My Man Godfrey
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My Man Godfrey is a screwball comedy film released in 1936 by Universal Pictures. The film has since fallen into the public domain, and has been re-released by various distributors. In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
The movie was adapted by Morrie Ryskind, Eric Hatch and Gregory LaCava (uncredited) from the novel 1101 Park Avenue by Hatch in which a socialite hires a derelict as her butler, only to fall in love with him, to his dismay. The film was directed by LaCava, and stars William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady, Gail Patrick, Eugene Pallette, Mischa Auer and Alan Mowbray.
Plot
During the Great Depression, Godfrey "Smith" (William Powell) lives alongside other men down on their luck in the city dump. One day, snooty socialite Cornelia Bullock (Gail Patrick) offers him five dollars to be her "forgotten man" for a scavenger hunt. Annoyed, he backs her up until she falls on a pile of rubbish. She leaves in a fury, much to the glee of her sister Irene (Carole Lombard). After talking with her, Godfrey finds her to be kind, if a bit scatter-brained. He offers to go with Irene to help her beat Cornelia and "see just what a scavenger hunt looks like."
Pandemonium reigns in the ballroom of the Waldorf-Ritz Hotel. Irene's long-suffering businessman father, Alexander Bullock Eugene Pallette, waits resignedly as his ditsy wife, Angelica (Alice Brady), and her mooching artist/protégé Carlo (Mischa Auer) play the frivolous game. Godfrey arrives and is "authenticated" by the scavenger hunt judge. He then addresses the idle rich, expressing his contempt for their antics. Irene is apologetic and offers him a job as the family butler. He gratefully accepts.
The next morning, Godfrey is shown what to do by the sardonic, wise-cracking maid, Molly (Jean Dixon), the only servant who has been able to put up with the vagarities of the zany family. She warns him that he is just the latest in a long line of butlers. Only slightly daunted, he proves to be surprisingly competent, although Cornelia still holds a sizeable grudge: "When I get through with you, you'll go back to your packing case on the city dump and relish it." On the other hand, Irene is thrilled by the success of her protégé.
A complication arises when a guest, Tommy Gray (Alan Mowbray), greets him as a former classmate. Godfrey quickly ad-libs that he was Tommy's valet at school. His friend plays along, mentioning Godfrey's non-existent wife and five children. Dismayed, Irene impulsively announces her engagement to the surprised Charlie Van Rumple (Grady Sutton). But she soon breaks down in tears and flees after being politely congratulated by Godfrey.
Over lunch the next day, Tommy is curious to know what one of the elite "Parkes of Boston" is doing as a servant. Godfrey explains that a broken love affair had left him considering suicide, but the optimistic, undaunted attitude of the men living at the dump rekindled his spirit.
Meanwhile, when everything she does to make Godfrey's life miserable fails, Cornelia sneaks into his room and plants her pearl necklace under his mattress. She then calls the police to report her "missing" jewelry. To Cornelia's surprise, the pearls do not turn up, even when she suggests they check Godfrey's bed. Mr. Bullock realizes his daughter had orchestrated the whole thing and sees the policemen out.
The Bullocks then send their daughters off to Europe, supposedly for a vacation, but in reality, because they are worried that Irene is getting too attached to Godfrey. When they return, Cornelia insinuates that Godfrey is actually attracted to her. The alarmed Irene stages a fainting spell and falls into his arms. In one of the film's best-known sequences, Godfrey carries the swooning girl to her bed. While searching for smelling salts, he realizes she's faking when he sees her (in a mirror) sit up briefly. In revenge, he puts her in the shower and turns on the cold water full blast. Far from quenching her attraction, this act merely confirms what she had hoped: "Oh Godfrey, now I know you love me...You do or you wouldn't have lost your temper."
When confronted by the rest of the family, Godfrey quits. But Mr. Bullock has more pressing concerns. He first has a private "little chat" with Carlo, throwing the freeloader out. Then he announces that his business is in dire financial straits. Godfrey interrupts, explaining that he bought the stock Mr. Bullock had sold to keep afloat, using money raised by pawning Cornelia's necklace. He turns over the stock to the stunned Mr. Bullock and returns the necklace to the humbled Cornelia. Then he leaves.
With the rest of his stock profits and reluctant business partner Tommy Gray's backing, Godfrey had built a fashionable nightclub at the dump, "...giving food and shelter to fifty people in the winter, and giving them employment in the summer." Irene tracks him down there and bulldozes the reluctant Godrey into marriage, saying: "Stand still, Godfrey, it'll all be over in a minute."
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories: Best Actor in a Leading Role (William Powell), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Mischa Auer), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Carole Lombard), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Alice Brady), Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay.1957 remake
The film was remade in 1957 starring June Allyson, David Niven (who had played the role of Tommy Gray in the 1938 radio version), Jessie Royce Landis, Robert Keith and Eva Gabor. It was adapted by Peter Berneis, William Bowers and Everett Freeman, and directed by Henry Koster.Home Video Availability
Because My Man Godfrey had fallen into the public domain, it had been released only on several low-quality, yet legal DVD and VHS editions. In 2002, it was made available officially on DVD for the first time, through The Criterion Collection. In 2005, 20th Century Fox Home Video released a colorized version of the film.
External links
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