Lombard & Stewart are ‘Made for Each Other’ 1939

Carole & Jimmy are looking for a Happy New Year in 'Made for Each Other.'

The rap on 1939’s Made for Each Other reminds me of the ‘glass is half empty/half full’ mindset. Many movie viewers and writers consider the film an unworthy, dated soap opera. Others love the movie for its iconic stars, Carole Lombard and Jimmy Stewart, adoring its old-fashioned entertainment value. I fall somewhere in the middle with Made for Each Other: I’m aware that certain aspects are dated, but can suspend my disbelief for what’s pleasurable about this film.

Young couple John and Jane Mason, with their baby boy...who was played by a girl!

The charismatic stars, strong supporting cast, and skilled production values, all make Made for Each Other a worthwhile watch. Yes, it’s old-fashioned (over 80 years old!) and unabashedly soapy (just like certain mainstream movies today!), but that’s part of its charm. I find the conventions that no longer exist fascinating. It’s like looking at an old photo album. Yet, despite the old-style suds, the core story is still universal. Made for Each Other could easily be updated. The story of newlyweds struggling over marriage, money, career, bosses and bossy in-laws, would still pack them in theaters if two young rom-com stars were attached.

Carole & Jimmy on the set. Both were 30 at the time. Life would drastically
change for them in a few short years.

There’s a melancholy tinge to 1939’s Made for Each Other, aside from its bittersweet story, which is heightened by hindsight. Two years later, Jimmy Stewart joined the Army, was off-screen for five years, and returned a changed man, for It’s a Wonderful Life. Carole Lombard died in a plane crash three years later, Jan. 16, 1942, returning from a war bonds rally. Ironically, the cliffhanger of Made for Each Other involves a plane crash, caused by dire winter weather.

Stewart & Lombard play newlyweds
who must cope after their whirlwind romance.

Though Stewart and Lombard were born the same year, Carole had been in the movies since the silent days, and she seems more sophisticated. Her wit and energy are a great contrast to Jimmy’s folksy, boyish demeanor, and it’s appealing.

Carole's Jane is not happy that her honeymoon is put on hold for a court case.

As a newly independent star, Carole Lombard was opting away from comedy for serious roles. She appeared in two films in ’39, both soaps: Made for Each Other and In Name Only. Carole is rightly regarded as a classic comic actor, but I think she was just as effective as a dramatic actress. Back when actresses postured and whose faces were plastered with glamour masks, no matter what the role, Lombard’s acting and visual style looks distinctly modern. While the era’s insistence on glamour made its way in this film, it’s comparatively toned down. Carole’s hair, makeup, and clothes are simple for the movie era, and when the film shows her keeping vigil for her deathly ill child, she’s dressed in black, with little makeup, and hair combed back. Most importantly, Lombard’s acting is realistic. When the young couple faces a marital and later, a medical emergency, Lombard’s usual high spirits are almost unnervingly hysterical. Side note: Has anyone ever noticed that Carole Lombard’s speaking voice sounds a great deal like Joanne Woodward’s?

This film was Carole's desire to do more dramatic roles, & one of 5 films Jimmy made in 1939.

James Stewart made five films in 1939. Typical of the era, Jimmy did better on loan out, including two pictures that put him on the map, Destry Rides Again and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Made for Each Other was considered ‘disappointing.’ But the last two were duds, It’s a Wonderful World, a comedy with Claudette Colbert, and Ice Follies of 1939 with Joan Crawford, at home studio MGM. Jimmy and Joan on ice!

An emergency with the their baby brings the couple closer.

Movie fans have noticed the similarity in Stewart’s character in Made for Each Other with his signature role as George Bailey in ‘46’s It’s a Wonderful Life. There are indeed likenesses, such as Johnny’s self-doubt over marital, career and money woes. Stewart is honing his folksy persona here and he is most ingratiating. At key moments, Jimmy as Johnny rises above the image and is refreshingly natural as he lets his guard down and expresses his fears to loving wife Jane. Stewart held his own with Lombard, as well as Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich, Claudette Colbert, and Joan Crawford—all in the same year. I hope he got a vacation in 1940!

Lucile Watson is a scenestealer as the overbearing mother-in-law.

Lucile Watson made a career of playing imperious old women, sympathetic or otherwise. The same year, she was Norma Shearer’s no-nonsense mother in The Women. Here she plays Carole’s royal pain of a mother-in-law. Watson is quite the comedic scene stealer without becoming a caricature. Near the finale, there’s a lovely scene when Jane and Mrs. Mason comfort each other during the one of the film’s bleakest moments.

Charles Coburn is the other scenestealer, as Jimmy's irascible boss.

Watching Charles Coburn, as Jimmy’s irascible boss, Mr. Doolittle, I wondered if he was EVER young in movies. Nope! He was 61 when Made for Each Other was filmed and absolutely ancient by the time Marilyn Monroe’s Loralei got her gloves on him, as Binky, in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Eddie Quillan is the cocky but brave pilot. A veteran
character actor, Eddie should have had bigger roles.

I recognized only the name Eddie Quillan, but probably saw the prolific character actor on TV when he was older. Here, as the brash pilot who delivers the baby’s pneumonia serum, Eddie is a charmer. I love wisecracking guys from classic movies, and Quillan does it so well. Brought up in vaudeville, Eddie later appeared in classics like Mutiny on the Bounty and The Grapes of Wrath to “B” movies and serials, to later TV shows like Rifleman and Little House on the Prairie. At 5’6” and 140 lbs., he was not leading man material, but with his twinkling dark eyes and smile, Eddie was absolutely adorable in his youth.

Louise Beavers and Carole Lombard have a heart to heart.

Louise Beavers has a small role, which she lights up the screen with warmth and wisdom. Yes, there’s a wince-worthy scene where she compares spitting out the bad in life like watermelon seeds, but I’ve seen far worse in better movies. Esther Dale is a hoot as Annie, the first maid who quits before the important dinner party is over. “I’m a human being!” is her hilarious refrain. Other familiar faces in Made for Each Other include Ward Bond as the older pilot who won’t fly during the storm, and Harry Davenport as the baby’s doctor.

Off-camera, Carole Lombard's dream
was to have a baby by hubby Clark Gable.

Made for Each Other moves along at brisk clip for its 90 minute running time. The film’s look is imaginative, from the fun opening credits, to the great camera work of Leon Shamroy. His camera captures the cramped but cozy apartment, the baby’s arrival, the characters’ physical interaction, and especially, the still-realistic plane delivery. Production design was by the great William Cameron Menzies, who always worked close with the director and camera man. John Cromwell seems like a good director of actors judging from his output (such as Of Human Bondage, Caged, and The Goddess.) The entire cast is strong, even those performing stereotypical roles; they are acted with empathy and humanity.

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There are some clever lines by screenwriter Jo Swerling and the humor that arises from universal situations is still funny. The last 15 minutes of the movie deals with their baby’s health crisis and feels tacked on, though staged and performed strongly. This may have been producer and professional meddler David O. Selznick’s doing, as he did this with many of his post-MGM films, where he had free rein to run rampant.

Jimmy & Carole's characters get dressed to impress, for a dinner with his boss.

There are some great little moments in this movie: the couple’s chaotic dinner party that ends with the boss giving the promotion to the office suck-up still stings. Or when Johnny comes home late from a class reunion and Jane awakens, with the fleeting change of expressions as she puts on her game face for Jimmy’s disappointed hubby, is marvelous acting moment by Lombard.

And baby makes three, and a happy ending for 'Made for Each Other.'

Is Made for Each Other a classic? No. Yet, Made has its merits—two great stars, a stellar supporting cast, and its look at a past era—and is worth a watch.