Today is the 84th anniversary of one of the most undersung screwball comedies and a forgotten entry in the storied Alfred Hitchcock canon, Mr. & Mrs. Smith! The film came out the same year as Hitchcock’s more famous, Oscar-recognized Suspicion, but this film, written by Norman Krasna, and starring Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery (also featuring Gene Raymond, Jack Carson, Philip Merivale, and Lucile Watson), is an absolute charmer.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith was the only pure comedy Hitchcock made in the United States. Although he later claimed to have done it only as a favor to Lombard, files at RKO show that Hitchcock himself actively pursued the project. Both of the actors are terrific and so, so sexy.
This article is part of a special year-long series of anecdotes, reflections and thoughts about the Academy Awards.
