My Man Godfrey (1957 film)

My Man Godfrey is a 1957 American CinemaScope comedy film starring June Allyson and David Niven.^[2][3] It was adapted by Peter Berneis, William Bowers and Everett Freeman, and directed by Henry Koster. The film is a color remake of Gregory La Cava's 1936 screwball comedy of the same name. Allyson played the role created by Carole Lombard in the original version, and Niven took on the role made famous by William Powell. Niven had played the role of Tommy Gray, Godfrey's former classmate, in a 1938 radio version. While the original film from 1936 did not have its copyright renewed and is in the public domain, this film's copyright was renewed.^[a] Both films are derivative works of the still copyrighted 1935 novel by Eric S. Hatch, 1101 Park Avenue.

My Man Godfrey
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Henry Koster
Written by	Peter Berneis William Bowers Everett Freeman
Based on	My Man Godfrey 1935 novel by Eric Hatch My Man Godfrey 1936 film
Produced by	Ross Hunter
Starring	June Allyson David Niven
Cinematography	William H. Daniels
Edited by	Milton Carruth
Music by	Frank Skinner
Color process	Eastmancolor
Production company	Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	October 11, 1957 (1957-10-11) (New York City) October 18, 1957 (1957-10-18) (United States)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1.2 million[1]

Plot

The plot begins as a zany heiress uses and then takes pity on a man whom she believes to be homeless. She insists the man come home with her and gives him a job as the eccentric family's butler—much to the chagrin of her father, especially when it becomes clear the girl is falling in love with the fellow. The family's new butler, however, harbors a secret: he is actually as wealthy as and, in fact, more well-born than they are.

Cast

• June Allyson as Irene [Bullock]
• David Niven as Godfrey
• Jessie Royce Landis as Angelica [Bullock]
• Robert Keith as Mr. [Alexander] Bullock
• Eva Gabor as Francesca [Gray]
• Jay Robinson as Vincent
• Martha Hyer as Cordelia [Bullock]
• Jeff Donnell as Molly
• Herbert Anderson as Hubert
• Eric Sinclair as Brent
• Dabbs Greer as Lieutenant O'Connor
• Fred Essler as Captain

Production

The film was meant to mark the Hollywood debut of O. W. Fischer, but he was fired two weeks into production and was sued by Universal.^[4] The film was released on September 6, 2016 as part of the Universal Vault Series on MOD DVD

References

1. "Top Grossers of 1958". Variety. January 7, 1959. p. 48. Please note figures are for US and Canada only and are domestic rentals accruing to distributors as opposed to theatre gross
2. "My Man Godfrey". filmaffinity.com. FilmAffinity. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
3. "My Man Godfrey". afi.com. American Film Institute. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
4. Pryor, Thomas M. (February 21, 1957). "UNIVERSAL SUES ACTOR IT OUSTED: Studio Charges O. W. Fischer With Contract Breach in Filming of 'Godfrey' Huxley to Work on Cartoon". The New York Times. p. 30. ProQuest 113933766. Retrieved February 18, 2023.

Notes

1. Under RE0000242777

Bibliography

• Cassano, Graham (July 17, 2014). A New Kind of Public: Community, Solidarity, and Political Economy in New Deal Cinema, 1935-1948. BRILL. doi:10.1163/9789004276963_004. ISBN 978-90-04-27519-5.

External links

• My Man Godfrey at IMDb
• My Man Godfrey at the TCM Movie Database
• My Man Godfrey at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• My Man Godfrey on YouTube