User reviews

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.

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.

The original is brilliant. But the re-make is sad at best. No matter how much I may love David Niven, he's a poor substitute for Powell. Don't bother with this trash. Rent the Powell/Lombard film (1936). It's one of the funniest films you'll ever see, with hallmark performances by everyone in the cast.

...then watch this one first. Because IMHO the original 1936 version is just better. And then your opinion will not be colored by the comparison between the two. It's kind of like Son of Frankenstein versus Young Frankenstein. If you must watch both, watch Son of Frankenstein first, otherwise a serious movie will become unintentionally hilarious. But I digress.

This one has the same structure as the original - A scavenger hunt turns up the titular Godfrey (David Niven), who is given a job with the Bullock family as the butler. He's a bit mysterious and very urbane, but Irene Bullock (June Allyson), one of the daughters of the family, comes to love him. In the original, Godfrey's big secret was that he was from a rich family living among the city's forgotten men due to a love affair that ended badly. In this one, Godfrey is in the country illegally. Naturally they couldn't keep the original Great Depression centered plot - It would be ridiculous.

This film was well acted, well directed, and attractively shot. But other than being in color, I just could not see the point of this being remade. It's something that I watched once, found to be OK, but probably would not seek out again.

For the life of me, I don't understand why June Allyson had a career. If you like June Allyson, you and I have very different tastes and you're better off not taking my advice about movies. For the rest of you sane moviegoers, beware any movie with her in the romantic lead. Her perpetual laryngitis is so grating, it actually makes me want to run out of the room screaming. I lost track of how many times she heaved painful breaths in the middle of her sentences because her voice gave out on her.

My Man Godfrey is a remake of the screwball comedy starring Carole Lombard and William Powell in 1936, so if you didn't like the original-I didn't-you stand little chance of liking the remake-I didn't, either. June Allyson plays a rich, spoiled, immature brat who acts like a five-year-old, pouting and throwing emotional tantrums when she doesn't get her way. She adopts a homeless bum as her "protégé" and hires him as her family's butler. Then, because he's incredibly handsome, genteel, and capable, she gets a crush on him. However, there's absolutely no redeeming quality about her, so why would he return her feelings?

David Niven was an obvious choice to play the classy butler, but for the entire movie it felt like he was "slumming it" with lesser actors, perhaps as a favor to Dick Powell, a co-producer of his television series Four Star Playhouse. David Niven doesn't belong in a June Allyson movie, and he certainly shouldn't be paired up with someone so repellant. It doesn't make any sense, and even though he gives a flawless performance as the wise, caring, charming title character, he isn't enough to save the movie-and neither are his incredible good looks, which are, thankfully, mentioned several times throughout the movie.

The only reason I was even able to sit through this movie was because I was drooling over David Niven in his tuxedo. Even in the first scene when he's homeless, he's unstoppably cute in his sailor's cap. If you aren't in love with The Niv, you probably will turn My Man Godfrey off, and no one will blame you.

I saw this film when I was a kid; it was great, I loved it, and I had no idea it was a remake. Later, thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I got to see the B&W original with William Powell and his former wife, Carole Lombard, which deserves its legend status, but I still say that the Niven/Allyson film is an inspired remake and loads of fun. I urge everyone to see BOTH films and and appreciate the work of four talented actors.

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.

David Niven stands in for William Powell in this Henry Koster-directed remake of the 1936 predecessor from Gregory La Cava. Screwball having been run into the cinematic ground by 1957, the results here are naturally handicapped by a bit of strain. A lucid butler, working in a household full of eccentrics, changes the lives of his employers for the better. Glossy Ross Hunter production ensures that feuding sisters June Allyson and Martha Hyer look smashing while they're bickering; they're both lively, but Niven's drip-dry persona is an acquired taste. Stultifying comedy is curiously anachronistic--even for the '50s--though there are some big laughs early on. ** from ****

The David Niven and June Allyson version of My Man Godfrey was a witty and often funny remake of the 1936 version of the movie by the same name--starring William Powell.

Unlike most remakes, I found the 1957 version equally as entertaining as the first version--which was quite funny.

The premise of "rich man pretending to be poor man" (and obviously mistaken for a poor man) was not unique with the original My Man Godfrey. An earlier movie (1930) had a similar plot line and was also remade in 1938 as, Merrily We Live, starring Constance Bennett, Brian Aherne, and Billie Burke. (Burke won an Oscar for her supporting role as the extremely ditsy mother).

Another bit of trivia: Alan Mowbray played a school chum of William Powell in the 1936 version of My Man Godfrey (Godfrey was the one mistaken for a butler). Mowbray played a butler who was upstaged by Brian Aherne in the 1938 movie, Merrily We Live. (In this movie, it was Aherne, as E. Wade Rawlins, who was mistaken for a tramp and hired first as a chauffeur, then became a temporary butler).

Anyone who first saw the 1957 version of My Man Godrey will also enjoy the 1936 version. Both were well done, even hilarious at times.

And I recommend Merrily We Live for those who enjoyed My Man Godfrey. The similarities (especially between the 1936 Godfrey and the 1938 Merrily We Live) are unmistakable.

Would absolutely love to have all three movies on DVD.

The 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 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.

I am an huge fan of David Niven, but not even his suave, sophisticated portrayal of "Godfrey" can rescue this from the clutches of June "Dorothy-on-speed" Allyson's frenetically annoying performance as "Irene". He is, ostensibly, a penniless Austrian vagabond she discovers on a pier, takes a bit of a shine to, and impressed by his cultivated style and urbane turn of phrase, takes him back to the US to be the butler in their exclusive family home. Needless to say, he fits in perfectly and has them all eating from his hands. He does not, however, disclose that his past isn't quite what they expect and when he is eventually rumbled - and not in the way you might expect, the story becomes terribly convoluted. Comparisons with the 1936 Lombard/Powell version do not really flatter this production. It is too in-your-face without the subtle humour or romance of its predecessor. Odd to see Jay Robinson in a film without a cape and some centurions and Eva Gabor brings some glamour (if little else) to the proceedings.

This is a re-make of the 1936 classic starring William Powell and Carole Lombard. Those 2 powerhouses practically guarantee a great film. The original has received much critical acclaim. However, the film was "dark" and had a "message" (a political one). I much prefer this lighter romp with David Niven and June Allyson. Niven's at his charming-est and Allyson at her perkiest. They have great chemistry. The flirty interaction of Allyson and Niven, playing the wise Godfrey, make this version very enjoyable. The original may be great art but the re-make is great fun and entertainment.......

In this remake of the original screwball classic, David Niven is "My Man Godfrey," taking William Powell's role. While the extravagantly rich are having a scavenger hunt for animal, mineral and vegetable, sisters June Allyson and Martha Hyer come upon a bum nears the docks. Actually, June does first and in doing so, wins the contest. Long story. But she and her sister argue terribly, both being spoiled by their obscenely rich and doting parents, their mother rather ditsy and their father the most sane one of the bunch, but who recently has begun to have financial worries from bad investments. Is their money being spent faster than it is coming in? Could it be possible? Then, when June takes a liking to Godfrey and their latest manservant quits, she hires him and therefore he is initiated into the family and their antics. Jeff Donnell, an actress who has a man's name, is the cook who also falls under the spell of Godfrey and helps him to get accustomed to the family. This is yet another of Hollywood's remakes of previous films. After all, if it worked once, it may again with a cast of the 1950s. While this is not a laugh-out-loud classic, this film has charm in spades, with David Niven shining in a very modest role, which suits his gentleman disposition. This film also has more heart and deeply felt scenes than its predecessor, as June and David have more feelings for each as the film progresses, culminating in a very fulfilling ending. June is just as zany and fun here, as she is in her usual comedies, and Martha Hyer is a very beautiful actress who gives good support, as does Jesse Royce Landis as their mother. If you see this on TCM, please watch this very warm and charming outing with David Niven as "My Man Godfrey" teaching a lesson to an eccentric family and learning about himself in the process.

This is an inspired remake and a worthy film on its own merits. David Niven and June Allyson have chemistry galore, and are on top of their comedic games. It should be shown more often, but it is popular right now for purist snobs to turn up their noses at remakes. Well, the original is a masterpiece, and I love it too, but that does not take away from the diamond-like brilliance and sheer FUN of this version.

I agree with a few of the posters here (Native Texan, Conreb, Gary Renfield), for I also enjoyed the second version much better than the first, because the first one did seem to be a 'darker' much more politically correct version.

While William Powell and Carole Lombard are considered to be excellent actors, David Niven, June Allyson, and Jay Robinson are equally as talented in their 'updated' roles. I find it very sad that movies like these are no longer presented these days, when we seem to need all the laughter we can get these days, a movie such as this would help to lift many a dark spirit.

I can't wait to see it presented on DVD (instead of VHS) like the 1936 version is right now.

Martha Hyer is the reason I sat through this movie. Her relationship with David Niven is much more interesting than that of June Allyson-David Niven. Ms. Hyer's acting was also very unstated, and convincing, unlike the Allyson character, which required a lot of over-acting.

As far as remakes go, this movie isn't bad.

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.