Made for Each Other VHS

1939 was a year stuffed with classic movies. Gone With the Wind. Wizard of Oz. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Gunga Din. Ninotchka. Stagecoach. Wuthering Heights.And then there's this movie. Not usually mentioned in the same category as the others. For good reasons.It's pretty creaky. Aside from the fascinating detail that new dads slept over at the hospital after new moms had just given birth (I didn't know that, did you?), there are a number of periodisms that just don't age well.A household with two grown women who have nothing to do all day except keep house, and they STILL need a cook. Try finding someone in this century who is sympathetic to the "it's just so hard to find good help" plight of the pampered Jane and her micromanaging mother-in-law. Embrace the suck, ladies.And how 'bout the epic bad advice on confronting the boss & giving him an ultimatum -- with no Plan B? You would think a lawyer of all people would know about contingency planning. This approach made both John and Jane look foolish. He's actually lucky he walked out with a salary cut of only 25% instead of 100%.There was melodrama built around stuff that seems petty. Not sure if it was more understandable in 1939 vs now or if I'm just too middlebrow to understand NYC social climbers lol. Running out of wine. OH DEAR THE SHAME. (But shouldn't John have known that 1 bottle would not be enough for 6 adults for a whole meal?) More time spent bickering about Carter standing them up over New Year's Eve than it would have taken to make the phone call at the beginning of the scene, not to mention an hour before (Carter was two hours late by that point).They saved the most compelling drama for Act 3 and it arrived with almost no foreshadowing. Suddenly the movie became almost a different movie entirely. Flying action, flying action and more flying action. Brand new characters with major parts in the last act. At least the filmmakers did not forget about the Mason family and knew they had to redeem the three self-absorbed adults by having them pull together & practice forgiveness in the harrowing near-tragedy. Those scenes were good. Some of the best acting in the movie.I thought the kid was gonna say "Doowittle!" at the end, lol. I think it would have been a good punchline, but then, I'm no Jo Swerling.

I'm a big fan of TCM, and this fits right in line with those. Jimmy Stewart is a favorite, and certainly Carole Lombard played a precious wife. I also appreciated smaller parts played by Louise Beavers and Ward Bond. Fantastic!

This film is one I can watch about once or twice a year. A hasty, but loving, marriage mixed with a meddling and demanding mother-in-law=a classic.As the moving began, an age rating of 16+ flashed across the screen (due to alcohol use, sexual content, and smoking). The alcohol use and smoking...ya, I guess. Sexual content??

Love the original B&W, they totally ruined it by colorizing it.

A hardwarming feel good romantic comedy / drama that has everything. Carole Lombard and Jimmy Stewart sweep us up in this delightful love story about a young couple deeply in love struggling to survive obstacles during their few years of marriage.

It's a drama, people - not a screwball comedy. A number of reviewers fault it because it doesn't offer humor and hijinx. Don't view it from that perspective. It's a depression era, pre-war Selznick drama. The film offers good plotting, great acting, a nice Ward Bond cameo, and James Coburn in a noncomedic role. Check it out.

then everything falls apart_no more sweet happiness_a lot of dumb stuff gets in the way_and it's all falling apart_but maybe it will work out_think so? i don't know it's a tough call_but Johnny loves Jane

First, be sure you have tissues, this is a tear jerker until the end. It's the story of a young man who falls in love and marries rather quickly. Times are tough, it's the Great Depression, so his widowed Mother is living with him and that causes the usual tension you would have with two women home all day in a two bedroom apartment. He seems to be getting no where at work no matter how hard he strives and just when you don't think it could worse, they have a baby on the way. It looks like it's just him against the world and you can see he is losing his faith in himself. Top notch acting, even with the over-wrought script saves the movie. Most people know that Jimmy Stewart was a great actor but this film also has Charles Laughton and Carole Lombard. The film is in black and white which means shadows and placement take the place of color and special effects. Lily, the maid, provides the best advice and the best line of the movie: Don't let the seeds stop you from enjoying the watermelon, just spit them out.

David O. Selznick, he of Gone With The Wind and Rebecca, produced this awkward film. Despite the presence of Carole Lombard and James Stewart the film flopped. It starts off as a light romantic comedy with the stars frothy and immature as two giggly newly-weds beset by a monstrous mother. They soon have a baby although there’s not the slightest hint that they could have produced one. Remember this is Hollywood 1938 with loveless sex from the Hayes Censorship Office.Stewart is a member of a rich, well-known law firm but he’s quickly in debt and (like so many middle class families portrayed in films of the thirties and forties) retains a maid. Catastrophe befalls the marriage but so far the son has hardly been mentioned. Supposing the baby falls ill......and the predictable happens. I won’t spoil it by telling you whether or not the baby dies. However this is a film in which the pilot of the mercy craft, a private biplane battling through a merciless blizzard, has time to jot down a memo on his progress.The film is badly edited.Certain facts are left for the viewer to work out. Characters come and go. Nothing is developed logically.Charles Coburn, who as the head of the law firm could have been a very strong character, is allowed to play him as a grumpy, unfeeling boor with one running joke, a hearing aid which is never in place.Lombard seems to be feeling her way still (and she had little time left) whereas Stewart still needs to tone down his unique drawl which he later used to charming effect.I still give this film three stars because , being of its time 1938/39, it demonstrates how quickly style and production changed. Interesting.

Both the sound and picture quality on this late 30's movie needs another rehash - the last attempt to update this was rather poorly done - surely... if remastered today would give the watcher a more worthwhile and entertaining result???

This DVD had good quality sound and picture. It was watchable for a Sunday afternoon matinee.

an early Jimmy Stewart film - can see why TV do not show it!

Lovely film.