October 10, 2009

My Man Godfrey

the first thing she's shown any affection for since her pomeranian died last summer

Data
Title: My Man Godfrey
Year: 1936
Length: 94 minutes
Director: Gregory La Cava
Writers: Morrie Ryskind & Eric Hatch, based on Hatch's novel
Starring: William Powell, Carole Lombard
Music: Charles Previn, Rudy Schrager
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Powell), Best Actress (Lombard), Best Supporting Actress (Alice Brady) and Best Supporting Actor (Mischa Auer); formerly on IMDb's Top 250

My reaction
Synopsis: a homeless man becomes the butler for an eccentric family
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Concept: Good.
Story: Indifferent. It's everything it needs to be, and there's a bit of nice social commentary, but we're not exactly dealing with compelling drama.
Characters: Good.
Dialog: Great.
Pacing: Great.
Cinematography: Bad.
Special effects/design: Bad. The creative work is fine, but the film and sound quality is terrible even by 1930's standards.
Acting: Good. Most everyone is funny, and Powell is pretty cool. Better acting than I've seen from more famous actors of the period.
Music: Indifferent.
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good). Amusing.
Objective Rating: 7/10 (Pretty good) 2.6/4 (Good).

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