Made for Each Other

Rating:
Summary: MADE FOR THE SILVER SCREEN - A POIGNANT LOVE STORY
Review: "Made for Each Other" is an effective and compelling melodrama that seamlessly blends the conflicting essences of drama and comedy into a genuine treat for the heart and mind. It stars resident scatterbrain, Carole Lombard and congenial James Stewart as Jane and John Mason, a couple on a whirlwind romance to nowhere. Disapproving in-laws intercede in the couple's idyllic domestic paradise and financial stresses brought on by a change at work eventually culminated in a devastating illness. Director John Cromwell spins a cinematic tapestry of lives that are the embodiment of those proverbial ups and downs we all encounter in life. Cromwell's sprite and accessible direction allows even the sensitive charm and poignancy of secondary characters like, John's boss, Joseph Doolittle (Charles Coburn) the chance to shine. Though the effervescent triumph of the human spirit is never far from Cromwell's vision for the film, it's ultimately that old fashioned sentiment that salvages the whole affair from becoming overly sweet.

MGM's DVD is impressive. The B&W picture exhibits a very nicely balanced gray scale with smooth, solid blacks and very clean whites. Age related artifacts are present throughout but do not distract. Some minor edge enhancement crops up and there is more than a hint of pixelization in infrequent spots but overall the picture will surely not disappoint. The audio is mono but more than adequate for a film of this vintage. There are no extras.



Rating:
Summary: LOMBARD ROCKS!!!!
Review: Although not her best, this film still stands the test of time. The film is simple, but that is what makes it a classic. Lombard will make you fall in love with her character. Not many actresses can do that today. Jimmy Stewart is as dependable as ever as the husband. If you like Lombard, check out "Nothing Sacred" as well. It is a great comedy with a wonderful screenplay by Ben Hect.

Rating:
Summary: LOMBARD ROCKS!!!!
Review: Although not her best, this film still stands the test of time. The film is simple, but that is what makes it a classic. Lombard will make you fall in love with her character. Not many actresses can do that today. Jimmy Stewart is as dependable as ever as the husband. If you like Lombard, check out "Nothing Sacred" as well. It is a great comedy with a wonderful screenplay by Ben Hect.

Rating:
Summary: Stewart and Lombard and life's challenges
Review: As happliy married newlyweds, Stewart and Lombard seem to have it all...each other, a promising career, and a beautiful baby -- that they work to figure out how to care for. Be sure to catch Stewart trying to bottle feed the baby!

Things turn tough when their child is struck with illness, and they come to the realization that life is hard after all.

This movie has romance, humor, idealism, and sadness -- things that make movies of the black and white era watchable and enjoyable.

I heartily recommend this movie...but watch out for the second scene with the little angel in sneakers.

Five stars for a great watchable movie -- even though some people think that it's got too much melodramatic sappiness in it. After all, I think that anyone can do with a dose of good, solid sappiness once in a while.

Rating:
Summary: Notes on the MGM Version
Review: Movie: ***1/2 DVD Quality: *** DVD Extras: N/A

"Made for Each Other" is a textbook example of how a skillful cast of pros can turn an ordinary, run-of-the-mill script into something special. The film's plot is a soap operatic pastiche of comedic and dramatic incidents revolving around the misfortunes of a young hardluck couple who have married after a brief meeting. Their fledging relationship is tested at every turn as they are beset by a long list of cliched domestic problems, including disapproving inlaws; financial worries; tragic illness and impending loss; etc, etc. In lesser hands the film might have turned out to be 93 minutes of bathetic nonsense, but co-stars Carole Lombard and James Stewart succeed in taking straw and spinning it into pure gold. Both actors approach their roles with a disarming integrity and heartfelt honesty that breathe life into the often hackneyed dialogue and situations; Lombard in particular manages to make her character luminescent from the inside out, even in those scenes in which she is dimly lit and appears devoid of makeup. Now THAT'S "star power"! The two leads are given able support by a wonderful cast of talented character actors giving their all (Charles Coburn, Lucile Watson, Harry Davenport, and Louise Beavers), but ultimately the picture rests on Stewart's and Lombard's more than capable shoulders.

At one point, the copyright on "Made for Each Other" lapsed and the film fell into the public domain. Television broadcasters and cheapie video companies aired or sold copies of varying quality, sometimes made from third or fourth generation prints that featured wretched contrast, inept splices, and muddy sound. Happily, the MGM DVD offers the cleanest, sharpest video and audio I have come across in years of searching. In the past, I have stopped watching various prints five to ten minutes into the film because of quality problems, but the MGM print - though not perfect - is relatively free of video or audio distortion, and is definitely the one I would recommend to you, especially if you're purchasing a copy to add to your home library.

Rating:
Summary: AWFUL
Review: My title sums it up. This movie struck us as sad and drawn out. The ending though satisfying is preceeded by a series of rather shocking scenes. It caught us totally unawares. I shall never watch this movie again.

Rating:
Summary: Soap Poisoning
Review: My wife and I expected SOME comedy - after all, Carol Lombard and Jimmie Stewart have BOTH done excellent work in that field, and the reviews we'd seen CALLED it a "comedy-drama". But alas, the only funny part of this movie was unintentional humor, particularly the "dramatic" sequence at the end, with a biplane pilot flying precious "serum" (on New Year's Eve, apparently) over the Rockies in a blinding blizzard (some wing spars on that plane!) and eventually bailing out somewhere over the Susquehannah (some fuel tanks that biplane had!) while newspaper headlines track his progress - all in one night? As a (former USAF) pilot, I laughed myself out of my seat throughout THIS sequence - it is totally ludicrous.

This "weepie", made in 1939, is infinitely dated. It looks much like a prototype for "It's A Wonderful Life", and maybe film buffs can check it out bearing *that* in mind, but if you are expecting ANY sort of humor, forget it. Stewart lurches from one setback to another, while his wife stays home with the baby and the mother-in-law (and the maid - don't forget the maid....). Trying to think of a single "funny" scene, I suppose the two seconds Stewart spends poking a bottle at the baby could bring a smile, but the scene where he comes home completely drunk is like watching a train wreck.

As another reviewer wrote, the DVD transfer is awful. The sound seems to come from the bottom of a 55-gallon drum stuffed with cotton - turning the volume up only gets you an earful of hiss and crackle. And extras....well, what do you expect at this price? The "art work" is a single lobby card (and that's shown so small that I can't imagine why it was even included), and "biographies" is a single page for Stewart, nothing for Lombard or anyone else.

The film this reminded me of most was "Cavalcade", but without the high spots. Even if you like "weepies" like "Penny Serenade", there is precious little in this archaic creaker to interest you. I highly recommed passing. Or better yet - go for "It Happened One Night".

Rating:
Summary: Underappreciated gem!
Review: Now that MADE FOR EACH OTHER has been gloriously restored on this latest DVD, it is easy to see why it was chosen by THE NEW YORK TIMES as one of the Ten Best Films of the Year in 1939, arguably the greatest year in motion pictures. Indeed, it is a film that could easily have influenced IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (which also stars Jimmy Stewart).

Simply put, this is a film that traces the first couple years of Carole Lombard and Jimmy Stewart, two newleyweds who face career disappointments, meddling in-laws, financial woes, etc... Although the material may sound familiar, the actors, writer, and director find a fresh way of portraying "scenes from a marriage." There is enormous warmth, humor, and pathos in the interplay between Lombard and Stewart, with great contributions from the supporting cast. Director Cromwell builds a scene beautifully -- much like George Stevens and George Cukor did. The dinner that Lombard throws for Stewart's boss is a perfect example, as Lombard's efforts are undermined by a disgruntled housekeeper, unwelcome guests, and a malfunctioning icebox.

Carole Lombard is known for her comedies (MY MAN GODFREY, TO BE OR NOT TO BE, NOTHING SACRED), but this performance is easily one of her best. Lombard is so natural, beautiful, and compelling, and she and Stewart create such a believable couple that it makes you yearn for a re-teaming, especially in THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. Unfortunately, she only made five more films after MADE FOR EACH OTHER before her life was tragically cut short in a plane crash. Her engagement and subsequent marriage to Gable at the time she was filming MADE FOR EACH OTHER revealed a vulnerable, nurturing, and commanding presence that should have brought her an Oscar nomination. However, in a year that boasted Vivien Leigh's Scarlett, Greta Garbo's Ninotcha, and Judy Garland's Dorothy, it is easy to see why Lombard's Jane Mason was sadly overlooked.

The last twenty minutes of the film does disolve into soap opera, but it is still expertly done. MADE FOR EACH OTHER deserves a reappraisal, and this beautifully restored version is a wonderful reason to experience the film anew.

Rating:
Summary: MEDIOCRE SOAP
Review: The trials and tribulations of a young married couple. Carole Lombard was that rarest type of actresses - a beautiful woman who was also funny. Seen today, it is very much a film of the Hollywood past, and without the pleasing performances of the leads, would have little to recommend it. By 1939, she had established herself as a top-flight comedienne, and it had begun to bother her; she felt that she needed to prove her dramatic abilities. David O. Selznick agreed with her and commissioned Jo Swerling to write an original screenplay about the problems of a young married couple. Lombard's humour shines through, even though the part doesn't call for comedy, and Stewart is in his element as the shy but sunny, diffident yet optimistic all-American. Both Selznick and Lombard felt that the perfect actor to play the husband would be James Stewart, which required a loan-out from MGM in order to play in this United Artists production. The film was a modest success but not the winner Selznick had hoped for; the scene in which the serum is brought to the baby (he has pneumonia) via a plane in snowstorm barely passed muster in 1939, today it borders on the ludicrous.

Rating:
Summary: Nice movie, shame about the picture
Review: This is a great example of the old time Hollywood soap opera. James Stewart and Carole Lombard are wonderful (as always) as the young couple dealing with the strange and cruel twists and turns of life. A two-hankie weepie. However, I strongly recommend that you do not purchase this dvd. The sound and picture quality are terrible. It is completely unwatchable and the hiss is so bad the dialogue is muffled. It's hard to understand how a company can find tranfers as bad as these - the vhs copies are much superior. Trust me, this may seem like a bargain but it is not. 4 stars for the movie 0 for the dvd