Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I’ve seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I’ll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I’ll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

My Man Godfrey

One of the great things about old comedies is that they don’t have to feature new technology or be prettily shot when the writing is this crisp. My Man Godfrey tells the story of a “Forgotten Man,” a man living in poverty outside of the view of the public, who becomes butler to a zany, wealthy family at the behest of the love-stricken youngest daughter.

Morrie Ryskind and Eric Hatch have provided a series of amusing situations that are far too outlandish to be authentic, but beyond the barbed dialogue, there’s a deeper commentary on the gulf between rich and poor, fortunate and unfortunate. The Great Depression was a significant issue at the time and Hollywood did a fantastic job shining a light on the issue. Disarming the audience with humor, they expose the dangers of unchecked financial wealth and greed.

Starring as Godfrey is William Powell who had one of the most easily recognizable mustaches in cinema. His ability to trade jabs with talented actresses was well known and after The Thin Man, this was another in a long career of such turns. Carole Lombard is dizzying as the young woman who falls in love with him and whom he must initially push away in order to achieve the goals he’s set for himself. Also of note is Alice Brady as the zany mother, Mischa Auer as her mother’s “protégé” mooch and Gail Patrick as her scheming sister.