My Man Godfrey

My Man Godfrey
1936 - Universal
Directed By Gregory La Cava



SYNOPSIS

An easy-going bum named Godfrey (William Powell) is plucked from living at the city dump by a ditsy socialite Irene Bullock (Carole Lombard) and given a job as a butler at her eccentric family's mansion. But there's more to Godfrey than meets the eye.



MY THOUGHTS

My Man Godfrey shouldn't be considered at the top of the heap of screwball comedies, like Bringing Up Baby, It Happened One Night, or the work of director Preston Sturges, but is still an entertaining romp.

William Powell is excellent as Godfrey, the 'straight man' to the crazy family. Carole Lombard is also great as Irene.
Her family is almost too out-there to be real, but then again screwball comedies tend to be a little more surreal. Lombard and her fellow Bullocks: Alice Brady, Gail Patrick, and Eugene Pallette have great chemistry and function just like a real (extremely dysfunctional) family.

It is clever how the film makes out the rich to be little more than children mentally, while the poor are more sophisticated and adult. That probably set well with the Depression-era audiences.

The script is somewhat predictable, but contains some surprises, like how Godfrey uses his money.
I was expecting some bigger laughs than My Man Godfrey delivered. The film did remain silly and fast paced throughout... and is still a treat to watch more than 70 years after it was released.