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- President Dazzles In Des Moines
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- 'My Man Godfrey' Open Thread
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September
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I'm looking forward to this.
ReplyDelete: )
We watched this a couple of months ago. Teenage kids loved it. I heart William Powell.
ReplyDeleteAlong those lines, husband and I watched Sullivan's Travels a while back. Also great.
Jill, that sounds great!
ReplyDeleteTeenage kids loved it.
ReplyDeleteI wonder hold old I was when I saw this... I'm surprised at what I didn't remember! Like Misha, with his gloriously languid poses in the background when he must remove himself from the discussions of the terrible, dreadful money. (His Ochi Chyornye isn't the best movie theme, is it?)
And Molly, quite content to play her part as Audience to the daily dramas of the Bullock family farce. Quite unflappable -- until Godfrey shows up. I so liked the scenes between Irene and Molly -- heartbreak is a great equalizer -- and for all her juvenile histrionics, Irene's immediate, affectionate, commiseration with Molly authenticates the sweet nature she shows to Godfrey.
But Cornelia! I can't believe I didn't remember her as anything more than a minor irritant. Gail Patrick was wonderful; perfect cool indifference until crossed, then ruthless and as cruel as she felt the offense merited. The character you love to hate, except there are those hints of how alluring she could be... I really liked the scenes between her and Powell, that quiet, terribly important, power struggle -- and part of me wanted him to keep that assignation with her, but I suspect the movie might have earned a different rating if he had. I loved Cornelia at the end -- I thought she was now a character I would like to see more of, as she processed this new knowledge of her strengths and weaknesses, and decided how she was going to live her life. (She was the only character that I took at all seriously. Interesting.)
I, too, heart William Powell, and of course believe him to have been wonderful in this. But an issue with the writing: I didn't feel there was enough weight put on his neediness -- psychological or practical -- at the beginning, to explain his generosity at the end.
Gotta run; more later.
William Powell was very charming in this role. His calm manner, quick and sure delivery and steady presence was surprisingly engaging. What a crazy household. I suppose that's how they earn the title of screwball comedies.. but really, that woman, the mother, with the high pitched voice and incessant rattling on was just too much. For a guy that grew up in a house with five boys, its no wonder I never watched this kind of a show as a youngster.
ReplyDeleteGail Patrick's Cornelia.. yeah, I think I've met her someplace before. I'd like to hear more of what you thought about her.
"I really liked the scenes between her and Powell, that quiet, terribly important, power struggle -- and part of me wanted him to keep that assignation with her, but I suspect the movie might have earned a different rating if he had."
I suppose I am a tad out of my element. What did you mean in saying that. The power struggle I got, but the rest of it is lost upon me.
I last saw it when I was a kid, so I didn't remember very much. All I do remember was that it was fun and silly. Some things don't change.
ReplyDeleteBut my older cynical self doesn't buy the premise for one second this time around. They failed to flesh out Irene sufficiently, never showing her as anything other than a silly immature girl, except for a few seconds at the beginning of the film in the dump. Would Godfrey really marry her? "Oh noes, I have no choice! What if she pretends to faint again?" And yes, I realize that Powell and Lombard had been married in real life (they were three years into their divorce). Maybe Lombard proposed saying "Stand still, Bill, it'll all be over in a minute." We saw where that led to. Powell did insist that she get the part in this film (over Constance Bennett and Miriam Hopkins) so maybe he believed it would add an air of realism with their sixteen-year age difference. I agree that Cornelia, especially with her new-found sense of responsibility/honor looked like a better choice
among the siblings. I could see her assisting Godfrey in saving the world, one forgotten man at a time.
How much weight do you have on your shoulders if all you have to do is go back to Boston and rejoin your family? Your rich and influential family.
I do enjot seeing William Powell and I do love his work.
"Oh noes, I have no choice! What if she pretends to faint again?"
ReplyDeleteI love it!
Gail Patrick's Cornelia... Beauty and priviledge, indulged and unchecked by a father unwilling to exert his authority and a mother too selfish to bother. Cornelia is accustomed to getting her way since childhood, and has grown up with predictable contempt for everyone in her family.
Her disdain for Godfrey gives way to attraction, and once she believes that his background is at least acceptable, makes a jollying overture to him at the club -- which he rebuffs with his assessment of her character. Her earlier attempts to see him dismissed were barely a warm-up to her scheme to destroy him with the pearl necklace.
His trumping her on that plot makes him even more attractive, and her insistence that he meet her to "exchange secrets" is an attempt to force him to acknowledge his interest in her.
I think there is attraction on Godfrey's part, but the material success of his (still unsuspected) project puts him beyond the reach of Cornelia's machinations, and his distaste for her petty malice saves him from her allure. Godfrey and Cornelia might have had a pretty dynamic fling*, but they could never have had anything real while Cornelia was still the imperious princess.
* Thus the crack about the movie's rating. ;)
Continued...
... Continued
ReplyDeleteBut there wouldn't be any fling, intrigued as Godfrey might have been, because Irene saves him from it. She knows her sister, and she doesn't yet know Godfrey's feelings. Nor, apparently, does Godfrey. I don't think they made the case for Godfrey being in love with Irene at all well. As lovely as Carole Lombard is, and as sweet and engaging she is in the quiet moments of candor with Godfrey, the hysterics and histrionics mark her as decidedly still a child. And Powell, though his Godfrey is certainly fond of Irene, never gives a hint of being drawn to her romantically. His attempt to instruct her about the impropriety of a woman being in a man's bedroom seems entirely avuncular; he never even looks tempted to shut the door. Some lip service is given to his determination to never be seriously involved with a woman again, but Godfrey never seems to need to put any effort into resisting.
I actually really like the scene with sopping-wet Irene dancing around on the furniture, ecstatic in her discovery that Godfrey loves her enough to lose his temper with her. (Those moments of pure joy just tickle me.) And the confidence this gives her, this confirmation that she is right about them, makes it seem quite reasonable for her to take Godfrey in hand -- quite literally -- and marry him. He is a man of character and caring, she has an affectionate, and compassionate, nature; they'll be fine.
How much weight do you have on your shoulders if all you have to do is go back to Boston and rejoin your family? Your rich and influential family.
I don't think Godfrey could just go back to his Boston family, even if his ego has recovered from the disastrous romance that ruined him, emotionally as well as financially. Assuming his family did welcome him into the fold, he would have been another Carlo. Comfortable, certainly well-fed, but nonetheless a derelict of sorts. He needed a job himself, and he needed, when he was able, to provide jobs for those "forgotten men" who had inspired him when he was at his lowest.
There were a number of times I think information was skimmed over too lightly. That whole nightclub-and-housing project was too out-of-the-blue, given the set-up being one or two comments about "having some ideas." And more than a little unrealistic. Not only was the place built, furnished, staffed, and its operations well underway, during the several months Irene and Cornelia were in Europe, the dump itself had to have been relocated first!
But I'll tell you what really takes a willing suspension of disbelief: We are not supposed to notice that two wealthy young women spent months in Europe, and came back with the same hair-do's?!
Not to change the subject, but have you noticed that everywhere you look the last few days there's another movie suggestion? Ah, I love abundance!
ReplyDelete"His trumping her on that plot makes him even more attractive"
ReplyDeleteOh...
"the material success of his project puts him beyond the reach of Cornelia's machinations"
Huh.
"And the confidence this gives her, this confirmation that she is right about them, makes it seem quite reasonable for her to take Godfrey in hand -- quite literally -- and marry him."
Wow.
"But I'll tell you what really takes a willing suspension of disbelief. We are not supposed to notice that two wealthy young women spent months in Europe, and came back with the same hair-do's?!"
Oh, for crying out loud! You've gone too far now. You're over the line!
: )
Glory was a great movie, Cath.
ReplyDeleteAnd a tip of the hat to you for your excellent comments on My Man Godfrey.
Gail Patrick's Cornelia.. yeah, I think I've met her someplace before
ReplyDeleteThat's what I want to hear more about.
Hmm.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Godfrey could just go back to his Boston family...
ReplyDeleteThey had already created a cover story about him being abroad, so they would have just stuck with that. He would have been restored to his prominent place in the family [from Tommy's background talk] to maintain appearances. Within the family, he would be treated like the Prodigal Son. There might be a bit of infighting in the family with the person that assumed his position in the family business and such, but that would be sorted out behind closed doors. With his ability to make a fortune at will in the market during the Depression, Godfrey would have no problems winning those relatives back.
Gail Patrick did play that same sort of character in her other movie roles, like Dangerous To Know and My Favorite Wife--usually as the rival to the leading lady. I think her biggest legacy is Perry Mason, though. She's that Executive Producer--Gail Patrick Jackson you always see in the credits.
With his ability to make a fortune at will in the market during the Depression...
ReplyDeleteGood point! Of course he could have made a job for himself.
I guess I'll have to change my answer to " He didn't want to leave his buddies from the dump behind."
We can change our answers, right? :)
I think I have seen bits of My Favorite Wife years ago, but I'm not familiar with Dangerous to Know. (It sounds less comic, somehow.) But I've loved Perry Mason since I was a kid -- that is so cool! I wonder what she was like in person.
" He didn't want to leave his buddies from the dump behind."
ReplyDeleteWe'll have none of that rough talk here, young lady!
Oh. You said "buddies" not "buddy's". Carry on then.
Nut. ;)
ReplyDeleteOkay, well I think we are ready for another selection. Darrell, what might you have to share?
ReplyDeleteI'm leaning toward The Searchers, the 1956 John Ford film starring John Wayne. It's been years since I saw it--I recall that it had been tied up in some sort of rights dispute for a long time. It is a change of pace from our recent fare, I know. I'll pick another if you two have seen it recently or would like something different.
ReplyDeleteHey, The Searchers sound fine to me. I'm perfectly happy to do a change of pace!
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine thinks that is a very good movie, and has John Wayne playing a sort of anti-hero, capable but angry and not quite fitting for the civilized society that he was fighting for. I haven't seen it in years. Let's give it a go.
ReplyDeleteThe Searchers it is, then.
ReplyDeleteThere...done! What's taking you guys so long?
Reverend Clayton (Ward Bond): I say we do it my way. That's an order!
Ethan (John Wayne): Yessir. But if you're wrong don't ever give me another.