Mon homme Godfrey

The original My Man Godfrey was one of the best of the Thirties screwball comedies. It was funny, but it also touched on some serious social problems caused by the Depression which Carole Lombard and her wacky family thought they were immune from.

In updating the story to the Fifties, the Depression was no longer the problem it was just David Niven's lack of a green card. In the remake it was just something that I as a member of the audience just didn't care about.

Until I read the IMDb page on this film, I didn't know that German actor O.W. Fischer was to be the new Godfrey. When he bowed out, David Niven came in to take his place. The script explained his British accent by saying that despite his Austrian birth and nationality, Godfrey was an Oxford man. I just didn't buy it, I don't think too many in the audience did.

Once again a film rose and fell on the considerable charms of David Niven. My Man Godfrey doesn't have too many peaks and valleys just seems to be one long plain.

Still it does have some amusing moments with whole stretches of dialog lifted from William Powell-Carole Lombard film. And personally I might have gone for Martha Hyer as the older sister Cordelia faster than June Allyson, but whatever floats your boat.

Nice film, but can't compare to what Gregory La Cava gave us back in the day.

If you are looking for something to watch that is a bit silly, but isn't terribly demanding, then this is for you. It is fit for the whole family, which can't be said for many of today's comedies. Something to watch for: Godfrey's tv set. You see it maybe four times. The first few times, the screen is blue and looks fake. Then, just before he turns it on, it has a grey screen. Hmmm.

The 1936 version was a masterpiece or close to it and this is a pale imitator. I like David Niven and June Allyson but they suck compared to William Powell and Carole Lombard. This one stars Niven as a man hiding out because he doesn't have a passport unlike the original when Powell was just homeless. Allyson is on a scavenger hunt and takes Niven along with her and then hires him as a butler. She's in love with Niven and it turns out he had a lot of money but lost it but i don't remember and it doesn't really matter. The original was much better and you should just watch that one instead and Powell and Lombard were much better. Why did they even bother to remake this.

This is the 50s remake of the 30s classic screwball comedy. This remake feels more like TV than the slick 30s comedy does. The slick is about the only part that is still in this 50s version, and the screwball. This is, more than anything, a silly flick.

A spoiled rich beautiful family falls hard for their new butler, Godfrey, played by David Niven. The younger daughter (June Allyson) brings him home after a scavenger hunt. He doesn't judge and helps wherever he can, best of all he isn't perfect. Even though this is such a silly flick, for some reason at the end I had a big smile. Silly is important.

I've never understood the urge to remake *great* movies. They usually fail (e.g., We're No Angels) but very occasionally they succeed (e.g., His Girl Friday). This one is frothy enough to float away into forgotten-movie heaven.

The original with William Powell and Carole Lombard was on the dark side, to be sure, but this was necessary to the 'message' and the times. Nor was the message entirely political and social--at heart it is about a man who discovers that his world of privilege is empty without accepting his responsibility to others and to his community. A sharp contrast in tone, but ultimately a complement to this theme, is in Nobody's Fool. The Paul Newman character is not privileged, but his commitment to others is just as deep and at the heart of the movie.

The Niven/Allyson remake of My Man Godfrey is, in my opinion, inoffensive and fun, but also shallow and meaningless.