Made for Each Other (1939)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

John Cromwell

Writers:

Rose Franken (story)
Jo Swerling (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

10 February 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Young lawyer meets and marries girl after knowing her one day. Takes bride home to meet his mother who disapproves of the marriage...

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Marriage | Baby | Pneumonia | Mother In Law

Cast

Carole Lombard	...	Jane Mason
James Stewart	...	John Horace 'Johnny' Mason
Charles Coburn	...	Judge Joseph M. Doolittle
Lucile Watson	...	Mrs. Harriet Mason
Eddie Quillan	...	Conway (pilot)
Alma Kruger	...	Sister Madeline
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Irving Bacon	...	Newark Radio Operator (uncredited)
Raymond Bailey	...	Salt Lake City Hospital chemist (uncredited)
Bonnie Belle Barber	...	John Mason, Jr. (infant) (uncredited)
Louise Beavers	...	Lily (cook #3) (uncredited)
Ward Bond	...	Jim Hatton (pilot) (uncredited)
Donald Briggs	...	Mr. Carter (uncredited)
Harlan Briggs	...	Judge (uncredited)
Lane Chandler	...	Ranger on telephone (uncredited)
Russ Clark	...	Omaha radio operator (uncredited)
Monte Collins	...	Juror (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Co-Worker (uncredited)
Esther Dale	...	Annie (cook #1) (uncredited)
Harry Davenport	...	Dr. Healy (uncredited)
Edgar Dearing	...	Mounted policeman (uncredited)
Harry Depp	...	Hutch (uncredited)
Robert Elliott	...	Airport operations manager (uncredited)
Fern Emmett	...	Farmer's wife (uncredited)
Betty Farrington	...	Hospital cashier (uncredited)
Mary Field	...	Johns Hopkins technician (uncredited)
Fred Fuller	...	Younger Doolittle (uncredited)
Ruth Gillette	...	Tipsy blonde at New Year's Eve party (uncredited)
Russell Hopton	...	Collins (pilot) (uncredited)
Olin Howland	...	Farmer (uncredited)
Arthur Hoyt	...	Jury foreman (uncredited)
Victor Kilian Jr.	...	Chicago Radio Operator (uncredited)
Tom London	...	Ranger (uncredited)
Ethel Marical	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Edwin Maxwell	...	Messerschmidt (uncredited)
Tom McGuire	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
James McNamara	...	Juror (uncredited)
Carlyle Moore Jr.	...	North Platte radio operator (uncredited)
Wilhelmina Morris	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Jack Mulhall	...	Rock Springs Radio Operator (uncredited)
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Harry (elevator starter) (uncredited)
Renee Orsell	...	Hilda (cook #2) (uncredited)
Garry Owen	...	Denver Radio Operator (uncredited)
John Picorri	...	Juror (uncredited)
Mickey Rentschler	...	Office boy (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Office worker (uncredited)
Mildred Shay	...	John Horace Mason's secretary (uncredited)
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Simon (Judge Doolittle's brother) (uncredited)
Milburn Stone	...	Newark official (uncredited)
Jackie Taylor	...	John Mason, Jr. at one year old (uncredited)
Nella Walker	...	Dr. Langham's nurse-receptionist (uncredited)
Ruth Weston	...	Eunice Doolittle (uncredited)
Marjorie Wood	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Harry Worth	...	New York Hospital chemist (uncredited)

Directed by
John Cromwell

Writing credits
Rose Franken		(story)
Jo Swerling		(screenplay)
Frank Ryan		(contributor: humorous situations) uncredited

Produced by
David O. Selznick	....	producer

Original Music by
Oscar Levant
David Buttolph		(uncredited)
Louis Forbes		(uncredited)
Hugo Friedhofer		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Leon Shamroy

Film Editing by
James E. Newcom

Production Design by
William Cameron Menzies

Art Direction by
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Costume Design by
Travis Banton

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eric Stacey	....	assistant director

Art Department
Edward G. Boyle	....	interior decorator
Dorothea Holt	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jack Noyes	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Jack Cosgrove	....	special effects
Edmund E. Fellegi	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Hal C. Kern	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Louis Forbes	....	musical director (as Lou Forbes)
Alfred Newman	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Franz Waxman	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Lillian K. Deighton	....	researcher (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Selznick International Pictures

Distributors

• United Artists (1939) (USA) (theatrical)
• Film Classics (1944) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1979) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Madacy Entertainment (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Simitar Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Hollywood Classics (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Laserlight Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Take 2 Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Delta Expedition (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Madacy Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Madacy Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Platinum Disc (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• BFS Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Laserlight Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Vidtape (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2005) (worldwide) (TV)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #4846) | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Reuss Ranch, Malibu Lake, California, USA

Company:

Selznick International Pictures

Trivia:

David O. Selznick's experience of trying to have life-saving serum flown in for his critically ill brother was the basis for the flying sequences ending the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Johnny comes home drunk, his collar changes throughout the scene from being flipped up in the back to being properly placed.

Quotes:

Lily, Cook #3: Never let the seeds stop you from enjoying the watermelon.
Jane: That's all right if you've got a watermelon.
Lily, Cook #3: You mustn't say that, Miss Mason. You've got your watermelon, but you chokes yourself up on all the little seeds. I always say "Spit 'em out before they spoil your taste for the melon."

Soundtrack:

Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)

A few good moments, but overall the story is a confused mess.

This film doesn't have a very clear picture of what it is or wants to be. There are some good bits when Stewart is on screen and they give him some lines to work with. It works best early on as romantic comedy, but the story keeps heading for more dramatic territory and gets itself lost in the process. By the last fifteen minutes or so, the plot twists are just a series dramatic clichés.

The part with the airplane feels like some leftover footage from another film spliced in.

The main reason I can think of to watch it is if you want be able to say you've seen all of Jimmy Stewart's films.