Directed by Gregory La Cava, 95 Minutes long My Man Godfrey is one of the screwball comedy films that epitomized the theatres and cinemas in the 1930s. The romantic experiences during the 1930s, the era of the Great Depression, informs the idea and concept of the film. Therefore, the film is significant to the culture during such a time in America. Remarkably, the film is more of the political allusions in America in the 1930s during the social realism, laced with comic moments and scenes. Also, the film depicts the gaps between the rich and the poor and, by extension, reveals the struggle and fight between different social classes in America during the Great Depression era (Platz, 201). The paper identifies and discusses the narrative, historical context, and takeaways or lessons from the film, My Man Godfrey.
Narrative
Theme
The central theme in the film My Man Godfrey revolves around the importance of a job as a factor for providing and dignifying one’s purpose in life. With a meaningful career, people may feel energized and powerful before others who have jobs or engage in meaningful income-generating activities. In affirming the theme of social class and the importance of a career in one’s life and general well-being, the film, My Man Godfrey starts with two sisters (Carol Lombard and Gail Patrick) who are considerably well-off or of higher societal statuses, showing up in a city’s walkway, seemingly looking or are in the hunt for a man, a perfect suitor; they find Godfrey (William Powell), a man who is outright down, or of low social status and class, contrary to what they had anticipated on that fateful night (Platz, 203). According to the sisters, Godfrey represents a man with a lower dignity and typically has no purpose in life; Godfrey would find such statements harsh and offensive. To make it even worse, they emanate from women.
According to Godfrey, women should not look down upon him when they have nothing to offer and, even more, necessary when they cannot change or turn around his dire situation. Interestingly, Godfrey does not give up on the sisters and carefully chooses one (Irene Bullock) whom he accompanies to the party. He eventually accepts the role of a family butler and ‘protégé.’ While Godfrey continues to work for the family as a butler, he hatches a plan to see him elevate himself to someone desirable and admirable to the sisters. At the seemingly high-end and lavish parties, Godfrey entertains Bullock, her nuttiness and alcoholism, and at times cures her hangovers too (00:20:05-00:35:00:05). The film takes a turn when the sisters’ rivalry sparks, and everyone now seems interested in or wants to fall in love with Godfrey, who was once a pauper and now a presentable man; attracting many suitors from the family.
Plot
The film My Man Godfrey‘s setting or plot points to the era of the Great Depression, the 1930s. Godfrey Parke “Smith,” the man at the story’s center, is seemingly poor, of low social class, and lives among other homeless men in New York City, East River, the 59th Street Bridge. One night, Godfrey surprisingly receives a guest, a socialite, Cornelia Bullock, who hands him about USD 5 to persuade him to be her “forgotten man” for some night party, which she loosely refers to as a scavenger hunt (Platz, 201). At first, Godfrey gets annoyed by Cornelia’s strange gesture, and he declines prompting to retreat, and in the process, falls on a pile of ashes, to the delight of her sister Irene Bullock, a fierce rival. In a turn of events, Godfrey engages Irene, finds her down to earth and kind, and offers to the scavenger hunt. Godfrey fulfills his curiosity about the search. In a posh hotel’s ballroom, Irene’s wealthy father, Alexander Bullock, patiently waits for his wife while she plays a game. Godfrey arrives shortly at the match and authenticates himself as “the forgotten man,” letting Irene win.
Screwball Comedy
My Man Godfrey is a perfect comedy film. Irene Bullock, the younger sister to Cornelia, constantly seeks attention; she engages in actions that earn her significant attention from Godfrey and her family members. However, Godfrey was only in communication with his family for a short time. However, her mum, Angelica Bullock, is more concerned about the conversations or vapid dialogues than anything else (00:50:03-00:58:06:00). Also, Godfrey and the maid, Molly, display acts of screwball comedy when they put up a show of living an everyday life despite the insanity and conflicting personalities of the Bullocks.
Notably, Molly and Godfrey come from poor are of low order, meaning they are at the mercy of the Bullocks. Any disagreement or misunderstanding would easily see them kicked out and losing their jobs as housemaids and family butlers. Furthermore, like most screwball comedy films, My Man Godfrey ends with a marriage between a seemingly unlikely pair of lovers, Godfrey and Molly (01:05:10-01:20:05). No one saw the wedding coming. However, breaking the class boundaries was in Godfrey’s best interest. There is also a sense of witty dialogue or conversations throughout the film between different characters, especially Molly and Godfrey and Irene and Cornelia, which affirms the film as the epitome of screwball comedy.
Historical Context
Context
The release of the film, My Man Godfrey coincided with the Great Depression, a period of economic turmoil that adversely impacted some of the world’s major economies, including America. Notably, the period was marked by a significant fall in stock prices in America, eventually leading to the Wall Street stock market crash in 1930. Also, the period marked many dysfunctional families. Therefore, in most scenes, the characters’ attitudes and the general mood in the film are informed by the events before and after the Great Depression. As much as the film revolves around the “forgotten man,” Godfrey, the Bullocks significantly determine and shape the mood and sometimes the attitudes in the movie. Two women, sisters to that effect, have a crush on Godfrey, a homeless and seemingly poor man who lives at the city dump. Godfrey quickly and effortlessly wins their heart and secures himself a job as a butler in the family. Getting a career as a house butler was a significant milestone and game changer in the life of once a poor man. The turn for the “forgotten man” to transform himself from an unshaven bum to a polished and sharp man had now come or been made possible by the Bullocks. Ideally, the film portrays Godfrey as a nice guy, contrary to what the maid, Molly, had anticipated; the “forgotten man” had only one chance to impress with his proper behaviors and not disappoint. Godfrey would eventually win Irene’s heart and give her the best kisses ever; Irene Bullock is astonished and, therefore, more obsessed with the “forgotten man” than ever.
Characters/Mood
As the game progresses, Godfrey, the main protagonist, leaves in haste, just after assessing the audience’s mood in the room; he seems unimpressed by the whole event and cannot stand the embarrassment and humiliation any longer. To please and win his (Godfrey’s) loyalty and trust back, Irene apologizes and eventually hires Godfrey as the family butler; he accepts and takes up the role gratefully. While performing his duties as a family butler, on the very first day, Molly, a maid, tells him that Ghe (may be one of the many butlers who did not last on their jobs due to their conflicting personalities and boss (the Bullocks). Moreover, despite Godfrey competence and exemplary performance as a butler, he never impresses Cornelia, an antagonist who seems to hold a great grudge against him; she cannot process the idea that Godfrey had left her for her sister (Irene) (Platz, 205). Godfrey and Irene also conspired to assault her physically (Cornelia).
Class
Throughout the film, an ideology of class is predominant. Godfrey undermines social and class realism when he lands a butler job in a well-off family. The film starts with Godfrey being the “forgotten man” and ends with him as the most admirable and charming man in the Bullock family; he wins everyone’s heart with his good behavior. At the center of it all, Godfrey falls in love with a rich girl, Irene, whom, at some point, Godfrey tries pushing away. He was comfortable with living the low life at the city dump. On the other hand, the two Bullock sisters represent classy and petulant women in society; their dad is a successful businessman by his means and terms.
Reaction
In the My Man Godfrey, we learn that the character Godfrey is not necessarily a poor man or pauper but comes from an equally well-off family as Irene and Cornelia Bullock. As a 1930s release, My Man Godfrey is one of the most exciting pieces of screwball comedy films that portray the typical life of the low-order people in American society during and after the Great Depression, that presented its fair set of problems and challenges to the population such as unemployment and poverty. The lifestyle portrayed by the dumb residents near the East River, the 59th Street Bridge, was more of a squalor than a decent life because they would constantly and consistently move locations whenever their box homes filled up.
In the film, Irene, the petulant girl cuts a figure of an overambitious and, at the same confident woman; she seems to win and get everything she wants, including Godfrey. At some point, one would quickly feel or conclude that Irene used Godfrey to be what she is today and dumbs him afterward. As the film ends, Cornelia is seemingly still bitter with Godfrey; she seems not to have moved on or at least forgiven him. Molly had eyes on Godfrey from the onset and was keen to win his heart above other girls, notably the sisters’ Irene and Cornelia. Generally, My Man Godfrey is a beautiful film, and every character plays their roles diligently, matching the audience’s expectations. It is a true reflection of the world in which we live. When the rich and the poor interact, there is always a clash of classes. The film’s themes and plot or setting are implausible, and the characters attract admiration effortlessly.
Works Cited
“My Man Godfrey-William Powell-Romance-Classic Movie.” YouTube, uploaded by ARTFLIX- Movie Classics, 7 October 2022 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B1TvKK6zts
Platz, Jenny. “Carole Lombard, Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck and the Gendered Agency of Screwball Comedies.” Cinematic Representations of Women in Modern Celebrity Culture, 1900–1950. Routledge, 2022. 201–222.
write