It's light and frothy in a good way. The movie's best asset aside from Hitchcock's assured direction is the lead performance by Lombard, who has that rare Greta Garbo/Audrey Hepburn ability to practically shine on screen. Montgomery is good as her comic foil, but I couldn't help but think that the movie would have been better served by a more charismatic leading man, like Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart. The thing that keeps this from being a clear three and half star film, is the fact the movie has a long and unnecessary conclusion set a ski retreat. I've sometimes felt that Hitchcock has trouble knowing when to end his films, that common flaw comes out in this scene. Lasting nearly twenty minuets, the scene isn't funny and doesn't tell us anything new about the characters who by now should have come to their senses and resolved the conflict.
Although it's one of Hitchcock's better films (for most of the way) hardly nothing is written about this film because it doesn't fit with what an auteur director's output is supposed to be. I've often felt that versatility is underrated among directors, which has hurt the critical output of directors like Francis Ford Coppola, who work in multiple genres but have consistent themes and visual style. You could argue this film is also a "wrong man" film- Mr. Smith is accused of something he didn't do- be a bad husband, and we get the expected number of Hitchcock pull ins as well as the effective use of music. It's not a thriller, but it's a Hitchcock film.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)