Touches You

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

There is a reason why Hitchcock was known as the Master of Suspense and not the Master of Romantic Comedy. This film is proof of this, his only romantic comedy which he directed on the behest of the star Carole Lombard. Hitchcock later admitted he did not really understand the characters so just followed the screenplay.Ann (Carole Lombard) and David Smith (Robert Montgomery) are a married couple in New York. He is a well to do lawyer but although the couple are in love they bicker a lot. One morning, Ann asks David if he would marry her again if he had it to do over again. He replies he would not even though he is very happy with her.Well would you believe it later that day David is informed by a state official that due to a mishap they were never legally married. However this leads to a series of misunderstandings that drive the couple apart and she goes to the arms of his law partner who ends up proposing to her.The trouble with the film is that it fails as a screwball comedy and becomes increasingly tedious as the movie progresses and the couple keep on arguing. Although David said he would not marry Ann again he the spends the entire time conniving her to marry her again while she plays hard to get.

The most surprising entry from the filmography of Alfred Hitchcock is his 1941 film, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Hitchcock claimed he made the film as a favor to lead actress Carole Lombard; Mr. & Mrs. Smith is the only screwball comedy the famous suspense director ever made. Starring along with Carole Lombard is Robert Montgomery; the pair plays a married couple who find out that their marriage is unofficial, and instead of going through the legal paperwork to make their union legal, they question each other and their feelings. Out of his element, Hitchcock put forth a classic comedy that oddly still feels like a Hitchcock film, a true treat for the serious fan as they wade through Hitch's body of work. Elite New York couple Ann Smith (Carole Lombard) and David Smith (Robert Montgomery) have enjoyed an affectionate, loving, wedded bliss for three years. After individual visits from their lawyers, however, they learn that a municipal technicality prevented their union from being legally recognized. What should be a simple fix, turns into a possible breakup for the couple as they start to wonder how much in love with each other they truly are. The day the couple was told of the technicality, David commented over breakfast that if he were to start his life over, he would never marry. Despite his love for his wife, David feels as though an immense amount of sacrifice of himself has taken place due to his marriage to his wife. That comment has stuck with Ann as she decides what to do about her defunct marriage to her husband. Ann decides that a separation is in order and she begins to live the life of a single woman, even re-adopting her maiden name. As Ann enjoys her new life and freedoms, David sets his sights to stop at nothing to win back the devotion of his wife. Winning back Ann's hand becomes much more difficult as she begins dating other men. As David becomes increasingly more disgruntled with life without his wife, he begins to realize that maybe he wouldn't remove his wife from his life if he had the chance to do it again.As a fan of classic cinema, I was both surprised and embarrassed to realize that this was the first film I had seen of classic star Carole Lombard. I was happy to change that status and finally see her of a film; I found Lombard's acting exceptional and engaging, and cannot wait to see more of her work. This film is a lot of fun with the slight nods to silent cinema it seems to employ. The ways in which Mr. & Mrs. Smith plays out like a silent film, prove to be a perfect match to the plot of men's and women's relationships of the 1940's. As Lombard gains independence, she enjoys life without her husband more, therefore illustrating the liberation of women in the 40's. Although Mr. & Mrs. Smith has a very Howard Hawks feel to it, it is also clear that there are many aspects recognizable as Hitchcock touches. For instance, this journey through Alfred Hitchcock's filmography, I have grown quite fond of the way in which the auteur films faces. That same unique way faces are filmed are present in this film and are fun to watch. Sure, the film is a comedy, therefore Hitchcock touches are few and far between, but the film doesn't feel foreign to fans of Hitchcock and one can see his touches in it throughout the film. Fans of Hitchcock must see this film, if for no other reason, just to see the famous suspense director trying his hand at comedy; although, if given a chance, one won't be disappointed with a Carole Lombard film, either.

This is the best Carole Lombard film I've seen. She shows a range of talent. Her timing and delivery are excellent.The male lead is a bit weaker, he doesn't seem like good romantic lead really. No real sex appeal, he didn't phone in his performance but he didn't bring his best performance either. He was pretty much a cardboard cutout. He was badly miscast with Lombard.Lombard's character has that brilliance, vivaciousness to have any man yet she's stuck with a mediocre character actor.The dialogue is good and flows well.Hitchcock doesn't do comedy very well so Lombard saves this movie.The supporting cast was OK.Production values were typical mid-budget studio.The cinematography was adequate.Overall, I'll watch this film again just to watch Carole Lombard give a really good performance. She is better here than in "My Man Godfrey".

This screwball comedy has a naughty little premise behind it. A man discovers he isn't legally married and decides not to tell his wife. He'd rather be with her as if she were his mistress and have sex without the benefit of marriage. He finds the idea to be thrilling and exciting. Why he does isn't addressed. Perhaps the idea of defying society's conventions, or maybe the idea of gaining more power over his wife; a man can easily dump a mistress at any time; a wife, there's a long, messy divorce to deal with. Also, there's the sexual element behind it too; presumably sex with a mistress is more thrilling than sex with a wife.The wife finds out and dumps the husband for trying to turn her into that kind of woman. She dates his law partner, a true Southern gentleman who's entirely prim and proper and would never think of touching a woman before marriage. In the end, the wife finds their relationship unfulfilling, especially when he does not resort to violence to protect her honor. She dumps him and turns back to her hubby, a "real man." It's interesting that the movie ends with the husband getting exactly what he wants, sex with his wife before marriage. In effect, despite his wife's long protest, he wins; he now takes her as his mistress. This is a sex comedy where the man entirely gets his way; his sex dream is realized.Questions this film asks: does one really have to wait for marriage to have sex? Is it better to have a wife or a mistress? The film also offers insight into the different social standards of the higher and lower class, especially in the scene at the upscale nightclub where Montgomery is embarrassed to be with low-brow Jack Carson and the two low-brow dames Carson brings with him.Overall, the cast is good, though the three principles all show signs of premature aging. It's interesting to watch movies of the early 40s and see what's become of stars from the late 20s and early 30s. Some are still stars, like Montgomery and Lombard. Others are fading to character status like Gene Raymond. He's almost unrecognizable in dyed black hair as the type of character Ralph Bellamy plays so well in films like "The Awful Truth" and "His Girl Friday"; it's a far cry from Raymond's leading man days of the early 1930s. Saddest of all is to see what happened to another leading lady of the late 20s, Betty Compson. A star from the great 1928 film "The Docks of New York," she's truly unrecognizable here as the beat-up, low-class hag Gertie.Norman Krasna's script is serviceable, with a number of truly funny lines and scenes, mostly avoiding the sort of cliché-riddled, unfunny, idiotic cuteness that makes the 1943 film "Princess O'Rourke" so intolerable, a film for which Krasna inexplicably won the Academy Award for best screenplay. The first half of the film is the best half, before the focus shifts to Lombard and the boring Raymond. Hitchcock is serviceable too, though anyone could have directed this film. Obviously, Hitch didn't have the gift of an Ernst Lubitsch when it came to sex comedies. Neither did anyone else, and at least Hitch here makes no pretense as to having the "Lubitsch touch," unlike Billy Wilder, who failed numerous times in trying to recreate it, in movies like "Sabrina"(1954). "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" does deal with some domestic themes that Hitch is particularly fond of though, namely the battle of the sexes and the husband getting his way in the end.