MY MAN GODFREY [1936 / 2001] [The Criterion Collection] [DVD] [USA Release]
The Scandalous Screwball Classic Comedy Film!
The definitive screwball comedy, ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ follows the madcap antics of a wealthy and eccentric family, when they hire a down-and-out “FORGOTTERN MAN” as their butler. ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ featured brilliant performances by Carole Lombard and William Powell, and was the first film to receive Academy Award® Nominations in all four acting categories.
The Criterion Collection is dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions of the highest technical quality. With supplemental features that enhance the appreciation of the art of film.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1937 Academy Awards®: Nomination: Best Actor in a Leading Role for William Powell. Nomination: Best Actress in a Leading Role for Carole Lombard. Nomination: Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Mischa Auer. Nomination: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Alice Brady. Nomination: Best Director for Gregory La Cava. Nomination: Best Writing, Screenplay for Eric Hatch and Morrie Ryskind. 1999 National Film Preservation Board, USA: Win: National Film Registry. 2022 Online Film & Television Association: Win: OFTA Film Hall of Fame for the Motion Picture.
FILM FACT No.2: The film ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ was based on a 1935 novel by Eric S. Hatch. Charles Rogers, head of Universal, called it "a sure-fire laugh-getting novel". That studio purchased the film rights and assigned Eric S. Hatch to write the script with Morrie Ryskind, who received top billing for the screenplay. Charles Rogers hired Gregory La Cava to direct, “the best comedy director in Hollywood.” It was the first major film from Universal Pictures after that studio had been taken over by new management, including head of production Charles Rogers. However the studio did not have any major stars under contract apart from Buck Jones, Boris Karloff and Edward Everett Horton, and needed to borrow some from other studios. Universal Pictures studio's original choice to play Irene Bullock, the part eventually played by Carole Lombard, and Constance Bennett and Miriam Hopkins were also was considered, but the director Gregory La Cava would only agree to Constance Bennett if Universal Pictures borrowed William Powell from M-G-M. William Powell, for his part, only would take the role if Carole Lombard played Irene Bullock. William Powell and Carole Lombard had divorced three years earlier. William Powell's casting was announced in January 1936. Universal Pictures borrowed Carole Lombard from Paramount Pictures. As part of the deal, Universal Picture loaned Paramount Pictures Margaret Sullivan for the film ‘I Love a Soldier’ and Carole Lombard's clothes designer, Travis Banton accompanied her. Alice Brady joined the cast in March 1936. ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ was in production from the 15th April, 1936 to the 27th May, 1936, and then had retakes in early June of the year 1936. Its budget was $575,375, and William Powell was paid $87,500 and Carole Lombard $45,645. The film was one of the first under the new regime of Charles Rogers at Universal Pictures, although it had been developed under his predecessor Carl Laemmle Jr.
Cast: William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady, Gail Patrick, Eugene Pallette, Jean Dixon, Alan Mowbray, Mischa Auer, Pat Flaherty, Robert Light, Ernie Adams (uncredited), Jimmy Aye (uncredited), William Begg (uncredited), James Carlisle (uncredited), Jack Chefe (uncredited), Elaine Cochrane (uncredited), Phyllis Crane (uncredited), Eddie Fetherston (uncredited), Grace Field (uncredited), James Flavin (uncredited), Bess Flowers (uncredited), Edward Gargan (uncredited), Carlton Griffin (uncredited), David S. Horsley (uncredited), Selmer Jackson (uncredited), Richard Kipling (uncredited), Andrea Leeds (uncredited), Ethelreda Leopold (uncredited), Reginald Mason (uncredited), Philip Merrick (uncredited), Bert Moorhouse (uncredited), Robert Morgan (uncredited), Louis Natheaux (uncredited), Franklin Pangborn (uncredited), Bob Perry (uncredited), Katherine Perry (uncredited), Albert Petit (uncredited), Jean Rogers (uncredited), Ronald R. Rondell (uncredited), Arthur Singley (uncredited), Larry Steers (uncredited), Grady Sutton (uncredited), Russell Wade (uncredited), William Wagner (uncredited), Arthur Wanzer (uncredited), Harley Wood (uncredited) and Jane Wyman (uncredited)
Director: Gregory La Cava
Producer: Charles R. Rogers
Screenplay: Eric Hatch (screenplay) (based on the novel “1101 Park Avenue”), Morrie Ryskind (screenplay), Gregory La Cava (uncredited), Robert Presnell Sr. (contributing writer) (uncredited) and Zoe Akins (contributing writer) (uncredited)
Composer: Charles Previn (uncredited) and Rudy Schrager (uncredited)
Costume and Wardrobe Department: Travis Banton gowns: Miss Carole Lombard (uncredited), Brymer other wardrobe (uncredited) and Eugene Joseff costume jewellery (uncredited)
Cinematography: Dale H. “Ted” Tetzlaff (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080i (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
English: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 93 minutes
Region: NTSC
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Universal Pictures / The Criterion Collection
Andrew’s DVD Review: ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ [1936] opens with the two Bullock sisters, socialites Irene Bullock [Carole Lombard] and Cornelia Bullock [Gail Patrick], arriving at the city dump to find themselves a “forgotten man” as part of a scavenger hunt they’re taking part in at an exclusive party. With the Great Depression in full effect, the eloquent and witty Godfrey [William Powell] real name Godfrey “Smith” Parke, quickly and hilariously goes from “forgotten man” to “my man.”
The vagrant Cornelia Bullock first tries to “lure” Godfrey who of course is disgusted by this insensitive game the women are playing and tells Cornelia Bullock this, pushing her into an ash pit in the process. When Irene Bullock apologises and acts more kindly towards him though, Godfrey has a change of heart and agrees to be her “forgotten man” so he can damn the practise at the vulgar party and help Irene Bullock get one over on her cruel sister Cornelia Bullock.
After the incident, Irene Bullock is so drawn to Godfrey that she offers him a job as their family butler, which he accepts, much to the scorn of Cornelia Bullock who promises to make his life hell. However, Godfrey makes an exceptionally good butler and the rest of the family warm to him and keeps Godfrey on. Irene falls ever more madly in love with him too, although Godfrey keeps her at arm’s length as best he can. As the film moves on, we realise there’s more to Godfrey than meets the eye and it seems he has something planned for the Bullock family.
The Bullock sisters’ burn through butlers quicker than they burn through cigarettes. Godfrey, being a bit of a man of mystery, proves to be more attuned not just to the family foibles that need fixing, but also to what it is specifically to be a butler. Over time, hints of Godfrey’s secret past comes out; though, for the best, a full picture is never formally granted.
I simply think the performance of William Powell in this movie is totally brilliant, as he seems to hit every line and never misses a beat. The role is not an overly complex one, but it has some wrinkles and William Powell handles them with ease, never faltering in the least. Of course, he was given top notch material to work with and that helps, but William Powell is dead on and at times, saves the material when it slips, though it never slips too much.
Carole Lombard was already known for her comedy romance roles, to which she brought her offbeat style and energy and Irene Bullock became the definitive example. Her performance is typically warm and likeable, with a fine balance between headstrong and vulnerable that’s very appealing.
Everything about ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ just seems to work, especially the dialogue, the acting, the directing, the story as a whole. The chemistry between William Powell and Carole Lombard is electric and of course they were actually previously married before they began to work together on this film — they divorced in 1933 — but William Powell actually recommended Carole Lombard for the part once he read the script! The two have wonderful chemistry, and it’s incredibly exciting to watch these two comedic pros banter.
This was a career highpoint for Carole Lombard who was also nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. It contributed to her becoming the most popular, and highest paid, actress in late-1930’s Hollywood. In 1999, the American Film Institute listed Carole Lombard among the top 25 female legends of Hollywood.
Gail Patrick is very good in the supporting role of her sister, Cornelia Bullock, and capitalised on the reputation she had already earned from playing cold and calculating “femme fatales.” For a good portion of the film, Cornelia Bullock is the villain of the piece: a spoilt brat who can’t forgive Godfrey for his rebuttal at their initial encounter at the city dump. Cornelia Bullock petty and scheming and, in a key plot point involving a pearl necklace, tries to frame the butler for theft. But her character doesn’t remain such a caricature for long and soon we see chinks in the veneer as she softens and eventually has the biggest turn-around of all. While there are many hysterical and engaging scenes in this film, I think my absolute favourite scene occurs when Irene Bullock returns home in the last half of the film and does some dishes with Godfrey. The whole scene is beyond cute, very funny, and the acting is phenomenal. There truly was never any actress like Carole Lombard — and there never will be.
The writing is top notch and remains sharp from start to finish, with brilliant moments and endless lines of fantastic dialogue. And those lines are all delivered to perfection, thanks to a cast that includes William Powell and Carole Lombard, both in fine form. This movie is a must see for film buffs to be sure, but even casual film fans will want to look it up, I think and is the one to own.
‘MY MAN GODFREY’ it’s entirely dialogue-driven, there’s never a dull moment. It has a smooth and fast-paced screenplay but retains a sense of spontaneity. The script may well have been credited to Eric Hatch and Morrie Ryskind, but Gregory La Cava was known to continually re-work his scripts during filming. By all accounts, it was shot off-the-cuff, with the script treated simply as a “serving suggestion.” Gregory La Cava carefully planned each scene with an opening and closing point, then stepped back and let the actors choose how they got from one to the other. In his analysis, Garry Giddens counts ten such sections, which made for a controlled plot whilst allowing plenty of room for improvisation.
For ‘MY MAN GODFREY,’ the screenplay by Gregory La Cava relied on a very strong cast and made sure that they all got to know each other and felt comfortable before the cameras rolled — a process that sometimes took weeks. The result is a naturalistic, easy intimacy among the players which is rare for the era. For the 1930’s, this was a surprisingly modern approach. It’s even considered experimental and ground-breaking when directors like Lars Von Trier or David Lynch try the same thing nowadays
‘MY MAN GODFREY’ directed with a brilliant crackle and a fairly deceptively sharp social edge by Gregory La Cava, an oft-overlooked titan of this niche, but retains its standing as one of the absolute greatest screwball comedies ever made for a host of good reasons and The Criterion Collection has done right by the film in such a way that will hopefully ensure it will continue to be discovered and enjoyed by future generations of film lovers, remaining relevant for as long as the wealthy continue to need a good stiff kick in the pants every now and again.
In the film ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ all the characters really cemented my love of the film, as most characters do. Carole Lombard’s Irene Bullock in particular is incredibly funny and eccentric, though William Powell’s calm and cool Godfrey balances her out wonderfully. A good screwball comedy has screwball characters — and Irene Bullock is definitely that. So ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ is a wonderful screwball romantic comedy that proves Carole Lombard is one of the best to ever do it. Enchanting, hysterical, and everything you want from a 1930’s rom-com.
MY MAN GODFREY MUSIC TRACK LIST
Ochi Chyornye (Black Eyes) (1843) (Music by Florian Hermann) (Arranged by Soyfer Gerdal) (Lyrics by Evgeniy Grebyonka) [Played on piano and sung by Mischa Auer]
DRINK A HIGHBALL (1901) (uncredited) (Words by G.B. Brigham) (Music by G.B. Brigham) [Sung a bit a cappella by William Powell]
Der Deitcher's Dog (Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone) (1864) (Traditional) (uncredited) [Based on the German folk song "Zu Lauterbach Hab' I Mein Strumpf Velor'n"]
MANHATTAN SERENADE [Performed by Louis Alter] (Main Title)
NOCTURNE (Composed by Thomas Griselle)
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DVD Image Quality – Universal Pictures and The Criterion Collection presents the film ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ with a very impressive improved 1080i image quality and is also shown in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Sharpness generally appeared to be nicely detailed and accurate. A little softness crept in on occasion, but these instances were fairly rare. The majority of the film looked distinct and well-defined. I detected no problems related to moiré effects or jagged edges. Black levels usually seemed to be rather rich and deep. I noticed some moderately weak contrast during a few scenes, particularly those that took place in the Bullock family’s parlour. For example, the cocktail party scene looked too bright. However, most of the movie showed solid dark tones, and shadow detail consistently was clear and appropriately opaque. As one might expect from a 1936 film, print flaws offered the biggest concerns during Godfrey. The film often seemed to be somewhat grainy, and I also noticed fairly frequent examples of speckles. In addition, occasional examples of blotches, nicks, vertical lines and other defects appeared. However, I must say that for such an old movie, I found the image to look quite clean. No, it wasn’t flawless by any stretch of the imagination, but the picture ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ offered a very fine presentation.
DVD Audio Quality – Universal Pictures and The Criterion Collection brings us the film ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ with a 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio experience, seems to be positive for an older film. Dialogue showed some concerns, which became a problem due to the chatty nature of the film. The lines usually remained easily intelligible, but I discerned some edginess to speech throughout a lot of the film. Apart from the slightly negative aspect of the audio presentation, I still enjoyed watching the screwball comedy film ‘MY MAN GODFREY.’
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DVD Special Features and Extras:
New digital transfer, with restored image and restored uncompressed monaural soundtrack on this DVD edition
Special Feature: Audio Commentary features Bob Glipin [2001] [1080i] [1.37:1] [93:00] With this featurette, the audio commentary was recorded exclusively for The Criterion Collection in 2001. This audio commentary features Film Historian Bob Gilpin. To access the audio commentary while viewing the movie ‘MY MAN GODFREY,’ press the AUDIO key button on your remote control and select 1.0 Dolby Digital Mon Audio experience. Here Bob Gilpin welcomes us to his intimate and well informed audio commentary, where he says that where the curtain goes up, we get to view director Gregory La Carva screwball comedy ‘MY MAN GODFREY,’ and is one of the most successful screwball comedy film ever made, and the director’s most successful film and we are treated to a glittering art deco waterfront, presumably New York City, complete with neon main titles, and don’t be disappointed as Bob Gilpin explains the concept of the title sequence just before the film starts, and also informs us that he has been teaching classes on the history of the movie ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ for many years, and informs us that he will impart a wealth of in-depth information about the film that stars the main actors William Powell and Carole Lombard. Film historian Bob Gilpin, is one of the world’s leading “Godfrey Ologists,” and Bob Glipin guides us through every scene with loving detail on the expectations of Depression-era audiences and the conventions of the screwball comedy. On the debit side, Bob Glipin sounds ever so slightly pretentious using lingo such as “Deus ex machina” [Deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence] and “Sotto voce” [Sotto voce means intentionally lowering the volume of one's voice for emphasis. The speaker gives the impression of uttering involuntarily a truth which may surprise, shock, or offend] and occasionally Bob Glipin’s interpretations are slightly suspect. Bob Glipin claims he is uncertain at one point of the outcome of the triangular romantic complications between Irene Bullock, Cornelia Bullock and Godfrey. Since when was Gail Patrick ever a threat to Carole Lombard? I’d say we know precisely how things will turn out. Our pleasure is derived from riding the labyrinthine plot all the way to the inevitable matrimonial clutch of Godfrey and Irene Bullock. Any other resolution would be an unimaginable violation of the genre, which Bob Gilpin otherwise insightfully analyses. Occasionally Bob Gilpin pulls one out of the hat, and states that ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ was Carole Lombard’s first starring role, which must come as a big surprise to anyone who ever saw ‘No Man of Her Own’ [1932], ‘Twentieth Century’ [1934], or any one of her movies at Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures in the early 1930’s. Bob Gilpin also states – twice – that William Powell competed with himself for the Best Actor Academy Award® for My Man Godfrey and The Great Ziegfeld, winning for the later. Wherever did Bob Gilpin get such wildly inaccurate information? William Powell wasn’t a nominee, much less a winner, for ‘The Great Ziegfeld.’ The 1936 actor prize went to Paul Muni for ‘The Story of Louis Pasteur.’ Such errors do way too much harm to Bob Gilpin’s credibility. Please Note: Due to the amount of space I am allowed with my reviews, I can only give you a certain amount of this Bob Gilpin audio commentary and I hope it will not spoil your enjoyment in the amount information you get to read with my review of this audio commentary.
Special Feature: LUX Radio Theater Program [Audio only] [1938] [1080i] [1.37:1] [60:35] With this featurette, we are informed that at the beginning of 1934, when radio drama was still developing, and ending in 1955, well into the television era, LUX Radio Theater was one of the radio’s most important and influential dramatic anthology series. This radio adaption of “My Man Godfrey” was originally broadcast on the 9th May, 1938, and found its way to the LUX Radio Theater with four of the stars from the film version and they were William Powell, Carole Lombard, Gail Patrick, and Mischa Auer.
Special Feature: Archival Newsreel Footage [1929] [480i] [1.37:1] [4:26] With tis featurette, we get to view two pieces of the depression era footage that contrasts the daily routine of the “Forgotten Man,” against the lavish lifestyle of those whose fortune remained intact in tough times. The footage is courtesy of the WPA Film Library.
Special Feature: Outtakes [1936] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:01] With this featurette, we get to view a very short outtakes from the film ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ that deemed not good enough to be included in the film, mainly because the actors fluffed their lines.
Special Feature: Stills Gallery: With this featurette, we get to view a collection of production and rare behind-the-scenes photos that shows the cast anb crew at work on the set of the film ‘MY MAN GODFREY.’ The still are courtesy of the MONA Film Stills Gallery.
Special Feature: Trailer [1936] [480i] [1.37:1] [0:51] With this featurette, we get to view the Original Theatrical Trailer of the film ‘MY MAN GODFREY.’
PLUS: A ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ a six sided special pull out leaflet with an in-depth information about the film and technical information.
Finally, all in all ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ remains one of the great American comedies, and The Criterion Collection has done right by the film in such a way that will hopefully ensure it will continue to be discovered and enjoyed by future generations of film lovers, remaining relevant for as long as the wealthy continue to need a good stiff kick in the pants every now and again. ‘MY MAN GODFREY’ may be unmistakably of a different age, but the humour still sings, the performances still delight, and its views on class and social standings have only grown sharper as the years have passed and more and more artists have tackled the same subject. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
