My Man Godfrey

Watch On Bruised Onion Studio YouTube Channel

My Man Godfrey (1936)

American screwball comedy film.

During the Great Depression, Godfrey “Smith” Parke is living with other men down on their luck at a New York City dump in a Hooverville on the East River near the 59th Street Bridge. One night, a spoiled socialite named Cornelia Bullock offers him $5 to be her “forgotten man” for a scavenger hunt.

Annoyed, he advances on her, causing her to retreat and fall on a pile of ashes. She leaves in a fury, much to the glee of her younger sister and rival, Irene. After talking with Irene, Godfrey finds her to be kind, though a bit scatter-brained. He offers to go with her to help her beat Cornelia.

Irene offers the position of butler to Godfrey, which he gratefully accepts. Godfrey is shown what to do by the Bullocks’ wise-cracking maid Molly. She warns him that he is merely the latest in a long line of butlers. Godfrey proves to be surprisingly competent and resourceful. Irene considers him her protégé, but Cornelia holds a grudge against him.

Soon, the dramatizing Irene is in love with her ‘protege’…who feels strongly that a romance between servant and employer is out of place. Her attempts to both woo Godfrey and indoctrinate him in the household’s dysfunction make for a string of madcap high jinks.

My Man Godfrey premiered on September 6, 1936, and was a runaway hit that earned huge profits for the studio.

The movie was one of the most acclaimed comedies of 1936 and was the only film in Oscar history to receive a nomination for writing, directing and all four acting awards, (in the first year that supporting categories were introduced), without being nominated for Best Picture. It’s also the only film to receive those six nominations without winning in any of the categories until American Hustle (2013).

My Man Godfrey is considered one of Hollywood’s greatest commentaries on class and the social unrest of the Depression era.
“A class satire in a class of its own, My Man Godfrey‘s screwball comedy is as sharp as the social commentary is biting.”

In 1999, the film was deemed “culturally significant” by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. My Man Godfrey is also included among the American Film Institute’s list of the Top 100 Funniest American Movies.

Please follow and like us: