My Man Godfrey

Nominated for six Oscars — including director, screenplay, and all four acting categories — this delightful Depression-era screwball comedy is one of the chief works of 1930s comic master Gregory La Cava, and features Carol Lombard in one of her greatest roles. The satirical plot has Lombard as scatterbrained heiress Irene Bullock, who, with spoiled sister Cornelia Bullock (Gail Patrick), sets out on a scavenger hunt to find a “forgotten man.” William Powell is Godfrey “Smith,” the down-and-out derelict discovered by the sisters in the city dump. The Bullocks take on Godfrey as butler to their eccentric, idle-rich family — and guess who ends up civilizing whom? Ted Tetzlaff’s gorgeous cinematography, noted Pauline Kael, “has a sleek and silvery Art Deco look” à la the Astaire-Rogers musicals. “One of the richest films in the screwball tradition . . . It shows Lombard to be the equal of Irene Dunne and Claudette Colbert as the much-loved, madcap screwball heroine” (Vincent Canby, New York Times). “One of the treasures of screwball comedy. God, but this film is beautiful. The cinematography is a shimmering argument for everything I’ve ever tried to say in praise of black and white” (Roger Ebert). B&W, 35mm. 94 mins.

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Additional Evening Screenings
Thursday, March 17 — 7:00pm + 8:45pm
Friday, March 18 — 9:10pm

NOTE: Regular admission prices in effect, and membership requirement for those 18+, for the evening screenings of My Man Godfrey on March 17 + 18.