Made for Each Other (1939 film)

Made for Each Other is a 1939 American romantic comedy film directed by John Cromwell, produced by David O. Selznick and starring Carole Lombard, James Stewart, and Charles Coburn. Lombard and Stewart portray a couple who marry after only knowing each other for just one day.

Made for Each Other
1939 theatrical poster
Directed by	John Cromwell
Screenplay by	Jo Swerling Frank Ryan (uncredited)
Story by	Rose Franken
Produced by	David O. Selznick
Starring	Carole Lombard James Stewart
Cinematography	Leon Shamroy
Edited by	James E. Newcom
Music by	Oscar Levant (uncredited)
Production company	Selznick International Pictures
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	February 10, 1939 (1939-02-10)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The film is now in the public domain in the United States, and Disney owns the original film negative.^[1]

Plot

Made for Each Other (1939)

John Mason is a milquetoast young attorney in New York City who works for Judge Doolittle. He has as a chance to become a partner at his law firm, especially if he marries Doolittle's daughter Eunice. However, John meets a woman named Jane during a business trip, and they fall in love and marry immediately. Eunice eventually marries Carter, another lawyer at the firm. John's impertinent mother is disappointed with his choice, and an important trial forces him to cancel the honeymoon. He wins the case, but by that time, Doolittle has chosen Carter as the new partner.

After they have a baby, Jane encourages John to demand a raise and a promotion, but with finances tightened by the Great Depression, Doolittle instead requires that all employees accept pay cuts. John becomes discouraged by his unpaid bills, and his mother, who lives with them in their small apartment, is destroying their marriage, causing a stream of housekeepers to quit. John's mother gives the baby a bad cold.

On New Year's Eve, the baby is rushed to the hospital with pneumonia. The baby will die within hours unless a serum is delivered by plane from Salt Lake City. Doolittle agrees to provide the $5,000 required to deliver the serum, but with a raging storm, the pilot refuses to fly. John pleads with the pilot by phone, and the pilot's friend takes the job. The small biplane encounters heavy snow and almost crashes in the mountains, and the engine catches fire over the Allegheny River, a short distance from New York. The pilot escaped by parachute, clutching the serum, but he is injured on landing and rendered unconscious. He then crawls to a nearby farmhouse, where the farmer phones the hospital, and the baby is saved. A few months later, John is named as a partner at the law firm and his son speaks his first words.

Cast

• Carole Lombard as Jane Mason
• James Stewart as John Horace Mason
• Charles Coburn as Judge Joseph M. Doolittle
• Lucile Watson as Mrs. Harriet Mason
• Eddie Quillan as Conway the pilot
• Alma Kruger as Sister Madeline
• Louise Beavers as Lily, Cook #3 (uncredited)
• Ward Bond as Jim Hatton (uncredited)
• Donald Briggs as Mr. Carter (uncredited)
• Esther Dale as Annie, Cook #1 (uncredited)
• Harry Davenport as Dr. Healy (uncredited)
• Fern Emmett as Famer's Wife (uncredited)
• Ruth Gillette as Tipsy Blonde at New Year's Eve Party (uncredited)
• Olin Howland as Farmer (uncredited)
• Nella Walker as Dr. Langham's Nurse-Receptionist (uncredited)
• Mary Field as Johns Hopkins technician (uncredited)
• Milburn Stone as Newark official (uncredited)

Reception

The film lost $292,000 at the box office.^[2]

Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times called the film "thoroughly delightful".^[3]

The film was re-edited into a short film by Jeff Baena for an episode of the Showtime anthology series Cinema Toast. The characters played by Lombard, Stewart, Charles Coburn, and Lucile Watson were dubbed by Alison Brie, John Reynolds, Nick Offerman, and Megan Mullally, respectively.

See also

• List of American films of 1939