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48-552: Gregory La Cava (March 10, 1892 – March 1, 1952) was an American film director of Italian descent best known for his films of the 1930s, including My Man Godfrey and Stage Door , which earned him nominations for Academy Award for Best Director . La Cava was born in Towanda, Pennsylvania . His father was a shoemaker, and the family moved to Rochester, New York. La Cava reported for the Rochester Evening News and studied at

96-604: A "friendly witness." Ryskind never sold another script after that appearance, and he believed that his appearance before HUAC was responsible, although there is no direct evidence of an organized campaign against the "friendly witnesses." In the 1950s, Ryskind contributed articles to The Freeman , In 1954, he was also a board member of the American Jewish League Against Communism . He lent money to Buckley to help start The National Review , which began publication in 1955, another journal to which he

144-592: A 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In 1999, the original version of My Man Godfrey was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry . The film was remade in 1957 with June Allyson and David Niven in the starring roles. During the Great Depression , Godfrey Smith lives with other homeless men at

192-482: A New York City dump in a Hooverville by the East River. One night, spoiled socialite Cornelia Bullock offers him $ 5 to be her " forgotten man " for a scavenger hunt . Godfrey refuses and makes her retreat and fall on a pile of ashes, much to the glee of her younger sister Irene. Godfrey finds Irene to be kind and offers to go with her to help her beat Cornelia and satisfy his curiosity regarding their scavenger hunt. In

240-564: A big premiere at The Pantages Theatre in Hollywood , with comedian George Jessel as master of ceremonies . My Man Godfrey premiered on September 6, 1936, and was released in the United States on September 17. It was a runaway hit and earned huge profits for the studio. The movie was one of the most acclaimed comedies of 1936. Variety called it a "splendidly produced comedy," with Powell and Lombard "pleasantly teamed" as Lombard plays

288-425: A class of its own, My Man Godfrey 's screwball comedy is as sharp as the social commentary is biting." The original film is generally thought to have entered into the public domain in 1965 when the film's copyright was not renewed after 28 years. However the underlying work, the 1935 book 1101 Park Avenue – re-titled My Man Godfrey with the film's release – had its copyright renewed in 1963 and

336-461: A headache, but Powell didn't appear. Instead, the actor sent a telegram stating: "WE MAY HAVE FOUND GODFREY LAST NIGHT BUT WE LOST POWELL. SEE YOU TOMORROW." Due to insurance considerations a stand-in stuntman (Chick Collins) was used when Godfrey carried Irene over his shoulder up the stairs to her bedroom. In a premiere special in the Los Angeles Times , Universal producer Rogers said it

384-403: A high point on the set, Lombard had a habit of inserting four-letter words into her dialogue, often to the great amusement of the cast. This made shooting somewhat difficult, but clips of her cursing in her dialogue and messing up her lines can still be seen in blooper reels, along with four-letter words from Powell. It was the first film released under the aegis of Charles Rogers and was given

432-454: A minute". The film is based on the 1935 Eric S. Hatch novel, 1101 Park Avenue . Charles Rogers , head of Universal, called it "a sure-fire laugh-getting novel". That studio purchased the film rights and assigned Hatch to write the script with Morrie Ryskind , who received top billing for the screenplay. Rogers hired Gregory La Cava to direct, "the best comedy director in Hollywood." It

480-528: A son. They were divorced in 1937. On December 2, 1940, La Cava married Mrs. Grace O. Garland, widow of William J. Garland. He died on March 1, 1952, in his sleep in his home. His remains were buried at Chapel of the Pines Crematory . My Man Godfrey My Man Godfrey is a 1936 American screwball comedy film directed by Gregory La Cava and starring William Powell and Carole Lombard , who had been briefly married years before appearing together in

528-487: Is beautiful," declared critic Roger Ebert , who praised the cinematography as "a shimmering argument" for the virtues of films produced in black-and-white, rather than color. He praised the film, and "the actors in it,... its style of production," even... "the system that produced it," as an escape from today's "pop culture of brainless vulgarity." Critics have also praised the elegant set design and costumes, particularly Travis Banton 's costume designs. My Man Godfrey

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576-487: Is faking it. Godfrey puts her in the shower and turns on the cold water. This, however, has an unexpected result. Irene says, "Oh Godfrey, now I know you love me...You do or you wouldn't have lost your temper." Godfrey quits. Before he leaves, Mr. Bullock throws Carlo out (literally) and tells his family that his business is in dire straits and he will likely go to jail. However, Godfrey provides good news: when he had realized Mr. Bullock's situation, sold short , using some of

624-438: Is for his work in sound films of the 1930s—especially comedies—that he is best known today. And though he did not always get credit, he also often had a hand in creating the screenplays for his films. Among the sound films he directed are: During the 1940s, his career floundered when his output dropped severely. He only officially directed one film after 1942, Living in a Big Way (1947). La Cava and his first wife, Beryl, had

672-426: Is protected, then rightly or wrongly, it has generally been determined that the derived film is also protected." In 2002, a restored print was made available on DVD by The Criterion Collection , which featured a new cover illustrated by Michael Koelsch. In 2005, 20th Century Fox Home Video released a colorized version. In September 2018, Criterion released the film on Blu-ray with new supplements. My Man Godfrey

720-399: Is thus still in copyright. According to Stanford University Library, and under rulings of the 1990 case Stewart v. Abend , in so-called multilayered works, the rights holder of the original work can claim ownership of the film script, though not the pictures, if the original book is still in copyright. "Films are often based on books ... that may maintain copyright. If the pre-existing work

768-695: The Art Institute of Chicago . He was a member of the Art Students' League . Around 1913, he started doing odd jobs at the Barré Studio . By 1915, he was an animator on the Animated Grouch Chasers series. Towards the end of 1915, William Randolph Hearst decided to create an animation studio to promote the comic strips printed in his newspapers. He called the new company International Film Service , and he hired La Cava to run it (for double what he

816-587: The "living comic strips" they contained. La Cava's main fault as a producer and director was that his cartoons were too clearly animated comic strips, hampered by speech balloons when rival Bray Studio was creating more effective series with original characters. He was apparently aware of this fault, and he had his animators study Charlie Chaplin films to improve their timing and characterization. But he didn't have time to achieve very much, because in July 1918, Hearst's bankers caught up with him and International Film Service

864-599: The 1930s he participated in party-sponsored activities, even performing sketches at antiwar events, but he split with the party's Old Guard faction led by Louis Waldman . His politics soon moved to the political right. In 1940, Ryskind abandoned the Democratic Party , and he opposed President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 's pursuit of a third term, writing the campaign song for that year's Republican Party presidential nominee Wendell Willkie . He maintained some ties to

912-480: The Broadway production Of Thee I Sing , a musical written in collaboration with composer George Gershwin . Ryskind wrote or cowrote several Marx Brothers theatrical and screenplays, including the book for the Broadway musical Animal Crackers (1929) (with Kaufman), and he wrote the screenplays for the film versions of The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930). Later he cowrote, again with Kaufman,

960-552: The Great Depression," adding "William Powell portrays Godfrey with knife-edged delivery," in "one of the most exemplary screwball comedies of the 1930s." The NFR also praises Ted Tetzlaff's black-and-white cinematography. In 2023, Time magazine selected it as one of the "100 Best Movies of the Last 10 Decades," placing it among "the greatest romantic comedies" to come out of that "decade full of terrific ones." "God,... this film

1008-610: The Socialist Party throughout the 1940s and served as a vice chairman of the Keep America Out of War Congress . He became a friend to writers Max Eastman , Ayn Rand , John Dos Passos , Suzanne La Follette and Raymond Moley . Later, he would become a friend to William F. Buckley Jr. and future president Ronald Reagan . In 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee as

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1056-509: The ballroom of the Waldorf-Ritz Hotel, Irene's businessman father Alexander Bullock waits resignedly, as his ditsy wife Angelica and her mooching protégé Carlo play the game. Godfrey is authenticated as a "forgotten man", allowing Irene to win that part of the hunt. He takes the opportunity to publicly express his contempt for the players' antics before leaving in a huff. An apologetic Irene decides to make Godfrey her protégé and hires him as

1104-496: The boundaries of their employee-employer relationship. Eventually, Godfrey is recognized by his longtime friend Tommy Gray at a tea party thrown by Irene. Godfrey makes up a story that he was Tommy's valet at Harvard; Tommy plays along by embellishing Godfrey's story with a nonexistent wife and five children. Upon hearing this, Irene impulsively announces her engagement to a surprised Charlie Van Rumple, but breaks down in tears and flees after being congratulated by Godfrey. Over lunch

1152-453: The deal, Universal loaned Paramount's Margaret Sullavan for the film I Love a Soldier, and Lombard's clothes designer, Travis Banton, accompanied her. Alice Brady joined the cast in March. My Man Godfrey was in production from April 15 to May 27, 1936, and then had retakes in early June of the year. Its budget was $ 575,375; Powell was paid $ 87,500 and Lombard $ 45,645. The film was one of

1200-672: The end of the film, however, he notes that "the social conscience is a little confused" and he wishes for a more "dignified exit". Modern critics have praised it as enduring amusement, and truth, and as a "landmark" icon of the 1930s screwball comedy film concept, and the overall craft of filmmaking. In 1999, the film was selected for the Library of Congress 's National Film Registry (NFR) of motion pictures "selected for... historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions," saying that "Carole Lombard sparkles [at] one of her greatest roles," in this "comedic take and sometimes caustic commentary on

1248-591: The film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry . In 2000, the film was ranked #44 on the American Film Institute 's list of the 100 funniest comedies , and Premiere voted it one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , it has an approval score of 97% based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The site's consensus states: "A class satire in

1296-518: The film. The screenplay for My Man Godfrey was written by Morrie Ryskind and Eric S. Hatch , with uncredited contributions by La Cava, based on Hatch's 1935 novel, 1101 Park Avenue . The story concerns a socialite who hires a derelict to be her family's butler, and then falls in love with him. The film was critically acclaimed, and was nominated for six Oscars in the 9th Academy Awards including best actor for leads Powell and Lombard, supporting actors Auer and Brady, director and screenplay. It has

1344-491: The films My Man Godfrey (starring Carole Lombard , 1936) and Stage Door (starring Katharine Hepburn , 1937). Later, he wrote the screenplay for the successful Penny Serenade , wrote the stage musical Louisiana Purchase (which soon became a film starring Bob Hope ) and supervised the production of The Lady Comes Across . For many years, Ryskind had been a member of the Socialist Party of America , and during

1392-471: The first under the new regime of Charles Rogers at Universal, although it had been developed under his predecessor Carl Laemmle Jr . La Cava, a former animator and freelancer for most of his film career, held studio executives in contempt and was known to be a bit eccentric. When he and Powell hit a snag over a disagreement about how Godfrey should be portrayed, they settled things over a bottle of Scotch. The next morning, La Cava showed up for shooting with

1440-403: The money raised by pawning Cornelia's pearl necklace to buy up the stock that Bullock had sold. He gives the stock back to Mr. Bullock, saving the family from financial ruin. Godfrey also returns the necklace to Cornelia, who humbly expresses her gratitude and remorse for her behavior. With the rest of the money Godfrey got for Cornelia's necklace, he and Tommy become business partners and convert

1488-399: The most "screwy" of the various "screwball dames" she has ever played. Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a moderately positive review, characterizing it as "acutely funny [for three-quarters of its way]". Particularly praising the scene of the scavenging party, Greene finds it to be "perhaps the wittiest, as well as noisiest, sequence of the year". Considering

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1536-511: The new family butler. On his first day as butler, Godfrey is warned by the Bullocks' longtime maid Molly that he is merely the latest in a long line of butlers who did not last long due to the female Bullocks' antics. Despite this, he proves to be up to the challenge, though Cornelia holds a grudge against him. Irene becomes infatuated with Godfrey, and he tries unsuccessfully to discourage her. She kisses him, causing him to politely but firmly outline

1584-456: The next day, Tommy wonders what one of the elite "Parkes of Boston" is doing as a servant. Godfrey explains that when he lost the woman he loved, he considered suicide, but the undaunted attitude of the homeless men living at the dump rekindled his spirits. Eventually, Irene breaks her engagement with Charlie. Cornelia attempts to seduce Godfrey on his day off, but when he rebuffs her, she plants her pearl necklace under Godfrey's mattress and calls

1632-473: The now-filled-in dump into a fashionable nightclub called "The Dump", which creates jobs for the homeless men with a plan to build housing for 50 of them. A determined Irene tracks Godfrey to his office and apartment at The Dump, makes it clear that she is moving in, and, when Tommy sends in New York's mayor to marry them, Irene leads a startled Godrey up by the hand and says "Stand still Godfrey, it'll all be over in

1680-482: The pages of the humor magazine Jester in 1917. Ryskind was criticizing Butler for refusing to allow Ilya Tolstoy speak on campus. From 1927 to 1945, Ryskind was author of numerous scripts and musical lyrics for Broadway productions and Hollywood films, and he later directed several productions. He collaborated with George S. Kaufman on several Broadway hits. In 1933, he earned the Pulitzer Prize for drama for

1728-436: The police to report it missing. However, the police do not find them. Mr. Bullock realizes his daughter has orchestrated the whole thing and informs her that the pearls are not insured. The Bullocks send their daughters to Europe to help Irene get over her broken engagement to Charlie, but when they return, her feelings for Godfrey have not changed. She stages a fainting spell and swoons into Godfrey's arms, who soon realises she

1776-678: The screenplay for A Night at the Opera (1935), which helped revive interest in the Marx Brothers and was selected by the American Film Institute as among the top 100 comedy films . In working on that script, Ryskind was heavily involved in the "cleanup process," watching the brothers repeatedly perform sections of the play before live audiences to determine which lines worked and which did not. In an interview with Richard J. Anobile in The Marx Brothers Scrapbook , Groucho Marx said that he

1824-497: Was Constance Bennett , and Miriam Hopkins also was considered, but the director Gregory La Cava would only agree to Bennett if Universal borrowed William Powell from MGM . Powell, for his part, only would take the role if Carole Lombard played Irene. Powell and Lombard had divorced three years earlier, but remained good friends. Powell's casting was announced in January 1936. Universal borrowed Lombard from Paramount. As part of

1872-613: Was an early contributor. Ryskind briefly joined the John Birch Society but soon disassociated himself from the group after it began to claim that Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower were part of the Soviet conspiracy. He was also a vocal sympathizer with the anti-Zionist American Council for Judaism . In 1960, Ryskind started to write a feature column in the Los Angeles Times that promoted conservative ideas for

1920-468: Was intended for Broadway in 1985, but remained uncompleted at the time of Alan Jay Lerner's death in 1986. Morrie Ryskind Ryskind was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants Ida (Edelson) and Abraham Ryskind. He attended Columbia University but was suspended shortly before he was due to graduate after he called university president Nicholas Murray Butler "Czar Nicholas" in

1968-548: Was key to the film's production to make "everyone connected with the picture" feel "a happy-go-lucky mood," and "keep them laughing... madder and merrier the better," "while you're shooting the picture." Film crew described star Lombard as "a good egg" who "never stands on ceremony,... impulsive,... outspoken... extremely frank," always "gay," and particularly "a friend to everyone" who worked with her. They also called Powell as "a good egg," and humble, who asked for no special considerations, and praised others' work. When tensions hit

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2016-665: Was making with Barré). La Cava's first employee was his co-worker at the Barré Studio, Frank Moser . Another was his fellow student in Chicago, Grim Natwick (later to achieve fame at Disney ). As he developed more and more of Hearst's comics into cartoon series, he came to put semi-independent units in charge of each, leading to the growth of individual styles. La Cava also had the significant advantage over other studios of an unlimited budget: Hearst's business sense completely broke down when it came to his Hearst-Vitagraph News Pictorial and

2064-413: Was now known), but La Cava was not, since Goldwyn-Bray had several producers of its own and La Cava was not interested in starting over. Instead, he moved west to Hollywood. By 1922, La Cava had become a live-action director of two-reel comedies, the direct competitor to animated films. Among the actors he directed in the silent era are: La Cava worked his way up to feature films in the silent era, but it

2112-445: Was shut down. Hearst still wanted his characters animated, so he licensed various studios to continue the IFS series. La Cava and most of the IFS staff got jobs with John Terry's studio (not surprising since John Terry himself was an IFS alumnus). This only lasted a few months before Terry's studio went out of business. The animators were immediately hired by Goldwyn-Bray (as Bray Productions

2160-459: Was so appalled by an early draft of the script, which was reportedly written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby , that he screamed "Why fuck around with second-rate talent, get Kaufman and Ryskind [to write the screenplay]!" Ryskind also rewrote the stage version of Room Service (1938), reworking the plot to make the film suitable for the Marx Brothers. During that period, Ryskind was twice nominated for an Academy Award for his part in writing

2208-417: Was the first major film from Universal after that studio had been taken over by new management, including head of production Charles Rogers . However the studio did not have any major stars under contract apart from Buck Jones , Boris Karloff and Edward Everett Horton , and needed to borrow some from other studios. The studio's original choice to play Irene, the part eventually played by Carole Lombard ,

2256-447: Was the first movie to be nominated in all four acting categories , in the first year that supporting categories were introduced. It is also the only film in Oscar history to receive a nomination in all four acting categories and not be nominated for Best Picture. It was the only film to be nominated in these six categories and not receive any award until 2013's American Hustle . In 1999,

2304-674: Was twice adapted as a one-hour radio broadcast on Lux Radio Theatre : on May 9, 1938, with David Niven playing the part of Tommy Gray; and on November 9, 1954, with Jeff Chandler and Julie Adams . It was also adapted to radio in a half-hour version on the October 2, 1946, episode of Academy Award Theater , again starring William Powell. When the film was remade in 1957 , David Niven played Godfrey opposite June Allyson , directed by Henry Koster . A stage musical version of My Man Godfrey , produced by Allan Carr and written by librettists Alan Jay Lerner and Kristi Kane and composer Gerard Kenny,

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