Synopsis
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. Irene hires Godfrey as a servant for her riotously unhinged family, to the chagrin of her spoiled sister, Cornelia, who tries her best to get Godfrey fired. As Irene falls for her new butler, Godfrey turns the tables and teaches the frivolous Bullocks a lesson or two.
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Cast
- William PowellGodfrey
- Carole LombardIrene Bullock
- Alice BradyAngelica Bullock
- Gail PatrickCornelia Bullock
- Eugene PalletteAlexander Bullock
- Jean DixonMolly
- Alan MowbrayTommy Gray
- Mischa AuerCarlo
- Pat FlahertyMike Flaherty
- Robert LightFaithful George
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Sun-Times
One of the treasures of 1930s screwball comedy. - 100
TV Guide Magazine
One of the better, if not the best, of the famous screwball comedies of the era, Godfrey stands as an excellent example of witty scripting, direction, and editing. - 90
Village Voice
In one of her greatest roles, as burbling blonde heiress Irene Bullock in Gregory La Cava’s 1934 screwball masterpiece My Man Godfrey, Lombard creates a ditz so rare, a creature so otherwordly in her oblivion to what others call reality, that she comes off less as a thing of flesh and blood than as a shimmering cloud of butterflies flying in perfect, girl-shaped formation. - 90
The A.V. Club
One of the first and still among the best of the '30s screwball comedies, My Man Godfrey serves up absurdist romance and light social commentary in a fizzy mix that benefits from director Gregory La Cava's willingness to indulge improvisation, a trait he acquired from friend and frequent collaborator W.C. Fields. - 88
Slant Magazine
La Cava’s supple but cutting romantic comedy is one of the finest works of class-conscious comedy in Hollywood history. - 80
The New York Times
An exuberantly funny picture. - 80
Variety
William Powell and Carole Lombard are pleasantly teamed in this splendidly produced comedy. Story is balmy, but not too much so, and lends itself to the sophisticated screen treatment of Eric Hatch's novel. - 80
CineVue
Chaplin built his reputation of finding the poignant humour in poverty, and many screwball comedies of the sound era invariably touched on the Depression, none more so than Gregory La Cava’s 1936 My Man Godfrey.
