My Man Godfrey--Watch Now

[Kurovski]

Excellent free copy from HULU. (has some ads)



http://www.hulu.com/watch/324511



From Roger Ebert's review of My Man Godfrey:

"...Like Preston Sturges' "Sullivan's Travels" (1941), Gregory La Cava's "My Man Godfrey" contrasts the poverty of "forgotten men" during the Depression with the spoiled lifestyles of the idle rich. The family Irene brings Godfrey home to buttle for is the Bullocks, all obliviously nuts...

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God, but this film is beautiful. The cinematography by Ted Tetzlaff is a shimmering argument for everything I've ever tried to say in praise of black and white. Look me in the eye and tell me you would prefer to see it in color. The restored version on the Criterion DVD is particularly alluring in its surfaces. Everything that can shine, glimmers: the marble floors, the silver, the mirrors, the crystal, the satin sheen of the gowns.''

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This movie, and the actors in it, and its style of production, and the system that produced it, and the audiences that loved it, have all been replaced by pop culture of brainless vulgarity. But the movie survives, and to watch it is to be rescued from some people who don't care that it makes a difference ... to some people.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080529/REVIEWS08/925898329/1023



One of the landmark "screwball" comedies of the 1930s, My Man Godfrey offers the radiant Carole Lombard in her definitive performance as flighty young heiress Irene Bullock, who on a society scavenger hunt stumbles on Godfrey (William Powell), an erudite hobo residing in the city dump. Godfrey becomes the family's butler

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1014536-my_man_godfrey/

[Auggie]

1. As good as Lombard and Powell are ...

it's Alice Brady that makes this film. Oscar nominations:

Best Actor in a Leading Role: William Powell

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Carole Lombard

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Mischa Auer

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Alice Brady

Best Director: Gregory La Cava

Best Writing, Screenplay: Eric Hatch, Morrie Ryskind

[TeamPooka]

2. I've long thought Godfrey and Sullivan's Travels should be remade for a modern audience

since the social issues are the same now as then.

[longship]

3. The definitive looney 30's comedy, but with a wonderful ethic.

IMHO, its one of the greatest comedic films ever put on celluloid.

William Powell and Carole Lombard are, of course, wonderful. But as others have observed, it is the ensemble cast which sets this film apart from others. Who cannot love the fairy scene with Godfrey and Mrs. Bullock? Or Mr. Bullock's asides throughout. The script is one of the best of the era.

I recommend the Criterion Collection DVD. It's a beautiful production and one that brings this 30's comedy to life.

Plus, it has "Carlo's defenestration". How could one go wrong with that? (Carlo played by Mischa Auer, who literally chews his way through every scene).

It is a truly wonderful production.

Pure joy!