My Man Godfrey (1936) is the Epitome of Screwball Comedy

I had watched My Man Godfrey years ago, so I was really excited to revisit it for this blogathon! This is the Screwball Comedy that all others are measured against! While the plot isn’t fully fleshed out in places, we don’t care because we’re having such a marvelous ride. Screwball Comedies were better known for the snappy dialogue and characters than the plot usually, which is what really matters. And this one is full of it all! Fun dialogue, over-the-top characters, a chimpanzee impression, an ad-libbing-encouraging director, a mean sister, and the undeniable chemistry between Carole Lombard and William Powell! It is a joy from beginning to end and holds up 90 years later!

I also recently watched Carole Lombard and William Powell’s first two films (Ladies’ Man (1931) and Man of the World (1931)), which, since they had a real-life relationship, I thought were going to be more romantic. Boy, was I wrong! Those two are not romance really. No happily-ever-afters or happy-for-nows with those two, but I knew that this one was more of a love story, so that was nice to see, even though their real-life love story had long ended by this point. They had been divorced for a while when the opportunity presented itself to star in this film together. They had remained friends—perhaps even best friends—after their divorce.

It’s interesting to look at their unique friendship and how it affected their romantic relationships. For instance, Russ Columbo had an issue with their closeness while he was dating Carole (before his untimely death by a shooting accident), but by the time My Man Godfrey came along, Clark Gable and Carole were together. He didn’t seem to have the issues with it that Russ did. Maybe Clark was more secure in his status with Carole or maybe it was just a personality difference. Russ had a poor ending to his last relationship before Carole when the woman married someone else, so I think his insecurity might have come into play there. He probably wouldn’t have dealt well with the two of them working together, but Clark had worked with William before.

William was also dating Jean Harlow, who Clark was close with, so maybe that helped to smooth over any concerns that may have come up on his part. In any case, this film was paramount in solidifying Carole’s status as a screwball queen. It is brilliantly done, funny, and enjoyable to watch repeatedly. The performances are so good, and you can’t help but get sucked in by its charm. There are so many great things about it. The dialogue is snappy, the acting superb, and the plot screwy.

So, let’s get into it!

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Synopsis

William Powell plays Godfrey, a “forgotten man,” who is the goal of a scavenger hunt when Irene (Lombard) and her sister Cornelia (Gail Patrick) show up at the dump to pick one up. It is an interesting commentary on the rich vs the poor in this Depression-era film. Cornelia tries to pay him $5 to come back with her so she can win. As the older sister, Cornelia wins often, but Godfrey finds her annoying. She insists he pushes her into a pile of ashes, but it really seems like she just falls. Irene hangs out for a few moments with Godfrey as her sister retreats, and he agrees to go be her prize so she can finally beat her snotty sister. The entire atmosphere is insane as the rich bring in all sorts of things to the scavenger hunt. Irene and Cornelia’s mother even brings in a goat. Godfrey, even though we think he is poor at this point, looks upon them with disgust. The craziness is too much and offensive.

After she wins and as an apology, Irene offers him a job as the butler to her family. When he arrives the next morning, sans beard, the maid is prepared for him to quit as soon as he meets everyone. Apparently, they have quite a reputation for scaring off butlers. Godfrey sticks it out as Irene immediately falls for him, and Cornelia only wishes to force him out, even going for far as to frame him for stealing her necklace. Fortunately, he foils her plan. It’s unclear how he found it under his mattress, but he eventually gives it back and teaches Cornelia a lesson.

The twist presents itself when we learn that Godfrey actually comes from a wealthy family. He uses this time as their butler to put a plan into motion to both help the family and the homeless men that he met from his time living at the dump. He is so focused on this that he can brush off Irene’s feelings for him. But she is no pushover and gets her man in the end.

The Players

Carole Lombard

Carole is absolutely brilliant screwball cinema gold in this film. It suits her so well, and she’s so funny in her portrayal of Irene. William Powell was definitely correct in suggesting her for the role. Despite their divorce, the two were the closest of friends, continuing to see each other socially (even dating for a bit right after their divorce). He said that their real romance had been similar to the one depicted in this film, so he knew she’d be ideal. Apparently they even retained their nicknames for each other. William called her “Honey” and Carole called him “Philo.”

It sounds like it was a fun set to work on, but perhaps frustrating for director Gregory La Cava. Carole had a tendency of ad-libbing, but also inserted cursing into the dialogue. While this was definitely on brand for her, they, unfortunately, couldn’t use the takes and had to reshoot these scenes.

William Powell

William Powell is also absolutely brilliant. His dry humor provides an excellent foil for Irene’s over-the-top intensity. He and the director initially clashed over how to portray Godfrey, but worked it out over a bottle of Scotch. While Gregory La Cava made it to work the next day, William did not, sending him a telegram that said, “We may have found Godfrey but we lost Powell. See you tomorrow.”

It was also funny to me when I learned that he was not the one who jogged up the stairs, carrying Carole over his shoulder. It isn’t that surprising really looking at it now because you can tell there is something different about the man doing that. It was Chick Collins, who was a stuntman. While you may not think that carrying a woman over your shoulder as a stunt exactly, I suppose given how important William was, it could be. They didn’t want to risk him getting injured with doing that. Chick moves so fast up those stairs with her!

Supporting Cast

Gail Patrick

Gail plays the girl you LOVE to HATE. She is so brilliant as Irene’s older sister, Cornelia, even though she was really younger than Carole Lombard. She has this biting wit and cruel streak that you hate, but she does it so well. The way she tries to set Godfrey up (she hides her necklace in his room) is nothing short of diabolical, and you keep rooting for her to lose.

Alice Brady and Mischa Auer

Alice Brady who plays Carole’s mother is another outstanding bright spot. She is scatterbrained and sometimes silly, but she has no mean streak in her at all, unlike Cornelia. She is just oblivious to everything around her, flitting about like a little social butterfly.

Mischa Auer plays her “protege.” In the original story, he’s a gigolo, but we can’t do that now since we’re under the Production Code . Because of their arrangement though, Irene decides that Godfrey can be HER protege, not knowing that he really doesn’t need that kind of assistance. Mischa does this hilarious impression of a chimpanzee and galavants across the room in an effort to cheer up Irene at one point. His impression was so solid that the cast started calling him “Chimp.”

Background Trivia

The Film Received 6 Oscar Nominations, But Won None of them.

Carole for Best Actress in a Leading Role
William for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Mischa Auer for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Alice Brady for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Gregory La Cava for Best Director
Eric Hatch and Morrie Ryskind for Best Writing/Screenplay

The Novel Its Based on

This film is based on the novel 1101 Park Avenue by Eric Hatch.

The Remake

I don’t know why they would remake this film, but they did in 1957 with June Allyson and David Niven. While I do enjoy those two, the remake doesn’t have the snappy wit and feel of the original. It has a more sentimental feel, which producer Ross Hunter was known for. Unfortunately, this pulls out that sharp edge of the original.

How it Compares to Carole and William’s Other Films together

This is the third and would be the final film that Carole and William starred opposite each other. This one is the only traditional romance as the others did not end with a happy-ever-after or even a happy-for-now. As I mentioned earlier, this really threw me.

**Spoilers**

In one of them, William Powell’s character leaves with another woman. And in the other one, he loves someone else and then gets thrown off a building… so these are not at all the same feel that we have here.

***End Spoilers***

It is important to note that the other two films are pre-code, so there are bound to be some differences. I’ve noticed that sometimes those have twists instead of the ending you’re expecting. With this one, it was nice to see them end up together and know it was coming from the beginning.

What if…?

Constance Bennett played Irene?

Constance was first choice to play Carole’s part in this film, and there’s no doubt in my mind that it would not have been as good with anyone other than Carole. I do have to say that I love Constance in Topper with Cary Grant. She is brilliant and funny in that film. So, could she have pulled it off? Probably, but I don’t think it would have been as unhinged as what Carole gave us.

Funny enough, director Gregory La Cava only agreed to Constance Bennett if Universal borrowed William from MGM. Although they did, William screwed up their plans because he would only accept the part if they cast Carole.

Miriam Hopkins played Irene?

Miriam Hopkins was also considered to play Irene. I honestly don’t have as much insight into her. I’ve seen her in Design by Living, and that’s it so far. She was great in that, but just as with Constance, I think that no one could match the brilliance of Carole in this role.

Alternative History/Classic Film Era Novels

If you like alternative history or biographical/historical fiction, I write that as well under the pen name Dottie Fray and historical paranormal romance under Elvira Fray. With two books planned for this year, one biographical fiction entitled Planes and Promises and a paranormal romance to follow up Fang Me Tender called No Angel of His Own.