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Yes, this is an Alfred Hitchcock film, albeit a very different one. The Master of Suspense crosses over to the screwball comedy genre in the 1941 film 'Mr and Mrs Smith'. It's an interesting, yet ultimately flawed exercise.

Hitch filmed 'Mr and Mrs Smith' primarily because of his desire to work with the lovely Carole Lombard. She herself desperately wanted to work with Hitch, though not in a suspense film. He obliged with this piece, also starring comedy regular Robert Montgomery.

The somewhat convoluted plot has Montgomery and Lombard as husband-and-wife David and Ann Smith. One fine day Lombard questions Montgomery over the dinner table with the line 'If you had it all to do over again, would you still have married me?' His reply of 'Honestly, no' is not what she had been expecting. Coincedentally, on the same day David and Ann discover that, due to a technical glitch, they aren't really married after all. Like all, screwball set-ups, havoc quickly ensues.

The problem with Mr and Mrs Smith is that too many jokes simply fall flat on their face. The film does not have enough gags that truly work, with only a few moments that gain a genuine smile. Also, Lombard's character is also portrayed at many times as being unnecessarily cruel. Overall, Lombard and Montgomery play their roles very well, Lombard shines as usual, but the magic just isn't there. There a few good scenes, and probably the funniest is when Montgomery tries to make Lombard jealous in a restaurant.

It's remarkable that this is a Hitchcock film- it feels so American in style. A fun side point to note is that this film contains possibly the first Italian 'Pizza-Pasta' joint in America ever to be put on film.

It's a tragedy that Carole died the following year in a plane crash. She was a great comedic actress who may have blossomed into one of Hitchcock's 'cool blondes' in a suspense film. She certainly had the potential.

6/10

When I put this movie on I was drowsy, and depressed. It did two things for me after I put it on. It kept me awake, thus entertaining me, and it put a smile on my face.

There are some genuine laughs in this movie, and the comedy is spread between all the characters. Robert Montgomery is extremely funny, with both excellent physical comedy, and great comedic timing with his dialogue. What surprised me most was the excellent comedic timing of Carole Lombard. She is extremely funny, but her chemistry with Montgomery in their scenes together is fantastic.

The direction, of course, is excellent. Not standard Hitchcock suspense, but classic Hitchcock comedy and romance, elements of his film making that a lot of people overlook.

Honestly, this is a fun movie. The humor is intelligent and never sinks to an infantile level. I had never heard of this movie until about two days ago, and I watched it and I was pleasantly surprised. 8 out of 10.

It's unfair to look over this film because it is not a true Hitchcock film. It's still a great film, and a great screwball comedy. It is very funny and contains at least two of the funniest scenes I've ever seen, the one where Robert Montgomery plans to have premarital sex with Lombard, thinking she doesn't know that they aren't married, and the restaurant scene, where Montgomery pretends to talk to a really pretty girl who's sitting next to him. You can just barely see Hitchcock in this film - there are a few marvelous camera movements and angles that seem like Hitchcock was sighing, saying, "God, I'm bored!" The two leads, Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery, are wonderful. Everyone else, Gene Raymond as Jeff and Jack Carson as Chuck (he's especially hilarious; I wish he had had even more scenes!), and everyone else, too, is constantly hitting bullseyes.

Unfortunately, in the last 20 or 30 minutes of the film, it begins to fall apart, after the plot moves to Lake Placid. First off, it's begins to grow tiresome. Lombard is starting to come off as unnecessarily cruel. The faux drunken mumblings of Montgomery aren't as funny as they're supposed to be. Jeff's parents are getting in the way. At least the final scene makes up for some of that! 8/10.

Even the talents of Lombard, Montgomery and Raymond can't really save this Hitchcock screwball comedy-curio. Some scenes are priceless - the scene in the Florida Bar where Robert Montgomery tries to make Carole Lombard jealous, and the scene where Carole Lombard gets Gene Raymond drunk are of the first rank - but more often than not the comedy falls flat. Whilst the plot of a comedy shouldn't have to bear too much scrutiny it should have its basis in truth, and unfortunately, here the characters fail to convince; in fact they become rather irritating and dislike-able. With Hitchcock directing and such a stunning ensemble of actors on show this has all the feel of a missed opportunity - its sum never fulfilling the promise of its parts. Shame. Though maybe worth watching just to see Lombard et al, strut their stuff.

This is a good example of a movie that could be quite disappointing for anyone who had too many or too specific expectations for it. It's an Alfred Hitchcock movie, but it's not at all like any of his better-known films. The offbeat premise leads you to expect a 1930s-style screwball comedy, but instead it has a different brand of humor altogether.

The tone of the film blends together the screwball plot idea with Hitchcock's dry sense of humor and the upbeat charm of Carole Lombard. It's something of an odd combination, but it works all right as long as you don't have too many preconceptions.

Lombard and Robert Montgomery work well as "Mr. & Mrs. Smith", who find out at the beginning of the movie that they are not really married. Most of the story that follows moves at a decent pace, and although there are never any big laughs, there is some good material. It never really hits high gear, but once you get used to the pace, most of it works well enough.

It does slow down quite a bit towards the end, as things run out of steam, and this keeps the movie from being better. A grand climax in the screwball tradition might have made it a very good movie. Instead, as it is, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" is a pleasant, generally amusing, slightly above-average romantic comedy.