“I’m The Forgotten Man”: A Look At 1936’s My Man Godfrey

Depression era. A dump sits across from the river. A homeless man warms up next to a fire. Taxis arrive. One carries a dark haired woman with a young man following behind; the other carries a younger blonde who seems exasperated and angry at the other. They’ve come there to collect “a forgotten man”, the term popularized during the age’s politics for the lower class citizens who were left behind in the depression’s wake, they need such a person as part of scavenger hunt a bunch of wealthy types are taking part in at an uptown glitzy get together. The homeless man who they greet is first approached by the older dark haired woman who offers him five dollars (About a hundred bucks in today’s buying power) just to get taken there and give her the win. The younger blonde comes right behind and after the homeless man pushes the older one into a pile of ashes in offense to being used as a game piece, we learn these two women are sisters. The older one is Cornelia Bullock, the younger is Irene Bullock and we quickly begin to get the picture the former always gets her way and the latter is always unable to best her. The homeless man they’ve just encountered is Godfrey Smith and after a meet cute moment with Irene he declares to her, “Lets beat Cornelia” and off he goes with her to win the scavenger hunt for her.

Impressed with him, Irene wants to hire him on as the family’s new butler, and on his first day on the job our protagonist realizes what he’s gotten himself into. The family maid, Molly, tells him straight out he’s just one of many who have held the job of Bullock family butler as they either quit or get fired by the dozens. When Godfrey asks, “Is the family that exacting?” he response is “No, they’re that nutty.” Cornelia is a mean-spirited spoiled brat. Irene is a lovesick puppy and gets herself into all sorts of childish trouble because of it. Their mother, Angelica, is a scattered brain ditz with a live-in protégé who spends more time eating food than actually working on the operas she wants him to work on. The father and head of the household, Alexander is a man at the end of his wits with his crazy family and with major money problems. In time, Godfrey will end up charming his way through the household as we learn he himself in not what he seems at first sight, and that he has his own plans for how to put his connections with the family to good use.

What follows is ninety minutes of laughs, hijinks, drama, and a tad of romance. Horses in kitchens, a false report of a theft of pearl necklaces, a hurried engagement, family secrets uncovered, blackmail attempts, dinner served by a drunk, cops getting bribed, men being thrown through windows, illegal marriages, a financial scandal, goats and monkeys at a fancy hotel, and one of the best title cards in cinema are among what you’ll find in this one.

Thus is the setup to 1936’s My Man Godfrey, a screwball comedy from Director Gregory La Cava which is an adaptation to Eric Hatch’s novel 1101 Park Avenue. William Powell stars in the lead role as Godfrey with his ex wife at the time Carole Lombard playing Irene. Rounding out the rest of the cast is Eugene Pallette as Alexander, Alice Brady as Angelica,  Mischa Auer as Carlo (the aforementioned protégé), Gail Patrick as Cornelia, and Jean Dixon as Molly among others. A film that was a critical and box office hit and went on to become the first ever movie to get nominated in every acting category at the Oscars – to this day the only film to be able to achieve that feat and still not get a Best Picture nomination. It’s listed as one of the “1,001 movies to watch before you die” and was chosen for preservation by the national film registry back in 1999. It also happens to be in contention with In The Heights and The Shop Around The Corner for my all-time favorite movie, discovering it for myself early last year as I was binging some early Hollywood blind spots.

Why? For one, It may just be the best written screenplay in all of film. Delivering a fast pace track of almost never ending witty dialogue with joke after joke. Even the background conversations have jokes hidden in them that I didn’t notice until later re-watches. Every time someone says a zinger, immediately its followed up by another. As if  screenplay writer Morrie Ryskind and his contributors were trying to one up themselves with every line. Highlights such as Missus Bullock’s response to learning her husband has lost a lot of money, “Maybe you forget it in your other suit?”; or when cops ask Molly who she is and she responds “Guess” as she serves the family right in front of them with her uniform on.

But the other reason I find this film to be such cinematic comfort food is what I think is the main theme of the movie, this thing about “a forgotten man.” When we first meet Godfrey we are to believe this is obviously about his economic state, a homeless man living in a city dump with those who could help him out of poverty just seeing him as a tool to win a scavenger hunt. But after the Bullocks offer him a job and he’s taken into their mansion, we also learn Godfrey isn’t completely who we assumed he is. He’s had a life before he was living in that dump, one that isn’t too far off from the Bullocks’ current one and he’s been forgotten for more reasons than just his economic woes. He’s been shunned by everyone only to get a second chance by being a Butler to an eccentric bunch. There’s something about the fact we all at one point or another end up there, feeling alone and as if everything around us has fallen apart only to get that surprise chance to start over or be on the up and up again.

I have no clue why this film didn’t sweep the Oscars that year. Just two years prior another screwball comedy, It Happened One Night, had a dominating performance at the ceremony. 1936 was William Powell’s year as he arguably peaked during his time as the leading man in Hollywood by staring in another major box office hit After The Thin Man, a Best Picture nominated screwball hit in Libeled Lady (starring alongside his then partner Jean Harlow), and was in the actual Best Picture winner The Great Ziegfeld. The movie got nominated for Director, all four acting categories, and screenplay which should have made it a clear Best Picture contender. But alas the film’s recognition has come from decades later of being discovered and championed by others more so than being known as a classic that won several awards.

William Powell joined the project under the agreement his ex wife, Lombard, would play Irene. I’ve always found that factoid to be a great example of how much respect he must have had to demand his ex wife star alongside him in a project he came to believe in. Lombard’s consistent cursing during outtakes made blooper reels that can be watched on YouTube available to us. Its a fascinating look at golden age Hollywood stars acting like normal people and using words we didn’t get to see them use on screen. Powell took part in 1938 and 1946 radio versions of the story and in 1954 a radio adaptation without Powell involved lead to a 1957 film starring David Niven as the lead role. Unfortunately I can’t highly recommend that version as it isn’t anywhere near what My Fair Lady is to Pygmalion or what You’ve Got Mail is to The Shop Around The Corner.

The film lapsed into public domain status in 1964 in an embarrassing oversight by Universal. Thus the movie was released on VHS by various companies looking to make an easy buck off a classic, saw DVD releases from other major studios like FOX, and is available on Blu-ray thanks to the Criterion Collection. For no extra charge you can watch it on Prime Video and free versions are easy to find on YouTube. It’s an easy find and if you’re up for some laughter, a story of redemption, or just want a time capsule of a time in Hollywood where William Powell was the leading man, its well worth discovering this “forgotten man” for yourself.