Made for Each Other (1939)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

(Flash Review)Another humble and honest look at life from a young Stewart. While on a business trip a young lawyer meets a striking young woman and poof, they get hitched the next day. Then reality sets in. Stewart is a lawyer with a crotchety old boss and his new wife tries to blend her life with his busy one. His new mother in-law is highly critical of their decisions, thus comes across as obnoxious. Next, along comes a baby and a serious life calamity strikes as the baby becomes very ill and the only place to turn for help is the crotchety old boss. This is the first time there is real tension in the story. Will the boss show that he has a heart and of course, is there a remedy for the baby's illness? At its core, this is a no nonsense drama; fairly straight forward with an interesting airplane scene in the mix and solid acting. If you are a James Stewart fan it'll be up your alley.

Everyone knows It's a Wonderful LIfe (1946) , but fewer know Made for Each Other (1939). If you are a film fan, you know Carole Lombard was Clark Gable's wife, and died in an airplane crash in Jan 16, 1942, while helping the war effort. Enjoy this as the first film with It's a Wonderful Life. This film may be an unexpected mix of plot devices, but anyone who enjoys classic Hollywood drama and stars will enjoy the fine cast and human story that makes this a fine Hollywood movie. Beginning with the classic Shop Around the Corner (1940), this film might be considered a early classic for Jimmy Stewart, and a lovely tribute for Lombard. She will be remembered as a fine and beautiful screen star whose career and life were tragically cut short. Made for Each Other movingly tell a story of love and devotion to both family and job frustrations that even the most modern viewer can relate to. Also, this was made in 1939 as were so many great films. It's a movie that were made to tug at your heart strings rather than overwhelm you with explosions and loud music.

I thought with Stewart and Lombard as leads, I would get a light marital comedy. What I got instead was a well made tear-jerker, with a few lighter moments but with a whole lot of heavy dramatics. A film like this, I suspect, is mainly a matter of taste. No matter how well done, the results still amount to slickly done soap opera.The two young marrieds go through a series of ups and downs much as most marriages do. Stewart's hectic as the bright young attorney, who thinks himself a failure because of money problems. Lombard plays his loyal wife who provides the strong support he and their marriage need, even though she has to put up with a disapproving mother-in-law. But it's a very glum Lombard, not the typical free spirit of her best roles. As Stewart's penny- pinching boss, Coburn manages as a likable grump, who comes through when needed.The production's wise enough to break up the prosaics with a hair-raising flight for life, as a bi-plane races across storm-tossed skies to deliver life saving serum to the couple's sick baby. It's the movie's high point and with a twist or two. I expect a lot of folks can still identify with the couple's difficulties even though the production comes from the hard- pressed Depression era. Nonetheless, I can't help thinking that the dead-serious roles do not make use of the stars' special talents. Given the movie's unexceptional storyline, I also can't help thinking any number of lesser actors could have adequately filled the two leads. And in that important casting sense, the movie remains a disappointment. In short, the cast deserves better.

Made for Each Other (1939)"Last year there were half a million divorces in this country. Congratulations."And that is the beginning of a sometimes-screwball comedy that turns very serious by the end, with James Stewart leading the charge. It could be screwier, and Jimmy Stewart is more lovable than hilarious, so the humor revolves around him as the foil. Carole Lombard, his partner in crime, can be more zany, for sure, but even there, she is more restrained than other films (like "Twentieth Century"). It's the situation, and the rest of the cast, who make this funny...and eventually tragic.How exactly it drags at times is hard to say. Oddly, even Stewart is a little off base, exaggerating too much. The plot, overall, lacks drive. You might think this doesn't matter in a silly comedy, but it does very much. In fact, because this comedy is laced with a fair amount of normal drama, it needs a basic conflict that dramas need. There are some terrific scenes--the New Year's moment is really moving, and the scenes after that--and these are the reason to watch.On some level, this is a type of drama/comedy that is aimed at new parents, or newlyweds. The couple's focus on the baby reminded me of "Christmas in Connecticut," and "Penny Serenade." I wish it just worked better, but too often it bumbles along, one little moment after another, the result of imperfect direction (John Cromwell) and a weak script. So it does the best it can, and the last half hour is its best, with high drama kicking in. This is a David O. Selznick production in the same year as his slightly more famous movie, "Gone with the Wind."