Made for Each Other
Directed by John Cromwell
Written by Jo Swerling suggested by a story by Rose Franken
1939/USA
Selznick International Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Jane: Are you a man or a mouse?

John Horace ‘Johnny’ Mason: A mouse![/box]

This starts out well and the two stars are superb as always but unfortunately it descends into preposterous melodrama half way through.

Fledgling attorney John Mason (James Stewart) meets Jane (Carole Lombard) on a business trip and marries her before he returns to the office.  This does not sit well with his boss Judge Doolittle (Charles Coburn), whose daughter he has been dating, or his mother (Lucile Watson).  Mother comes to live with the young couple and family strife, career reversals, and a new baby mean married life is not a bed of roses.  Then the baby gets pneumonia and only a serum which must be flown cross country during a terrible storm can save him.

This movie was rescued for me by its outstanding cast, all of whom did well with the sometimes treacly material.  That said, I see no reason to revisit this.

Clip – credits and opening