William Powell isn't William Powell in "My Man Godfrey." That is to say, he's not his usual witty, hilarious and funny self. But his character and role are crucial to the zaniness of this film. And, especially with the over-the-top performance of Carole Lombard. She, by the way, isn't Carole Lombard either. Lest the reader think this reviewer has lost his marbles as well, let me explain further. Neither great comedic actor plays his or her usual role of a witty, clever, funny person. Their roles are different. Lombard is what people for ages have called a nut case, a fruitcake. She's not insane, because she has short snippets of awareness before she moves on to the next hair-brained moment. And, Powell, who usually plays the smug, clever, and witty hero, instead here is a combination sounding board for Carole and the rest of the cast, and a thread of calm and sanity that holds the plot together. Without him, there would be repetitive scenes of chaos and mayhem to no avail. Now, other actors contribute as well to this wonderfully crazy film. And, it is much more than a comedy of relief during the Great Depression. It's a biting satire on the very wealthy and their seeming indifference to the plight of all others – anyone outside their own class. Oh, sure, the gala fun of the scavenger hunt is to benefit charity. But take away the fun and games, and most of the spoiled rich, as Godfrey describes Gail Patrick's character, wouldn't even be aware of the downtrodden. Powell plays Godfrey whom Lombard's Irene Bullock "rescues" from the city dump to buttle for the Bullock family. The only seeming sane member of the family is the patriarch, Alexander, played by Eugene Palette. Alice Brady plays his overly zany wife, Angelica. Patrick plays the ultra- snobbish, conniving, vengeful, and spiteful Cornelia. These players are superb in their roles. And, those in a supporting cast of other characters are equally tops in their roles. Mischa Auer as Carlo, does the best imitation of a gorilla I've ever seen by a person. One might say he apes a banana-gorging jungle climber perfectly. Most readers will know of the plot already. If not, other reviewers give more details. The movie is based on a short novel by Eric Hatch, "1101 Park Avenue." I don't know the year of publication, and one would be hard pressed to find an original book even over the Internet. It was reprinted in 1947 with the title used for this film. Hatch also helped write the screenplay for "My Man Godfrey."In the 1930s, it wasn't yet popular or common to film movies on location. Instead, the Hollywood studios had huge lots with large stages. Some also had California ranches where they could build town sites for films. Just imagine what it took to shoot the scenes in the dump. The IMDb Web site lists the shooting as done at Universal Studios. If Universal didn't go to the L.A. landfill or another large dump, I wonder where they got all the junk to create their own dump for this film. And what did they do with it afterwards? This is a wonderful comedy that also is a morality tale, with redemption of at least some of the spoiled rich of the day. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this film.

Screwball comedy came around during the 1930s as a way for people to forget about their own troubles; and while "My Man Godfrey" certainly accomplishes that goal, there is also quite a bit of social commentary present in the film. Rich people using "forgotten men" as pieces in a scavenger hunt, the Bullocks complaining about taxes... etc, etc. Throughout the movie, Godfrey is uncomfortable with Irene's infatuation with him - he'd rather she marry someone of her social class (even though Godfrey was born to a rich family). The cast of this movie is wonderful - the wildly eccentric Bullock family never cease to amuse and perplex. Godfrey (William Powell) plays the straight man, and tries to do his job the best he can among the insanity of the Bullock household, with mixed, but always entertaining, results.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was funny and light hearted which i really love in a movie. It had some more serious social implications within it which is key to making a good movie but it didn't let it slow down the comedy, it used it to its advantage. It really makes fun of the dramatic upper class women of the time. I love the female leads, they are especially hysterical. What makes this movie great is a grounded story with a social note but a focus on great characters with fun personalities. The fast pace keeps the movie flowing and always entertaining even up till the end as things get more serious. Overall this is a great movie that is funny and goofy to no end, I would recommend.

This movie has surprised me both times that I have seen it. It is by far my favorite movie that I have seen in my film class and one of my favorites in general. I loved the character interactions and personality's throughout the whole film. Godfrey himself was of course my favorite character in the film because of how funny he was and how many layers he has. In the beginning he just seems like a poor man found by a rich family but he ends up being the son from a rich family that wanted to live a humble life away from his family. This is a all around great movie that really doesn't have any problems that I can think of. I have always been a fan of romantic comedy and this one did not disappoint.