I seriously don't think that Godfrey was in love with Irene. She was like a little child who he was fond of, and put up with, but wasn't at all in love with. Does anyone else feel that the ending seems tacked on?
~If you say "I had everything under control" one more time I'm going to slap you with my guitar.~
Yes! I wanted to yell, "Run, Godfrey, run!" at the end. I had fond memories of this movie from years ago, but when I saw it again recently, I was appalled at how much I disliked all the female characters except the maid. I usually love Carole Lombard, but her character irritated the heck out of me. What did Godfrey do to deserve her? Some thanks for all he'd done for the family.
shareI have to say that I do love the movie, I just wish the ending were different. Irene doesn't seem to develop or grow up at all throughout the movie, which I think is too bad. It would have been fine if it didn't have any romance in it and was just a straight up comedy.
~If you say "I had everything under control" one more time I'm going to slap you with my guitar.~
I'm with you. Agree 100%.
shareThats true. However, during the starting moments between Godfrey and Irene carried alot of promise but I think the filmmakers just sort of neglected to develop her character after a while and concentrated alot more on Godfrey. Nonetheless, I feel that towards the end Lombard portrays her brilliantly as a woman whose love for Godfrey is quite impossible to end (if that makes any sense)... and therefore her perseverance some how makes her a worthy spouse for Godfrey.... (once again, if that makes any sense).
Great movie though.
Well, i thought the ending was fine. remember that this wasn't a love story. it was a screwball comedy. and it was a very screwy ending that fit in with the rest of the movie, in my opinion. in real life, godfrey would never have married her, but in the screwball world, it makes sense.
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A little, but this film had nothing to do with real life. In real life, Godfrey would have kept the money, perhaps had a quick affair with Irene, and disappeared.
shareActually Godfrey eventually does admit to loving Irene or at least having some feelings for. In the final scene in the office at the night club he tells his business partner that he left the Bullock household because he was "getting that funny feeling again". Remember???
"I told you a million times not to talk to me when I'm doing my lashes"!
...It also needs to be understood that, for all her madcap ditziness, Irene is no fool and perceives that Godfrey does, indeed, feel genuine affection and romantic desire for her. To Irene, Godfrey is worthy of her love because he proved himself to be noble, caring and compassionate and went to great lengths to redeem the lost fortunes of Irene and her family; he is even gentle in his final rebuke of the now-repentant Cordelia. But Godfrey is a proud man and to him it would be much easier to simply balk at the prospect of a lasting relationship with Irene and just move on with his life without her, than it would for him to endure the awkwardness of breaching social conventions and seeking to court and marry Irene. Deep down, Irene knows all this, which is why she pins him down by movie's end and practically FORCES Godfrey to marry her! LOL!
Another thing to remember is that the real life Powell and Lombard were once married but recently divorced by the time they worked together in this picture. It's been said that their separation was amicable and they remained on the best of terms; but still, it must have been difficult for Powell to act out all of his scenes with Lombard throughout the picture--and that added tension on Powell's part actually enhances the nervous apprehension that his character, Godfrey has at the whole idea of hooking up with Irene...
The idea of getting hitched in the club and into the sack 5 minutes later with Carole Lombard beats getting poked in the eye with a burnt stick.
sharePics or it didn't happen.
shareI too think you have to see this movie as a screwball-comedy. Reason, normality & common expectations need not be applied.
shareWhy does everyone want to change this movie. Firstly, this was 1936 and attitudes were very different. Can't we just watch and enjoy a fun movie without trying to find fault with every little thing. The film makers put this together the way they wanted to. There's no need to rethink it. If you don't like it, that's fine. But I wish people would stop giving classic movies current sensibilities.
shareFor a "screwball" comedy it's actually the perfect ending.......Besides, who in their right mind would balk at waking up next to Carole Lombard for the rest of his days???
Just saw My Man Godfrey again this past weekend (Nov. 2008) at a Carole Lombard film festival here in NYC at the Film Forum paired with 1934's "Twentieth Century". Despite having the recent 2005 DVD which features both b&w and a colorised version I just HAD to see it with an audience & the place was PACKED. Though there was a glitch in the print where during the scene where poor Mr. Bullock shows the detectives out the film is momentarily upside down with muddled sound.
Phantom Queried: who in their right mind would balk at waking up next to Carole Lombard for the rest of his days???
There is irony here, in that, Carole Lombard was, in real life, the Ex-wife of William Powell!
Agreed! How can anyone feel sorry for someone marrying Irene(Carole Lombard)? My Man Godrey remains one of my favorite screwball comedies including the marriage at the end. Their marriage flowed wonderfully with the screenplay - a wholly believable conclusion to their evolving screwball relationship. They say Carole Lombard possessed many of the screwball qualities she portrayed. The real life Powell asked for Lombard to play the part after their divorce. Her second husband, Clark Gable, was inconsolable after her death. Clearly Godfrey discovered something in Irene beyond her naivety.
shareYeah, I think that "funny feeling" was, "holy crap, this chick is crazy, and if I don't get out of here quick I'm gonna get raped!" Even if they do "write in" his affection for her - to me it's very clear that William Powell is at most mildly amused by this woman, and probably completely incapable, despite his education, of communicating to CRAZY that he is not, and will never be in love with her. You can't fake that feeling, and he aint got it. But oh well - that's the glorious whimsy of the 20's and 30's in full form!
shareIt wasn't "funny" feeling, it was "foolish" feeling. Big difference! He did love her. ;)
shareHe loved her; he just had been burned once, badly, and was afraid to trust his feelings again. This sort of humanized the screwball aspect, since screwball comedies can be very bitterly funny (think Miracle at Morgan's Creek).
What I thought was really funny was how similar Irene was to her mother; imagine Godfrey and Irene 20 years on, and you might well have the parents duplicated. I think that was the point of it all. I agree that Irene didn't change or grow any, but I think she was not as superficial as the others in the family. Remember how she felt after Godfrey's humiliation at the scavenger hunt? She felt real remorse and that was 20 minutes into the movie.
I just saw this for the first time today, and I love it. Powell has always been one of my favorite of the old actors; he was so real as the bum in the beginning, which was kind of a revelation, because he nearly always played suave types. The transformation into the butler was amazing.
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the wedding wasn't even real. it was a brilliant ending (and a brilliant movie). it should appease both fans of and fans against an actual wedding.
shareThe curtain line, delivered by Ms. Lombard leaves many different meanings open to interpretation...and is a fitting ending to this vintage example of the "screwball comedy" genre...
"Stand still, Godfrey, it'll all be over in a minute"
I always figured Irene would get herself married to Godfrey one way or another... there was no way to fight it. And as others as mentioned it is a screwball comedy so the ending fits in with the genre.
shareBesides, it's not like Godfrey, as a character in general, was some meek social coward who was in the habit of letting others bulldoze him into doing things that he seriously wanted not to do.
If Godfrey had genuinely objected to marrying Irene, he would not have gone through with it.
godfrey was just a hard nut to crack.