It all happened rather suddenly. New York City. John Mason (James Stewart) is a young up and coming attorney . He has been doing his job well, and he has a chance of being made a partner in his law firm, especially if he marries Eunice (Ruth Weston), the daughter of his employer, Judge Joseph M. Doolittle (Charles Coburn). However John meets Jane (Carole Lombard) during a business trip in Boston and they fall in love and marry immediately, returning to New York and surprising everyone, John’s mother Harriet (Lucile Watson) most of all. She cannot conceal her disappointment, particularly when she learns Jane has no interest in pursuing a career. Yes-man colleague Carter (Donald Briggs) stops John and Jane going on honeymoon to Europe when he arrives on board their ship to tell him an important trial has been brought forward and John needs to attend for the firm. He wins the case but by that time Judge Doolittle has chosen Carter as the new partner which he reveals at the dinner party from hell hosted by Joseph and Jane at their apartment with Lily the maid (Louise Beavers) finally throwing in the towel due to Harriet’s overbearing manner. Eunice eventually marries Carter. Jane encourages John to demand a raise and a promotion but with finances tightened, Doolittle requires that all employees accept pay cuts. After Jane has a baby, John becomes discouraged by his situation – all the unpaid bills and his mother, who lives with them in their small apartment seemingly bent on destroying their marriage. Because she refuses to leave and occupies the small spare room, the baby has to sleep in the dining room of the apartment. On New Year’s Eve, 1938–39, when John and Jane finally go out for an evening on the town, the baby is rushed to the hospital with pneumonia and will die within hours unless a serum is delivered by plane from Salt Lake City, Utah but there’s a storm and nobody is flying … There are some things a man just can’t do. Sometimes movie star careers take a swerve for the serious and the public is momentarily confused. Perhaps that’s what happened when this was released because nobody really expected Carole Lombard to be despairing over a car crash of a marriage to lovable Jimmy Stewart whose harridan mother is ruining their lives while running their household. It starts as a malleable comedy drama and takes a turn for the potentially tragic and even Coburn isn’t funny which probably didn’t feel right for the fans but some shrewd writing saves this tonally shifting narrative from a descent into the totally maudlin. Rose Franken’s story was adapted for the screen by Jo Swerling with ‘humorous situations’ apparently contributed by an uncredited Frank Ryan. An oddity which has the unfortunate honour of prefiguring Lombard’s own demise in a snow storm similar to the one depicted here. Produced by David O. Selznick with cinematography by Leon Shamroy, production design by William Cameron Menzies and costumes by Travis Banton. Directed by John Cromwell (actor James’ dad) who would eventually be blacklisted after HUAC hearings. Don’t you know you’d be more comfortable if you took your shoes off?
mondomovies 