Drama. Powell and Lombard had divorced three years earlier. During the Great Depression, Godfrey "Smith" Parke is living with other men down on their luck at a New York City dump in a Hooverville on the East River near the 59th Street Bridge. My Man Godfrey 1936 Directed by Gregory La Cava Fifth Avenue socialite Irene Bullock needs a “forgotten man” to win a scavenger hunt, and no one is more forgotten than Godfrey Park, who resides in a dump by the East River. Particularly praising the scene of the scavenging party, Greene finds it to be "perhaps the wittiest, as well as noisiest, sequence of the year". The sheer strangeness of wealth and class divisions is fodder for screwball hilarity in Gregory La Cava’s Depression-era masterpiece. In the ballroom of the Waldorf-Ritz Hotel, Irene's long-suffering businessman father Alexander Bullock waits resignedly as his ditsy wife Angelica and her mooching protégé Carlo play the game. Our writers have shared their thoughts on how Everton should set up against Man City in their FA Cup quarter final, with one suggested new role for Ben Godfrey included Determined to help Godfrey out, she offers him work in her household and he soon becomes the perfect butler for her eccentric family. [6] Charles Rogers, head of Universal, called it "a sure-fire laugh-getting novel". That studio purchased the film rights and assigned Hatch to write the script with Morrie Ryskind, who received top billing for the screenplay. The story concerns a socialite who hires a derelict to be her family's butler, and then falls in love with him. 4/7. As part of the deal, Universal loaned Paramount Margaret Sullavan for the film I Love a Soldier and Lombard's clothes designer, Travis Banton, accompanied her. My Man Godfrey (1936) is the story of an eccentric Park Avenue heiress who meets a “forgotten man” living in the City Dump and hires him as her butler. [23] When the film was remade in 1957, David Niven played Godfrey opposite June Allyson, directed by Henry Koster. If the pre-existing work is protected, then rightly or wrongly, it has generally been determined that the derived film is also protected."[22]. She warns him that he is merely the latest in a long line of butlers. A married couple file an amicable divorce, but find it harder to let go of each other than they initially thought. Godfrey arrives and is authenticated as a "forgotten man". “Norwich was the right club for me,” he said. Irene is apologetic and offers him a job as the family butler, which he gratefully accepts. Soon, the dramatizing Irene is in love with her 'protege'...who feels strongly that a romance between servant and employer is out of place, regardless of that servant's mysterious past... Today in Oscar History: Mrs Miniver, Shape of Water, John Garfield, Oscars flashback 70 years to 1951: Bette Davis, Gloria Swanson, Anne Baxter All lose to Judy Holliday. Irene considers him her protégé, but Cornelia holds a grudge against him. A ditzy socialite finds a homeless man for a scavenger hunt and then hires him as their butler. ", "Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress", "Public Domain Trouble Spots: Multilayered Works", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=My_Man_Godfrey&oldid=1010688452, United States National Film Registry films, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 6 March 2021, at 19:46. "My Man Godfrey" is one of those old classic films you must see sometime! EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – An Alton man will likely spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of a beloved Godfrey trustee. Rogers hired Gregory La Cava to direct, "the best comedy director in Hollywood. He puts her in a cold shower, which confirms her hopes: "Oh Godfrey, now I know you love me ... You do or you wouldn't have lost your temper." 8 people found this helpful. [2] It was a runaway hit and earned huge profits for the studio. One of them … My Man Godfrey is one of the top Screwball Comedies of all time- a story of a wealthy New York family in the 1930's that brings in Godfrey, a destitute and “Forgotten Man” as their butler. [19] However the underlying work, the 1935 book 1101 Park Avenue – re-titled My Man Godfrey with the film's release – had its copyright renewed in 1963 and is thus still in copyright. The U.S. was plunged in a depression that forced thousands to the breadlines. However, La Cava does not allow the film to wallow in pity for those less fortunate. Amazon.ca - Buy My Man Godfrey at a low price; free shipping on qualified orders. La Cava pulls it off beautifully.La Cava, Lombard, Powell, Auer, and Alice Brady all deservedly earned Academy Award nominations. It was directed by Gregory La Cava for Universal and is now considered the definitive screwball comedy, with its social commentary on life during the 30s. [18] In 2000, the film was ranked #44 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 funniest comedies, and Premiere voted it one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006. DVDs from TCM Shop. Instead, the actor sent a telegram stating: "WE MAY HAVE FOUND GODFREY LAST NIGHT BUT WE LOST POWELL. He arrives in the mansion to find a positively batty mother, a talentless but hungry pianist protege, a bewildered and frustrated father, and a conniving and cruel sister. The police search the butler's room but find nothing, distressing Cornelia. See reviews & details on a wide selection of Blu-ray & DVDs, both new & used. The film opens with a treasure hunt and one of the items to find is a forgotten man. [26], 1936 American comedy-drama film directed by Gregory La Cava, This article is about the 1936 film. The story concerns a socialite who hires a derelict to be her family's butler, and then falls in love with him. Powell's Godfrey … GODFREY — Godfrey residents heard from municipal candidates Thursday night at a forum hosted by the East End Improvement Center. Tommy Gray, a lifelong friend of Godfrey, recognizes him working at a tea party thrown by Irene. He then addresses the crowd, expressing his contempt for their antics. In 1999, the original version of My Man Godfrey was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. It is very, very funny. For the remake, see, Sedgwick, John and Pokorny, Michael (February 2005) "The Film Business in the United States and Britain during the 1930s" in, List of films in the public domain in the United States, "The 9th Academy Awards (1937) Nominees and Winners. He soon meets Irene Bullock (June Allyson) who is captured by his dapper charm as … [11], My Man Godfrey was in production from April 15 to May 27, 1936, and then had retakes in early June of the year. In the depths of the Depression, a party game brings dizzy socialite Irene Bullock to the city dump where she meets Godfrey, a derelict, and ends by hiring him as family butler. With his remaining profits and Tommy as a business partner, Godfrey has built The Dump, a fashionable nightclub, creating fifty new jobs for the other forgotten men. This isn't a screwball comedy just for the sake of being one, this is a comedy with … 2/7. Report abuse. Was this review helpful to you? She leaves in a fury, much to the glee of her younger sister and rival, Irene. My Man Godfrey is a classic ensemble film with Carole Lombard and William Powell at the helm. How did Godfrey know Cornelia hid the necklace under the mattress? 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