Tonight I watched Carole Lombard and William Powell in "My Man Godfrey" (1936), one of the most famous of all the Screwball comedies. Powell plays "Godfrey Smith", a homeless man living at a Manhattan city dump. One night, a car pulls up and a well dressed couple hurry across the landfill. The man is wearing a tuxedo, the woman an evening gown. They accost Powell, talking so fast he can't understand what they want. It turns out that they are on a scavenger hunt that began at an upscale party. The final item for the scavengers to bring back is a "forgotten man", i.e. a homeless person, though the term wasn't yet in use in 1936.
Powell is rightfully insulted. Here he is, down on his luck, bewhiskered and grubby, not at all like you are accustomed to seeing him. He's living at a dump, with garbage trucks constantly unloading more refuse above him, and here come these socialites, untouched by The Depression, to whom he is just a token in their game.
The woman (Gail Patrick) introduces herself as Cornelia Bullock. She offers Powell five dollars if he will accompany her back to her family mansion where the party is in progress. If she brings him back, she will win the scavenger hunt. Powell may be down and out but he's got his pride. He refuses Miss Bullock's belittling offer, and pushes her into an ash heap for good measure. Then another car races up. A woman gets out and runs down the hill to Powell's hovel. She is Carole Lombard, playing Irene Bullock, Cornelia's younger sister. Irene is ditzy, but determined to beat her snobby and highfalutin' Sis in the scavenger game. After Cornelia leaves, humiliated and with her insignificant boyfriend in tow, Irene lays her spiel on Powell. She wants to win the scavenger contest also, mostly so she can defeat her icy sister, but she doesn't embarrass William Powell with her proposition. She doesn't offer him money or talk down to him, but only expresses her desire to win the game. Because she is Carole Lombard, the Queen of Screwball, he can't say no. In the next scene they arrive at the party, where Irene introduces Powell to her family.
There's her flighty mother, who is reminiscent of Lovey Howell, dumb but cheery and somewhat philanthropic. Mother has what she calls a "protege" who lives at the house, a pompous young artist named Carlo (Mischa Auer) who paints, reads Latin and plays the piano. Mostly he eats all the Bullock's food, but Mother dotes on him. Sponsoring Carlo makes her feel good about herself. Mr. Bullock is a sad sack, put upon by life. His fortune is dwindling, his stocks have fallen and all he's got left is his mansion. He takes out his frustrations on Carlo, who ignores his complaints because he's protected by Mother, who orders Mr. Bullock not to pick on Carlo. "You'll upset him"!, she protests. We've already met Cornelia the Ice Princess, a haughty young woman who thinks she got the world by the tail. When her little sister Irene brings Powell home - and wins the scavenger hunt - Cornelia treats him like a mongrel dog.
Irene feels bad about the way Powell is received. He's clearly a man of intelligence, courteous and articulate. "You can't judge a book by it's cover"!, she tells her sister. Then Irene gets an idea. She wants to do something nice for Powell, so she asks her mother if he can be her protege. Mother, though not wanting to be rude, is not high on the idea. "Couldn't you look elsewhere for a protege, darling? Somewhere besides the dump"? But Irene insists on Powell. "He could be our new butler"!, she suggests. Mother considers this for a moment, and then concurs. The family has a hard time keeping a butler - and it's easy to see why. Powell is grateful to accept the position, however. The next day he reports for work well groomed and tailored. The maid warns him what he's in for, which he soon finds out for himself.
The family is even nuttier than they seemed the night of the party. Cornelia throws bi-polar tantrums, Mother caters to Carlo as if he's the head of the household, Mr. Bullock drinks and laments his financial woes (and continues to pick on Carlo), and kooky but lovable Irene follows Powell all around the mansion like a puppy. He reminds her, politely, that he's been hired as a butler. "I'm sorry, Madame, but I must tend to my duties". "Yes", she replies, "but you're also my protege".
The implication is that he must pay attention to her. But really she wants more than that. She's fallen in love with him.
Powell is a natural at "buttling" and seems at ease with higher society. There is something about him that doesn't jibe with a man who only recently was living at the city dump. Cornelia is jealous of his turnaround. She was hoping to see him fail. One day, she hides her pearl necklace under his mattress, then claims he stole it. Father reluctantly calls the police, who confront Powell on the alleged theft. Cornelia calls for him to be fired and jailed, however........I can tell you no more.
"My Man Godfrey" is Screwball comedy at it's best, but it also has Depression-era sub-themes of social justice and class consciousness. I remarked recently that I've been catching up with the work of Carole Lombard. It's only this year that I've watched so many of her films, but now I understand why she is considered such a legend. She just owns every movie she's in. You've never seen an actress so "at home" onscreen, so natural in front of the camera. It's like she's right there in your living room. She had such a great persona, relaxed yet very energetic, playing slightly off kilter young women who seem airheaded but are really very smart. I think I also mentioned that she was a huge influence on Lucille Ball, but I would add that I think her style could also be said to have influenced a lot of modern comedy. She would've fit right in on Saturday Night Live, for instance, or a sitcom, or even the type of comedic roles Meryl Streep takes on. Though many of her films are over 80 years old, her work feels modern.
William Powell, of course, is a timeless leading man, mostly as a star of light comedy. You know him as "The Thin Man", and he retains that image in many of the roles he plays. He is every bit as worthy of being called a Hollywood Legend as is Carole Lombard. Here they make a terrific team. The supporting cast is excellent, providing character contrasts for variety. Gail Patrick in particular is notable. I will look for her in other films.
"My Man Godfrey" gets Two Very Big Thumbs Up. It's even got a stylish art-deco opening credit sequence. The black and white photography and the Universal sets epitomize Golden Era glamour. With Screwball you've really gotta pay attention to keep up with the rapid-fire dialogue, but there's never a dull moment here. It's very highly recommended. ////
Our roll of great movies continues. I am off to Trader Joe's for supplies, then back to Pearl's. Keep Impeaching and I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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