''Made for Each Other'' is a 1939 American

romantic comedy film Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

directed by John Cromwell, produced by David O. Selznick, and starring

Carole Lombard Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 2 ...

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

, and

Charles Coburn Charles Douville Coburn (June 19, 1877 – August 30, 1961) was an American actor and theatrical producer. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award three times – in ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941), ''The More the Me ...

. Lombard and Stewart portray a couple who get married after only knowing each other for one day. The film is now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

in the United States, with the original film negative owned by Disney.

Plot

John Mason (

) is a young attorney in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and a milquetoast. 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 Doolittle. However, John meets Jane (

) during a business trip, and they fall in love and marry immediately. Eunice eventually marries another lawyer in the firm, Carter (

Donald Briggs Donald Briggs (January 28, 1911 – February 3, 1986) was an American actor, who appeared in over 75 films and television shows between the 1930s and 1970s. Early life Briggs was born in Chicago, Illinois and died in Woodland Hills, California ...

). John's impertinent mother (

Lucile Watson Lucile Watson (May 27, 1879 – June 24, 1962) was a Canadian actress, long based in the United States. She was "famous for her roles of formidable dowagers." Early years Watson was born in Quebec and raised in Ottawa, the daughter of an off ...

) is disappointed with his choice, and an important trial forces him to cancel the honeymoon. He wins the case, but by that time Judge Doolittle has chosen John's kowtowing yes-man coworker Carter as the new partner. Jane encourages John to demand a raise and a promotion, but with finances tightened by the Depression, Doolittle requires that all employees accept pay cuts. After Jane has a baby, John becomes discouraged by his unpaid bills, and his mother, who lives with them in their small apartment, is destroying their marriage. On New Year's Eve, 1938–39, 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 Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. Doolittle agrees to provide funding to deliver the serum, but with a storm raging, and with a wife and children to consider, the pilot refuses to fly. John pleads over the telephone, and the pilot's unmarried friend takes the job. The new pilot almost crashes in the mountains, and the plane's engine catches fire a short distance from New York. The pilot is also injured and knocked unconscious after jumping from the plane and parachuting to safety, but he crawls to a nearby farm house after he comes to. The farmer sees the box containing the serum and telephones the hospital, and the baby is saved. A few months later, John is made partner at the law firm and his son speaks his first words.

Cast

as Jane Mason *

as John Horace Mason *

as Judge Joseph M. Doolittle *

as Mrs. Harriet Mason *

Eddie Quillan Edward Quillan (March 31, 1907 – July 19, 1990) was an American film actor and singer whose career began as a child on the vaudeville stages and silent film and continued through the age of television in the 1980s. Vaudeville and silent fi ...

as Conway *

Alma Kruger Alma Kruger (September 13, 1871 – April 5, 1960) was an American actress. Career Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1871 (or 1868 according to other sources), Kruger had a long career on stage before appearing in films. From 1907 to 1935 ...

as Sister Madeline *

Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. From the 1920s until 1960, she appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows. She was most often cast in the roles of a maid, servan ...

as Lily, Cook #3 (uncredited) *

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Ber ...

as Jim Hatton (uncredited) *

as Mr. Carter (uncredited) *

Esther Dale Esther Dale (November 10, 1885 – July 23, 1961) was an American actress of the stage and screen. Early years Dale was born in Beaufort, South Carolina. She attended Leland and Gray Seminary in Townshend, Vermont. In Berlin, Germany, she stud ...

as Annie, Cook #1 (uncredited) *

Harry Davenport Harry Davenport may refer to: * Harry Davenport (actor) (1866–1949), American film and stage actor * Harry Davenport (footballer) (1900–1984), Australian footballer * Harry J. Davenport (1902–1977), Democratic Party member of the U.S. House ...

as Dr. Healy (uncredited) *

Fern Emmett Fern Emmett (March 22, 1896 – September 3, 1946) was an American film actress. She appeared in 212 films between 1930 and 1946. Emmett's film debut came with Universal in a two-reel production in 1914. Personal life Emmett was married to ...

as Famer's Wife (uncredited) *

Ruth Gillette Ruth Gillette (August 16, 1906 – May 13, 1994) was an American actress. She appeared in numerous films, TV series and theatrical productions from the 1920s to the 1980s. Early life Gillette was born in Chicago in 1906, the daughter of Mi ...

as Tipsy Blonde at New Year's Eve Party (uncredited) *

Olin Howland Olin Ross Howland (February 10, 1886 – September 20, 1959) was an American film and theatre actor. Life and career Howland was born in Denver, Colorado, to Joby A. Howland, one of the youngest enlisted participants in the Civil War, an ...

as Farmer (uncredited) *

Nella Walker Nella Walker (March 6, 1886 – March 22, 1971) was an American actress and vaudeville performer of the 1920s through the 1950s. Biography The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Walker, she was born and raised in Chicago. In 1910, she marrie ...

as Dr. Langham's Nurse-Receptionist (uncredited) *

Milburn Stone Hugh Milburn Stone (July 5, 1904 – June 12, 1980) was an American actor, best known for his role as "Doc" (Dr. Galen Adams) on the CBS Western series ''Gunsmoke''. Early life Stone was born in Burrton, Kansas, to Herbert Stone and the forme ...

as Newark official (uncredited)

Reception and legacy

''The New York Times'' called the film "thoroughly delightful", but it lost $292,000 at the box office.David Thomson, ''Showman: The Life of David O. Selznick'', Abacus, 1993 p. 269 The film was re-edited into a comedy short by

Jeff Baena Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

for an episode of the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

anthology series ''Cinema Toast''. Lombard, Stewart, Charles Coburn, and Lucile Watson were dubbed by

Alison Brie Alison Brie Schermerhorn (born December 29, 1982) is an American actress. Her breakthrough came with the role of Trudy Campbell in the drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), which won her a Screen Actors Guild Award. She gained recognition fo ...

, John Reynolds,

Nick Offerman Nicholas David Offerman (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, writer, comedian, producer, and carpenter. He is best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom ''Parks and Recreation'', for which he received the Television Critics A ...

, and

Megan Mullally Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for playing Karen Walker on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'' (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award no ...

, respectively.

References

* American Broadcasting Companies *

MGM Home Entertainment Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC (d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video division of the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. History 1 ...

External links

* * * * * *
''Made for Each Other''
on

Lux Radio Theater ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

: February 19, 1940 {{DEFAULTSORT:Made For Each Other (1939 Film) 1939 films 1930s romantic comedy-drama films American black-and-white films American romantic comedy-drama films 1930s English-language films Films about marriage Films directed by John Cromwell Films produced by David O. Selznick Films set in 1938 Films set in 1939 Films set in New York City Films with screenplays by Jo Swerling Films set around New Year Selznick International Pictures films United Artists films 1939 comedy films 1939 drama films 1930s American films

Plot

Cast

Reception and legacy

See also

References

External links