Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Mr. und Mrs. Smith

Retrospective 2022

Ann and David Smith’s marriage is all about squabbling. Then the couple discovers that, due to a jurisdictional technicality in the small town where they wed, their three-year-old marriage is void. A new proposal is not forthcoming, and Ann boots David out of their apartment. To fan the flames of jealousy, Ann turns to David’s old friend and business partner. The two make plans to marry and decamp to a ski resort where, however, David is waiting. He is determined to win Ann back, even if it means employing devious means ... Alfred Hitchcock accepted the directing job on this ironic comedy of marriage out of admiration for Carole Lombard. It is a classic of the screwball motif “the pair who hit each other fit each other”. That also applied to the production. The director paid back his leading lady for her enchanting performance by letting her direct his obligatory cameo. For Hitchcock, who famously called all actors “cattle”, that must have been a somewhat torturous affair.

by Alfred Hitchcock
with Carole Lombard, Robert Montgomery, Gene Raymond, Jack Carson, Philip Merivale, Lucile Watson, William Tracy, Charles Halton, Esther Dale, Emma Dunn USA 1941 English 95’ Black/White

With

Carole Lombard
Robert Montgomery
Gene Raymond
Jack Carson
Philip Merivale
Lucile Watson
William Tracy
Charles Halton
Esther Dale
Emma Dunn

Crew

Director	Alfred Hitchcock
Screenplay	Norman Krasna
Cinematography	Harry Stradling
Visual Effects	Vernon L. Walker
Editing	William Hamilton
Music	Edward Ward
Sound	John E. Tribby
Art Director	Van Nest Polglase
Costumes	Irene

Produced by

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Additional information

Print: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Alfred Hitchcock

Filmography (selection)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2022