: The Great Ziegfeld :
I can find it difficult sometimes to appreciate magnificence in black and white films but I didn’t have that problem with this gem. The musical numbers were fantastic! Showmanship like I’ve never seen before, magnificent costumes and glorious sets.
When Betsie and I watched the 1928/29 winner “The Broadway Melody” she commented that they were making a play on the Ziegfeld Follies in one scene. I didn’t know what that was and let the comment pass. Now I know!
Academy Awards have a reputation for selecting biopics and this was the first. Ziegfeld had only been dead a few years when this film was made and his wife Billie Burke played a large role in keeping it realistic (although artistic license was taken with some of the facts of his life).
William Powell stars as Ziegfeld. Interestingly, he is also the star of My Man Godfrey which filmsite.org reports should have won in this same year.
Dramatically speaking, this film does not live up to some of the other academy award winners. What it lacks in that realm it makes up for in production numbers.
: Modern Times :
This is another silent Charlie Chaplin film and all I can say is thank God it’s not available via Netflix so I don’t have to watch it. I don’t like slapstick or silent films in general and even though it makes me a heathen, I don’t appreciate Charlie Chaplin.
: My Man Godfrey :
I think this film made me a better moviegoer! I say that because I found a comedy – a “screwball comedy” no less – that I actually enjoyed watching. Unlike a lot of the early movies that were, I’ll be honest, kind of a chore to get through, this movie held my attention.
William Powell as Godfrey displayed unmistakable dignity through the different roles he played in this movie and the two sisters, Carole Lombard and Alice Brady, were entertaining to watch and managed to “say something” with their acting despite the fact that they were up against the background of a screwball comedy. I’m not saying comedies don’t “say something” as a genre but screwball comedies don’t necessarily lend themselves well to message. Not so with this one.
In My Man Godfrey a pair of wealthy socialites go on a scavenger hunt for a “lost man” at a party and come across homeless men at a dump. They bring Godfrey Smith (Powell) back to the party to claim their prize and then Carole Lombard offers him the job of butler in their whacked out household. Powell, meanwhile, is actually a Harvard-educated Mayflower descendant from a wealthy family.
Filmed during the Depression the movie pokes fun at the socialite ruling class and shines a spotlight of dignity on the poor. And at the same time it’s a comedy and much to my surprise I genuinely liked it. How wonderful!
I would say it was as good a film as The Great Ziegfeld in its own way but I wouldn’t take anything away from Ziegfeld to give it to Godfrey. And as much as I enjoyed both films I still wouldn’t re-watch either of them. And I re-watch stuff all the time!
The entertaining film was both a commercial and critical success, with six Academy Award nominations (but no wins), including Best Actor (William Powell), Best Actress (Carole Lombard with her sole Oscar nomination), Best Supporting Actor (Mischa Auer), Best Supporting Actress (Alice Brady), Best Director, and Best Screenplay. However, it set a milestone as the first film to receive nominations in all four acting categories and it remains one of the few films with that distinction in addition to not being nominated for Best Picture. -Filmsite.org
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