Directed by Gregory La Cava
1936/USA
Universal Pictures
Repeat viewing
#97 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Alexander Bullock: All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.
This wacky comedy still makes me laugh out loud after numerous viewings.
The wealthy Bullock family is full of eccentrics. The females of the group are participating in a scavenger hunt in which they must bring back a “forgotten man”. Cornelia Bullock (Gail Patrick) takes the search to a city dump where she offers a tramp named Godfrey (William Powell) $5 to be her prize. He refuses and pushes her into an ash heap. Nutty sister Irene (Carole Lombard) chats Godfrey up and he agrees to go with her. This leads to the smitten Irene inviting Godfrey to be the family’s butler and her protegé. Mass hilarity ensues. With Eugene Palette as Alexander Bullock, the father; Alice Brady as Angelica Bullock, the mother; and Mischa Auer as Angelica’s protegé.
I don’t think any of the cast members involved ever did better work. Powell and Lombard were nominated for Best Actor and Actress Oscars and Brady and Auer were nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Actress – the first time a film was nominated for acting awards in all four categories and the only time such a film failed to win an award.
I can imagine that the comedy might be over the top for some but I love it. Once again, the part where Auer imitates an ape to cheer Lombard up had me howling. Eugene Palette is also fantastic as the harassed pater familias. Patrick makes a great villainess. Powell and Lombard had been married and were now apparently amicably divorced as Powell insisted Lombard was the only actress to play the part of Irene. The chemistry between the two is certainly there in spades.
Clip – the scavenger hunt
This film is always fun. I’ll watch William Powell in anything, anytime, any day.
I think I have 3 films with William Powell on tap for 1936 and 3 with Myrna Loy. Heaven!
A favorite of my youth…
And endlessly rewatchable …
That family is just… so far out there. Between laughing I kept yelling “Morons!”.
Too bad the sound quality of really bad in my copy.
Yes, this picture suffered when it went into the public domain.
Still my favorite of all the eras screwball comedies.
I am one of William Powell’s biggest fans but I am probably the only person east of the Mississippi who doesn’t like this film. I’m not much for “screwball” comedy and Carole Lombard made me want to jump off of a bridge. Where did I go wrong with my appreciation of this movie????
Oh, I don’t know. Comedy is so individual. I know there are movies that are supposed to be hilarious that leave me cold.
I continue on with the screwball rewatch – I’d totally forgotten (ah, so there is an advantage to my apalling memory!). Powell is sensational in this and Eugene Palette had the best harrassed family head vocal tones in cinema history. Truly deserves to be on the 1001 List. (Oh yeah, better late than never is my story and I’m sticking to it, so – thanks for the Yule Best Wishes, hope you had a good day!)
We had a great day. Was it beach day in Brisbane. Can’t remember if you’ve seen The Lady Eve. Palette is also fantastic in that one.