The phrase "they don't make 'em like they used to" must have been coined for screwball comedies. The genre peaked between 1936 and 1940, a five year period laden with great Hollywood comedies. (Among my favorites from this era are Chaplin's "Modern Times", Howard Hawks' "Bringing Up Baby" and "His Girl Friday", and W.C. Fields' "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break".) Many of these comedies lampooned the lifestyles of the eccentric rich, which was a popular theme during the depression.
"My Man Godfrey" is one such comedy. Like "Sullivan's Travels", it mixes silliness with social commentary, but fortunately there's more of the former than the latter. "My Man Godfrey" has a script full of clever dialogue and cast loaded with great supporting actors, with the resulting film receiving six Oscar nominations. It was such a success that it was reworked in 1938 as "Merrily We Live" and remade in 1957.
But the original is still the best. William Powell plays the title character, a butler in the manic mansion of the Bullock family. Godfrey is from a wealthy Boston family and a graduate of Harvard, but depression over a failed love affair changed his fortune. He is rescued from the ranks of the homeless by Irene Bullock (Carole Lombard) who hires him as the family butler. The family is led by gruff, plain-spoken Alexander (Eugene Pallette) and his pleasantly madcap wife Angelica (Alice Brady). Irene's spoiled, clever sister is Cornelia (Gail Patrick). The supporting cast includes Angelica's pet and 'protege' Carlo (the ever-entertaining Mischa Auer).
Godfrey's transition from ill-tempered bum to polished house servant is somewhat jarring, and his acts of great generosity seem as unlikely as his successful business projects with Harvard chum Tommy (Alan Mowbray). The notion that the homeless can all serve unfailingly as waiters at a nightclub by the city dump seems like a depression-era fantasy. Godfrey has a drinking binge that ends as suddenly as it begins, and Irene's fascination and love for Godfrey seems fictional as well. (Although Lombard and Powell were briefly married, from 1931 to 1933. She would later marry Clark Gable, and would die tragically at age 33 in a plane crash.)
But if the plot of "My Man Godfrey" is full of holes, the cast and script sparkles. This was reflected in the Oscar nominations, which went to Powell (Best Actor), Lombard (Best Actress), Auer (Best Supporting Actor) and Brady (Best Supporting Actress). Gregory La Cava was nominated for Best Director, and the Eric Hatch/Morris Ryskind screenplay was also nominated. The film didn't win any Oscars, however, in part losing to "The Great Ziegfeld". Powell also starred in "Ziegfeld", as well as the popular "Thin Man" film series. (61/100)
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