Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) [Warner Archive Blu-ray review]

Alfred Hitchcock delivered something special with Mr. & Mrs. Smith. He made his first screwball comedy and it’s kinda stunning how close in release this was to Rebecca. Stop me if you heard this setup before. An older couple talks about their marriage and wonders if they would remarry each other. That’s when a friend or official discovers their marriage is invalid and the courtship begins anew. It’s pretty tame, but at the same time it feels beneath Hitchcock at points.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a lesser movie

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is not even in the top 20 Hitchcock movies that people remember. Hell, it’s not a movie that I recommend starting out new Hitchcock viewers on at all. It’s a movie beset by many things. Lombard died after the movie was released, World War II broke out, the lingering Depression and so many other issues kept stacking up against the film. It did OK, but it’s not remembered for a reason.

It’s forgettable. There are no insanely remembered shots or anything related to the Hitchcock charm. Hell, I was shocked to learn it was the first American film to show a pizzeria onscreen. That feels more like a Snapple fun fact than anything substantial about the movie.

Warner Archive rocks the Blu-ray

Warner Archive loads up this release too. You get some classic WB short subjects, radio dramas and a featurette. Plus there are two cartoons thrown into the mix. I would kill to have this kind of line-up back for movies in theaters instead of the 8000 ads for stuff I will now never use. The A/V Quality is a marked improvement over the DVD in the classic Alfred Hitchcock Collection.

While not an essential movie by any means, it looks great in HD and is well worth checking out at least once.

You can buy the Mr. & Mrs. Smith Blu-ray from Warner Archive at MovieZyng!