Imagination TV Inc. (IMTV)

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Now playing My Man Godfrey.

Plot

During the Great Depression, Godfrey "Smith" Parke (William Powell) is living alongside other men down on their luck at the city dump. One night, spoiled socialite Cornelia Bullock (Gail Patrick) offers him five dollars to be her "forgotten man" for a scavenger hunt. Annoyed, he advances on her, causing her to retreat and fall on a pile of ashes. She leaves in a fury, much to the glee of her younger sister, Irene (Carole Lombard). After talking with her, Godfrey finds her to be kind, if a bit scatter-brained. He offers to go with Irene to help her beat Cornelia.

In the ballroom of the Waldorf-Ritz Hotel, Irene's long-suffering businessman father, Alexander Bullock (Eugene Pallette), waits resignedly as his ditsy wife, Angelica (Alice Brady), and her mooching "protégé" Carlo (Mischa Auer) play the frivolous game. Godfrey arrives and is "authenticated" by the scavenger hunt judge as a "forgotten man". He then addresses the idle rich, expressing his contempt for their antics. Irene is apologetic and offers him a job as the family butler, which he gratefully accepts.

The next morning, Godfrey is shown what to do by the sardonic, wise-cracking maid, Molly (Jean Dixon), the only servant who has been able to put up with the antics of the family. She warns him that he is just the latest in a long line of butlers. Only slightly daunted, he proves to be surprisingly competent, although Cornelia still holds a sizeable grudge. On the other hand, Irene considers Godfrey to be her protégé, and is thrilled by his success.

A complication arises when a guest, Tommy Gray (Alan Mowbray), greets Godfrey familiarly as an old friend. Godfrey quickly ad-libs that he was Tommy's valet at school. Tommy plays along, mentioning Godfrey's non-existent wife and five children. Dismayed, Irene impulsively announces her engagement to the surprised Charlie Van Rumple (Grady Sutton), but she soon breaks down in tears and flees after being politely congratulated by Godfrey.

Over lunch the next day, Tommy is curious to know what one of the elite "Parkes of Boston" is doing as a servant. Godfrey explains that a broken love affair had left him considering suicide, but the optimistic, undaunted attitude of the men living at the dump rekindled his spirit.

Meanwhile, when everything she does to make Godfrey's life miserable fails, Cornelia sneaks into his room and plants her pearl necklace under his mattress. She then calls the police to report her "missing" jewelry. To Cornelia's surprise, the pearls do not turn up, even when she suggests they check Godfrey's bed. Mr. Bullock realizes his daughter has orchestrated the whole thing and sees the policemen out.

The Bullocks then send their daughters off to Europe to get Irene away from Godfrey. When they return, Cornelia implies that she intends to seduce Godfrey. Worried, Irene stages a fainting spell and falls into Godfrey's arms. He carries her to her bed, but while searching for smelling salts, he realizes she's faking when he sees her (in a mirror) sit up briefly. In revenge, he puts her in the shower and turns on the cold water full blast. Far from quenching her attraction, this merely confirms her hopes: "Oh Godfrey, now I know you love me...You do or you wouldn't have lost your temper."

When confronted by the rest of the family, Godfrey quits. But Mr. Bullock has more pressing concerns. He first has a private "little chat" with Carlo, throwing the freeloader out through a side window. He then announces that his business is in dire financial straits and that he might even be facing criminal charges. Godfrey interrupts with unexpected good news: realizing Mr. Bullock's problems, Godfrey had sold short, using money raised by pawning Cornelia's necklace and then buying up the stock that Bullock had sold. He gives the endorsed stock certificates to the stunned Mr. Bullock, thus saving the family from financial ruin. He also returns the necklace to a humbled Cornelia, who apologizes for her attempt to frame him. Afterwards, Godfrey takes his leave.

With the rest of his stock profits and reluctant business partner Tommy Gray's backing, Godfrey has built a fashionable nightclub at the dump called "The Dump", "...giving food and shelter to fifty people in the winter, and giving them employment in the summer." Godfrey tells Tommy he quit being the Bullocks' butler because "he felt that foolish feeling coming along again." Later on, though, Irene tracks him down and bulldozes him into marriage and the movie ends with her saying, "Stand still, Godfrey, it'll all be over in a minute."



Cast

William Powell's primary photoWilliam Powell – Godfrey 8,315 The Thin Man
Carole Lombard's primary photoCarole Lombard – Irene Bullock 5,878 To Be or Not to Be
Alice Brady's primary photoAlice Brady – Angelica Bullock 36,043 Young Mr. Lincoln
Gail Patrick's primary photoGail Patrick – Cornelia Bullock 27,082 Perry Mason
Eugene Pallette's primary photoEugene Pallette – Alexander Bullock 20,915 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Jean Dixon's primary photoJean Dixon – Molly 70,055 Holiday
Alan Mowbray's primary photoAlan Mowbray – Tommy Gray 35,073 The Man Who Knew Too Much
Mischa Auer's primary photoMischa Auer – Carlo 30,026 You Can't Take It with You
Pat Flaherty's primary photoPat Flaherty – Mike 25,775 Sergeant York
Robert Light's primary photoRobert Light – Faithful George 224,489 Murder in the Clouds
Ernie Adams's primary photoErnie Adams – Forgotten Man (uncredited) 70,631 The Pride of the Yankees
Jimmy Aye's primary photoJimmy Aye – Party Guest (uncredited) 756,066 Cleopatra
James Carlisle's primary photoJames Carlisle – Socialite (uncredited) 449,041 The Phantom of the West
Jack Chefe's primary photoJack Chefe – Headwaiter (uncredited) 106,353 The Perfect Snob
Elaine Cochrane's primary photoElaine Cochrane – Socialite (uncredited) 1,048,554
Phyllis Crane's primary photoPhyllis Crane – Party Guest (uncredited) 163,067 Three Little Pigskins
Eddie Fetherston's primary photoEddie Fetherston – Process Server (uncredited) 146,055 Movie Crazy
Grace Field's primary photoGrace Field – Socialite (uncredited) 443,376 It's Love I'm After
James Flavin's primary photoJames Flavin – Detective #2 (uncredited) 36,778 King Kong
Bess Flowers's primary photoBess Flowers – Mrs. Merriweather (uncredited) 28,362 We Faw Down
Edward Gargan's primary photoEdward Gargan – Detective (uncredited) 56,581 Great Guy
Carlton Griffin's primary photoCarlton Griffin – Socialite (uncredited) 307,284 Girl Shy
David S. Horsley's primary photoDavid S. Horsley – Socialite (uncredited) 280,210 The Killers
Selmer Jackson's primary photoSelmer Jackson – Blake - Socialite (uncredited) 107,884 The Grapes of Wrath
Richard Kipling's primary photoRichard Kipling – Socialite (uncredited) 398,970 House of Errors
Ethelreda Leopold's primary photoEthelreda Leopold – Socialite (uncredited) 92,285 In the Sweet Pie and Pie
Reginald Mason's primary photoReginald Mason – Mayor Courtney (uncredited) 329,192 Topaze
Philip Merrick's primary photoPhilip Merrick – Socialite (uncredited) 568,367
Bert Moorhouse's primary photoBert Moorhouse – Card Playing Party Guest (uncredited) 118,025 Rough Ridin' Red
Robert Morgan's primary photoRobert Morgan – Socialite (uncredited) 800,087 Black Friday
Louis Natheaux's primary photoLouis Natheaux – Socialiste (uncredited) 147,747 Weary River
Franklin Pangborn's primary photoFranklin Pangborn – Guthrie (uncredited) 32,743 Sullivan's Travels
Bob Perry's primary photoBob Perry – Bob - Doorman (uncredited) 222,158 The Long Voyage Home
Katherine Perry's primary photoKatherine Perry – Socialite (uncredited) 232,992 Not to Be Trusted
Albert Petit's primary photoAlbert Petit – Receptionist (uncredited) 410,023 Révolte dans la prison
Jean Rogers's primary photoJean Rogers – Socialite (uncredited) 64,615 Flash Gordon
Arthur Singley's primary photoArthur Singley – Clarence (uncredited) 603,635 Nation Aflame
Grady Sutton's primary photoGrady Sutton – Charlie Van Rumple (uncredited) 25,291 Anchors Aweigh
William Wagner's primary photoWilliam Wagner – Waiter (uncredited) 388,576 Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Arthur Wanzer's primary photoArthur Wanzer – Arthur Valentine (uncredited) 680,104 The Gossipy Plumber
Harley Wood's primary photoHarley Wood – Socialite (uncredited) 114,819 Marihuana
Jane Wyman's primary photoJane Wyman – Socialite (uncredited) 5,320 Falcon Crest