Tonight's Movie: My Man Godfrey (1957) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

MY MAN GODFREY (1957), a remake of the 1936 screwball comedy classic, is now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

David Niven, June Allyson, and Martha Hyer star in the roles played in the original film by William Powell, Carole Lombard, and Gail Patrick.

The general outlines of the story remain the same: Wealthy, ditzy Irene Bullock (Allyson) brings home down-on-his-luck Godfrey (Niven) to serve as the family butler.

Over the course of time Godfrey's kindness and good sense solve a number of Bullock family problems, including the bad behavior of waspish sister Cordelia (Hyer). And of course, Irene falls head over heels for Godfrey.

The story is updated to the extent that Godfrey's "forgotten man" Depression-era background is changed to Godfrey being an illegal alien who hails from Austria (!). Not sure that makes much sense but that's the story this time around.

The film has a good supporting cast including always-enjoyable Jeff Donnell as maid Molly, played by Ruth Donnelly in the original, while the parents are played by Jessie Royce Landis and Robert Keith; Alice Brady and Eugene Palette were the Bullocks in the 1936 film. Eva Gabor has a nice role which flips the gender of the part Alan Mowbray played in the original.

This remake is mildly pleasant Sunday afternoon viewing, but it's a pallid imitation which lacks the magical spark of the original film. It's a milder, more serious take on the story -- less of a screwball comedy and more of a light romance. The cast does their best but are mostly going through the paces here, and it doesn't help that this film is visually bland compared to the black and white Art Deco splendor of the 1936 film.

Setting aside those comparisons, Niven is very likeable as Godfrey and since he's on screen most of the film he makes it worthwhile. I like Allyson but she does not come off well in the early scenes where Irene's behavior is at its silliest. She does better later on as her character calms down somewhat and is particularly good in a scene where she lists her shortcomings to Godfrey. That said, she and Niven don't really have much chemistry. They seem more like good friends than a romantic couple.

Hyer is icy but not much more; her ultimate comeuppance should have more of an emotional kick to it. She does look exceptionally nice, with beautiful hairstyles.

Keith does a solid job as the long-suffering father, and as mentioned Gabor has a good part and I think comes off quite well.

There's nothing especially wrong with this film, which I might describe as serviceable; it's simply lacking in magic or anything especially memorable. I'd class it as worth a look for fans of the cast and I'd watch it again, but for the most part I'll always gravitate to the classic original when I want to see this story.

This 92-minute movie was directed by Henry Koster, who made a great many movies I enjoy, including multiple Deanna Durbin films. It was filmed in CinemaScope and Eastman Color by William Daniels.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray print, from a new 2K master, looks and sounds fine. Extras consist of the trailer, which was newly mastered in 2K; a gallery of seven additional trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber; and a commentary track by Simon Abrams.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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