Made for Each Other

1939 "Heartbreak...!"
6.2| 1h32m| NR| en
Details

A couple struggle to find happiness after a whirlwind courtship.

Director

Producted By

Selznick International Pictures

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Reviews

Kattiera Nana 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.
Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
utgard14 Newlywed couple (James Stewart, Carole Lombard) struggle to make it work despite financial problems, a meddling mother-in-law, and a sick baby. Interesting but flawed movie. It's a bit muddled with an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach to storytelling. Starts off like a romantic comedy but morphs into a melodramatic tearjerker. Lombard and Stewart rise above the material and have good chemistry. Lucille Watson is the mother-in-law from hell. Louise Beavers is great as an understanding maid with words of wisdom for Lombard. Well-photographed by Leon Shamroy. Climax is exciting stuff, if a bit far-fetched.
AaronCapenBanner John Cromwell directed this marital comedy(with serious overtones) that stars Jimmy Stewart as John Mason, a successful young lawyer with a good law firm who meets, falls in love with, and marries a young woman named Jane(played by Carole Lombard) whom he brings home with him to the disapproval of his mother(played by Lucille Watson). Things become strained when he doesn't get an expected partnership at the firm, and later on, their baby gets sick, forcing John to scramble to get a valuable serum that is the only chance to save its life... Good performances by the leads compensates for uneven nature of the film, which is occasionally awkward , but ultimately appealing.
GAWeldon Your enjoyment of "Made For Each Other" is entirely dependent on your appreciation for Jimmy Stewart. If you're a big fan of his, you should find this movie mildly entertaining. If, however, you find Jimmy Stewart vastly overrated as an actor, like I do, then you're in for a painful slog.All of Stewart's quirks, gimmicks, affectations, and stammers are fully on view here. In this movie, he plays a wimpy lawyer who lets everyone and everything in his life overwhelm him. That would be fine if the movie gave us any kind of story to attach to the character he plays. It doesn't. There's a co-worker at the law firm where Stewart works who seems to be the film's villain early on. They're competing for a firm partnership, so it seems like we might get some heated office politics. We don't. Stewart had been dating the boss' daughter before meeting his wife, so it seems like we might get some interesting romantic rivalry sparks in the movie. We don't. Stewart's boss (Charles Coburn) pushes Stewart around, possibly because Stewart ditched his daughter, so we might get some "boss vs. employee" friction. We don't. Stewart's new wife and his mom rub each other the wrong way, so we might get some interesting family in-fighting. We don't. In fact, not much really happens in this movie at all.After about an hour of listlessness, Stewart and Lombard decide to get a divorce. At this point, I thought, "Well, maybe their baby will get sick and die and that'll end this dreary movie." Shazam! The next scene, that very thing started to happen! All of a sudden Stewart is sobbing on the phone, demanding help from his boss, praying for help, all in the most melodramatic way possible. Some random pilot decides to fly from Salt Lake City to New York during a raging blizzard (in an open air bi-plane!!!) in order to save the day. Why couldn't the movie be about THAT guy? Stewart's character is such a mama's boy that its hard to root for him at all. I could never see what Lombard's character saw in him in the first place. Charles Coburn's character started off as really irritating, with the old "hard-of-hearing" schtick that seems to be prevalent in so many old movies. He really takes control of the situation (and the movie) by becoming a man of action once the baby gets sick. His role became the most interesting part of the movie at that point.If you want to see Jimmy Stewart at his best (in 1939), stick with "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington".
mark.waltz Movies about marriage are a mixed bag. What works and doesn't depends on the writing. Are the characters real? Do the problems and resolutions make sense? In the case of "Made For Each Other", the answer to these questions is yes. The couple is James Stewart and Carole Lombard, and their problems are simple. Stewart's nagging mother (Lucille Watson), his irascible boss (Charles Coburn), issues meeting their budget, and dealing with the issues of a new child are among them. The situations are simple and solvable, so the film isn't really saying anything remarkable, but viewers then and now can identity with the problems, even if they do seem a bit simple in today's complex world.One amusing issue they face is keeping good help. Their first cook (Esther Dale) can't stand the interfering Watson ("I'm Only Human!", she repeats and repeats, after which she demands her salary while a dinner party is still going on), while the second makes it clear she is only the cook, and won't wash diapers. (Lombard promptly fires her.) The third is a gem, and she's a gentle black woman, played with great dignity and love by the always delightful Louise Beavers. Stewart and Lombard are a likable young couple, and while they may not seem an ideal romantic team, it works because Lombard is playing against type. Watson starts off as the passive-aggressive mother-in-law who interferes at every turn, but once you see her own loneliness, she is more understandable. She reminded me of Doris Roberts' Marie Barone on the long-running sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond". Coburn, one of the biggest scene stealers in movies, is excellent, and infuses his sometime aggravating character with many levels of humanity, especially when things get really rough for the couple when their baby gets sick. The conclusion is heart-wrenching and will have you glued to your seat.