Week Eighteen: My Man Godfrey (1936)

Director: Gregory La Cava

Producer: Charles R. Rogers

Writers: Eric Hatch and Morrie Ryskind

Cinematography: Ted Tenzlaff

Music: Charles Previn and Rudy Schrager

Studio: Universal

Starring: William Powell (Godfrey), Carole Lombard (Irene Bullock), Alice Brady (Angelica Bullock), Gail Patrick (Cornelia Bullock), Eugene Pallette (Alexander Bullock), Jean Dixon (Molly), Alan Mowbray (Tommy Grey), Mischa Auer (Carlo), Pat Flaherty (Mike Flaherty), Robert Light (Faithful George)

You can watch My Man Godfrey for completely free on YouTube

Before You Watch the Movie
(First make sure you have read the introduction to this series)

By comparing the lower class backstage in 42^nd Street with the upper class, luxurious Venice setting of Top Hat, we can discern the class divide in America during the thirties, in which the Great Depression made an even greater difference between the upper and lower classes, a fact that no doubt was the cause of quite a bit of resentment, at least if the movies made at this time were any indication.

In the screwball comedy, class conflict comes up a substantial second to battles-of-the-sexes in frequency of situations and, despite the fact that movies are made by and star “haves", it is the “have-nots” that are almost always portrayed in a more sympathetic light. Of course, the paying customers vastly fall into the latter category, which goes a long way in explaining this phenomenon though it is important to remember that most in Hollywood were supporters of FDR and the New Deal, supportive of the idea that there is a difference between a helping hand and a hand out.

The ultimate thirties class film, My Man Godfrey, landed at an interesting point during the Great Depression. In 1936, America’s economy had bounced back to respectable levels, but unemployment was still high, meaning that the rich had recovered, but the poor and unemployed were still in desperate straits.

Class conflict was something of a trademark for director Gregory La Cava: a secretary marries her boss in the appropriately titled She Married Her Boss (1935), in Stage Door (1937), a group of aspiring actresses try to break into the bigtime, and a middle-class girl falls in love with an affluent New York City playboy in Unfinished Business (1941). Though coming from money and with connections certainly helps, there is some truth in the fact that Hollywood was an industry open to anyone who had the talent, no matter their social background. La Cava, who was born in a small rural town in Pennsylvania and eventually became a highly desired and well-paid director in the most glamorous town in America, certainly understood this, as did a majority of those working in Hollywood that also came from lower or middle-class backgrounds. For example, though he was considered to be the screen’s most sophisticated actor, William Powell grew up in working class towns Pittsburgh and Kansas City. 

So while the cynic might say that Hollywood made these movies because it was what the paying customers wanted, there is a little more to the story. Besides, Hollywood has always made movies about the current situation of the world. After the Depression it would be World War II, then the Cold War and Atomic Age, then the counterculture… and so on and so forth likely until the end of time or the end of movies, whichever comes first.

Like many comedies made during this era, My Man Godfrey is a screwball comedy, which was the natural growth that came from fusing the visual comedy of the silent era with the refined, sped-up dialogue capabilities of talkies. And so, the screwball comedy became a perfect combination of comedic styles, in which a pratfall was just as likely to punctuate a joke as a witty barb of dialogue.

Screwball comedies often feature a battle of the sexes element (ala Fred and Ginger) and, unlike most other areas of film, the man and the woman are usually evenly matched, each getting their blows – both physical and verbal – in before the inevitable romantic resolution. The screwy in screwball comedy is provided by the characters and the situations they find themselves in. The anarchist Marx Brothers or the silly supporting characters in Top Hat are prime examples of this and for the most part, these crazy characters are balanced by a “straight” character ala Margaret Dumont who not only provides someone to play off of but also highlight just how screwy the other characters are.

Though they are ubiquitous when it comes to thirties musicals, it should never be ignored just how beautiful the costumes and sets of My Man Godfrey and its contemporaries are. 

My Man Godfrey takes place in both classy digs...

...and crummy dumps

Travis Banton was the costume designer most responsible for the glamorous look of thirties films – especially influential is his work with Marlene Dietrich, including Shanghai Express – and he dresses the Bullock’s like the rich slightly crazy family that they are.

Take a moment to appreciate the brilliance of Travis Banton's costume designs for women, men, and forgotten men.

You can watch My Man Godfrey for completely free on YouTube

After You Watch the Movie (Spoilers Below)

Though it doesn’t reach the extreme levels of gender conflict that other screwball comedies do – Godfrey versus Cornelia applies but isn’t the main thrust of the film – My Man Godfrey contains all the distinct elements of the genre. There is physical comedy, such as when Godfrey puts Irene in the shower, there is witty dialogue (“Is that your son?” “That? Say, listen I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life but I’ll be hanged if I’ll plead guilty to that!”), and there are screwy characters. In fact, the Bullock family home is stuffed to the gills with crazy characters and those that aren’t – Molly and Mr. Bullock – are the prime source of the film’s many wisecracks.

In their own unique ways, the majority of 1101 Park Avenue is completely screwy...

...with the exception of the harrowed Mr. Bullock...

...and the world-weary servants.

Even outside of the Bullock family, many of the other characters are nearly as loony, even Godfrey’s friend Tommy. The scavenger hunt proves to be the mad introduction to all these characters and a glimpse into a whole crazy world, basically the entire upper class. It is important to note how only the upper-class characters are crazy, while those in the lower class – Molly and the “forgotten men” – are the salt of the early, hard workers who suffer at the whims and disregard of the rich.

The upper class in My Man Godfrey are portrayed as frivolous and silly.

The bridge between these two groups is Godfrey, born into the upper class, which he purposefully gave up to join the lower class after he witnessed the strength of the forgotten men, which gave him the fortitude to overcome being dumped by a former love. Though some have lamented the fact that Godfrey did turn out to be upper class after all, he is an important character that can bridge the gap between the two classes. Most important, in the context of when the film was made – money on the rise, unemployment still high – Godfrey gives an example of what the haves can do to help the have-nots: with his friend Tommy, Godfrey opens “The Dump” which provides food, shelter, and employment to those fallen on hard times. A helping hand, not a hand out.

"The Dump" a business plan that helps both the upper and lower classes

Thus we see how context is important when analyzing movies. Everyone can see that High Noon (1952) is an obvious allegory regarding McCarthyism but something like My Man Godfrey just gets lumped in with other Depression-era films and important details about the exact time the movie was made get lost along with the overall message of the film. And like many great comedies, My Man Godfrey does have a message but unlike ponderous “message” dramas, it is presented in a supremely enjoyable package, the ideal method of delivering a point.

See Also

It Happened One Night (1934) dir. Frank Capra

One of the first screwball comedies, a mix of battle-of-the-sexes and class conflict courtesy of rich heiress Claudette Colbert and sardonic newspaperman Clark Gable. 

The Thin Man (1934) dir. W.S. Van Dyke

The film that established William Powell and Myrna Loy as Hollywood's ultimate comedy couple and launched one of the first big budget film series as well as countless comedy/mystery imitators. 

Nothing Sacred (1937) dir. William A. Wellman

A rare Technicolor screwball comedy starring Carole Lombard as a small town girl who pretends to be dying of radium poisoning so she can live it up in the big city.

Holiday (1938) dir. George Cukor

A classy screwball comedy starring Katherine Hepburn as an affluent black sheep and Cary Grant as the working class man who woos her (and her sister).

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