A lot of fun.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

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

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith" is a good comedy about a couple who learn that they haven't been legally married the past three years as they thought they were. The "un-marriage" is based on an absurd notion, but it sets the stage for what follows. And what follows is a comedy of errors and airs in which the groom pursues his bride all over again, while she plays hard to get.Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard are the leads as David and Ann Smith. She reverts to her maiden name, Ann Krausheimer when they split up. This isn't one of Carole Lombard's funnier roles, but Montgomery is funny as he jumps through hoops to try to win his wife back. His law firm partner, Jeff Custer, also wants to woo Ann. Gene Raymond plays his part superbly as a real male wallflower. He's straight faced, overly considerate, and straightforward about a relationship with the one-time wife of his best friend and partner. It makes it that much funnier – and frustrating for David.Some of the funniest scenes are with Jeff's parents. Lucille Watson plays Mrs. Custer, Jeff's mother. She was one of the consummate Hollywood supporting cast who played superbly the role of a shocked mother, or mother-in-law, or snobbish, Puritanical society dame. Philip Merivale is equally aghast as Jeff's father, Ashley Custer. An uproarious scene occurs when Jeff introduces them to Ann. Just as they think she is a sweet, young thing, David enters the office and talks about their coffee together over the morning breakfast table the past three years. The crunch comes when he asks about his laundry, and says he doesn't have any more clean shorts. A type of this scene replays toward the end of the film – with hilarious portrayals of the dumbfounded and astonished Custers.It's a good thing that David and Jeff owned their own law firm. No one else would have been able to take so much time away from work as David did to pursue Ann. Some reviewers are surprised that this film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Hitch was well established as a versatile director before he came to the U.S. just before the start of World War II. He became known for his mastery at mystery films. But he had done a number of comedies, romances and dramas before, and even did one successful musical drama.This film came out at the end of January 1941. A year later Carole Lombard would be dead. She was killed in a plane crash in Nevada while returning home to California from a war bond drive. She was only 34 years old, but she is remembered today from some of the wonderful films she was in, especially her comedy roles. She was in 80 films in a 16-year career.On the other hand, Robert Montgomery isn't as well known today. He played a variety of roles in more than 60 films, but ended his silver screen career at age 46 in 1950. He spent the rest of his career in television. His last acting was in 1950-51 in his long-running TV series, Robert Montgomery Presents. After that, he continued to produce that show until 1957 and did some more TV production until 1960. He continued to work in the theater in the 1950s and won the 1955 Tony Award as best director for "The Desperate Hours." In 1968, Montgomery wrote a book entitled "An Open Letter from a Television Viewer" in which he lambasted the TV industry for its programming of violence.A favorite scene of mine in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" has Jeff and Ann riding in a sleigh to the cottages they have booked at Lake Placid in the Adirondacks. Ann says, "I love the smell of snow." Jeff says, "No one can smell snow." And Ann responds, "I can." Jeff looks around as though he's sniffing, then looks down at the horses pulling the sleigh and says, "That isn't snow."

Not Hitchcock at his best, but even when Hitchcock wasn't at his best he still did some good films. Mr. and Mrs. Smith will never be a personal favourite, but it is a good film, much better than the rating here and not one to be immediately discarded. Though it is understandable as to why people won't warm to this film mainly because the characters here are quite unpleasant. Where Mr. and Mrs. Smith falls down is in the last thirty minutes, where the pace slackens, the humour is rather tiresome and narratively it's here where the film runs out of ideas. As almost always with Hitchcock, Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a well made and directed film, not the most audacious of films visually but appropriate to the type of film it is. The script is elegant and witty, with razor-sharp interplay between the leads and many moments that will make you smile or laugh out loud(if it's not your cup of tea at the day, it's not a problem, Hitchcock's few ventures into comedy have all brought divisive opinions). It is a shame though that it is also one of those scripts that runs out of steam too early. There are also some great scenes that carry the slightly flimsy premise afloat, Robert Montgomery has the best moments, though Gene Raymond's tipsy to drunk scene is a joy and the razor shave moment is a nice example of the chemistry between the two leads. The two leads are wonderful and are thoroughly convincing together. Carole Lombard relishes her very showy role with great comic timing, not the most pleasant of characters mind you especially towards the end of the film, and looks radiant on screen. Robert Montgomery is much more subtle(no offence at all to Lombard) and has a more likable character, his comic timing is also spot on. The supporting roles are all solid, with Jack Carson and especially Gene Raymond the standouts. In conclusion, a good film with great leads, unfortunately the ending doesn't match the rest of the film in quality. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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".

There are very few Hitchcock films that I have not seen, and until this afternoon "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" was one of them. I'd put off watching it for a couple of reasons: a) On general principles I want to delay the day when there'll be no new Hitchcock film out there with potential to surprise and delight me; and b) Having read about this one I thought I probably wouldn't be particularly impressed. I was right about b).It wasn't a bad movie exactly. My problem with it was that I expect Hitchcock films to be at least a cut above ordinary, and this one didn't make the grade. It was a romantic comedy reminiscent of "The Awful Truth," but lacking that movie's wit and charm. Sure, I half-heartedly chuckled a few times, but only at incidental jokes, never at the main premise, which I found tiresome.Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard were still battling and making up after three years of marriage when they discovered their marriage license was invalid. As they struggled with the question of whether to make their marriage official or go their separate ways, I just sat there wishing they'd get on with the story. The ending was a foregone conclusion and the semi-amusing journey to it began to seem interminable after a while.As we watched, my companion suggested the ending might involve the revelation that the whole thing had been a misunderstanding and they had been legally married all along. I think her idea might have actually have made the conclusion marginally more interesting. She also noticed a scar on Lombard's cheek, which I had no idea existed. I went Googling and sure enough, the scar was the result of an auto accident when Lombard was 19. For me, that discovery was the most interesting part of the viewing experience."Mr. and Mrs. Smith" is a minor Hitchcock in which the touch of the master is little in evidence. This one could have been churned out by any decent director.