My Man Godfrey



My Man Godfrey is a classic 1936 screwball comedy starring William Powell and Carole Lombard. The time is The Great Depression, and a number of men down on their luck are living in the city dump. By chance, a party of rich people, including Irene Bullock, show up to claim one of the "forgotten men" to win a scavenger hunt. She chooses Godfrey and wins the hunt, and afterward offers him a job as the family butler. Hilarity Ensues as he is confronted with a mad household of spoiled brats and Cloud Cuckoolanders. While Irene falls madly in love with Godfrey, the feeling is not mutual (at first).

Watch or download it at the Internet Archive.


 * Awful Wedded Life: Alexander Bullock seems to treat his marriage this way through most of the film.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Irene and Mrs. Bullock.
 * Credits Brand Products: The opening credits are on neon signs.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Molly, the maid.
 * Destination Defenestration: Carlo's fate, at Mr. Bullock's hands.
 * Driven to Suicide:
 * Emo: Irene's languid ennui after Godfrey's initial rejection is clearly proto-Emo behavior.
 * Escape From the Crazy Place: Godfrey's initial reaction to his first day with the Bullocks.
 * Fainting: Irene fakes a fainting spell when Godfrey seems about to leave with Cornelia.
 * Hangover Sensitivity: Mrs. Bullock usually has one in the morning. She sees "pixies".
 * Hidden Depths: Godfrey, who is more business savvy than he appears.
 * Hideous Hangover Cure: "Pixie Remover," namely tomato juice and Worcestershire sauce.
 * I Need a Freaking Drink: During a typical evening at home, Mr. Bullock takes a whole tray of martinis & asks Godfrey to repeat the order in 30 minutes.
 * Insane Troll Logic: Irene seems to live inside this trope at times.
 * Ivy League: Tommy Gray and  attended Harvard together.
 * Looped Lyrics: Carlo singing "Ochi Tchorniye," but none of the other lyrics, so it's close to a Single-Stanza Song. Bonus points to Mrs. Bullock for not knowing the name of the song.
 * Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Irene is one of the first in film history.
 * Motor Mouth: Both Mrs. Bullock and Irene at times.
 * Only Sane Man: Mr. Bullock and Godfrey.
 * Playing Drunk: Godfrey as the police search his room.
 * Replacement Goldfish: Mrs. Bullock suggests Godfrey is this to Irene, who "hasn't cared for anything since her Pomeranian died last summer".
 * Rich Bitch: Cornelia.
 * Screwball Comedy
 * : Godfrey Smith (aka Godfrey Park).
 * Servile Snarker: The maid Molly, especially to the cops.
 * Spoiled Sweet: Irene. While ditzy, she still is kind to Godfrey, which is why he agrees to go with her for the scavenger hunt, as opposed to her older Rich Bitch sister.
 * Time Skip: At least two, although they're subtle:  first, the story jumps from Godfrey's first day as a butler to a point some weeks or months later; then there is a skip between the pearl necklace affair to what is probably the next spring, with a European trip for the Bullock girls in between.