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Made for Each Other is a 1939 American romantic comedy drama film[3] directed by John Cromwell, produced by David O. Selznick and starring Carole Lombard, James Stewart, and Charles Coburn. The film follows a couple who marry after only knowing each other for just one day, and documents their tempestuous marriage amidst the Great Depression.

The film is now in the public domain in the United States, and Disney owns the original film negative.[4]

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 escapes 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

James Stewart and Carole Lombard in a publicity still

Production

The film was listed as in-production in September 1938, with filming occurring at Selznick Studios in Culver City, California.[5]

Release

Made for Each Other had a preview screening at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on January 31, 1939.[6] The film premiered in Miami, Florida, and Seattle, Washington on February 3, 1939,[7][8] followed by a New York City premiere on February 17, 1939.[9]

Home media and rights

Made for Each Other is in the public domain in the United States.[10][11] Because of its public domain status, the film has been released in the home media market by numerous distributors.[12] Anchor Bay Entertainment issued a digitally mastered VHS edition in 1999.[13] MGM Home Entertainment released the film on DVD on October 19, 2004.[14] On November 13, 2018, Kino Lorber released Blu-ray and DVD editions sourced from a new 2K scan of the original film elements.[15]

The original film negative is owned by The Walt Disney Company.[4] A 35 mm print of the film is held by the Museum of Modern Art, gifted by ABC Pictures International.[2]

Reception

Box office

The film lost $292,000 at the box office.[16]

Critical response

Made for Each Other received favorable reviews from film critics at the time of its release.[17] Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times called the film “thoroughly delightful”.[18] The film was also named one of the ten best films of 1939 by The New York Times.[17]

Variety praised the film as “an exquisitely played, deeply moving comedy-drama… A happy combination of young love, sharp clean-cut humor and tearjerker.”[17] Time also offered a favorable review: “This mundane, domestic chronicle has more dramatic impact than all the hurricanes, sandstorms and earthquakes manufactured in Hollywood last season.”[19]

Accolades

Award/association Year Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref.
Photoplay Awards 1939 Best Picture of the Month (April) Made for Each Other Won
Best Performance of the Month (April) Carole Lombard Won
James Stewart Won
Lucile Watson Won

The film was re-edited into a 2021 short film by Jeff Baena for an episode of the Showtime anthology series Cinema Toast.[20] The characters played by Lombard, Stewart, Charles Coburn, and Lucile Watson were dubbed by Alison Brie, John Reynolds, Nick Offerman, and Megan Mullally, respectively.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Eliot 2006, p. 435.
  2. ^ a b Higgins 2006, p. 365.
  3. ^ “Made for Each Other”. AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Archived from the original on August 30, 2024.
  4. ^ a b MacQueen, Scott; Feiner, Phil (August 1, 2000). “First Person: Restoring Film with Digital Recombination”. Millimeter Magazine. Prism Business Media. Archived from the original on June 1, 2006.
  5. ^ “Production Schedules”. Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. September 20, 1938. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ “Shirley and Ellis Teamed”. Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. January 30, 1939. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ ““Made for Each Other” Shows At Lincoln Starting Friday”. The Miami News. January 29, 1939. p. E1 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ “Seattle Theaters at a Glance”. The Seattle Star. January 31, 1939. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Cameron, Kate (February 17, 1939). “Domestic Drama on Music Hall Screen”. New York Daily News. p. 42 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ “Made For Each Other (1939)”. Toronto Film Society. January 1, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  11. ^ Krauss, David (December 27, 2018). “From Silents to the Seventies: Made for Each Other”. High-Def Digest.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  12. ^ “Made for Each Other – Formats and editions”. WorldCat. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  13. ^ Made for Each Other (VHS). Anchor Bay Entertainment. 1999. OCLC 42442464.
  14. ^ Erickson, Glenn (October 31, 2004). “DVD Savant Review: Made for Each Other”. DVD Talk.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  15. ^ “Made for Each Other Blu-ray”. Blu-ray.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  16. ^ Thomson 1993, p. 269.
  17. ^ a b c Arnold, Jeremy. “Made for Each Other”. Turner Classic Movies.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  18. ^ Nugent, Frank S. (February 17, 1939). “In the Best of Humors Is ‘Made for Each Other,’ at the Music Hall–New Western at the Rialto”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  19. ^ “Cinema: The New Pictures: Feb. 27, 1939”. Time. February 27, 1939.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  20. ^ Lopez, Kristen (May 5, 2021). “‘Cinema Toast’: How Aubrey Plaza Directed Loretta Young for New Showtime Series”. IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 10, 2025.
  21. ^ Rowan-Legg, Shelagh (April 26, 2021). “Now Streaming: CINEMA TOAST, From the Bizarre to the Comedic in Retro Found Footage Experimentation”. ScreenAnarchy. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024.

Sources

  • Eliot, Marc (2006). Jimmy Stewart: A Biography. New York City, New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 978-0-307-35268-2.
  • Higgins, Steven (2006). Still Moving: The Film and Media Collections of the Museum of Modern Art. New York City, New York: Museum of Modern Art. ISBN 978-0-870-70326-3.
  • Thomson, David (1992). Showman: The Life of David O. Selznick. New York City, New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-394-56833-1.