No chemistry...
Please explain to me how some one can like this movie, you can just see the hate in William Powell's eyes!
shareyou can, we can't
... Viva Clark Gable, el eterno y único Rey de Hollywoodshare
...In a related thread, I pointed out that Powell and Lombard were married and divorced before they worked together in this picture. It was supposed to be a mutually amicable separation, but I wouldn't doubt that Powell felt a lot of mixed emotions spending so much time on the set with his ex-wife and co-star. If I've nailed it on the head with that observation, it actually enhanced Powell's performance as the befuddled Godfrey who's trapped like a rat into marrying this ditzy dame!...
shareHi, does anyone know why this film (having an 8.1 rating) isn't in the Top 250 list? Just curious.
thanks
...Just speculatin' here, DBlake, but I would guess that most any given "All Time Movie Greats" list is, at the end of the day, an arbitrary and subjective thing. I haven't checked such a list lately, but it wouldn't surprise me if someone compiled one ranking, say, "Titanic" above "Lawrence of Arabia!" Not that I think "Titanic" is a bad movie--far from it, but I wouldn't put it in ANY "Top 100" or even "Top 250" list!
But, yeah, it's a shame that some truly great films get overlooked, the way "Godfrey" has on the "250" you alluded to.
I think that many movies that have fans under 30 are put on those "Greats" list because newer generations are totally unaware of most films that were made before they were born. There is also, unfortunately, a sizeable percentage of kids and young adults who refuse to watch anything that was shot in black and white--and don't even TRY to get any of them to watch a silent movie with you, they will laugh you to scorn!
Please explain to me how some one can like this movie, you can just see the hate in William Powell's eyes!
Don't quite understand this comment why you should not like this movie because of Powell's eyes. William Powell is acting and yes, acting with his eyes. Even though "Godfrey" is a bum turned butler Powell is letting us know through his eyes Godfrey is intelligent and able to see the family as they really are. It's not "hate" he is projecting, it's bemusement.
...In a related thread, I pointed out that Powell and Lombard were married and divorced before they worked together in this picture. It was supposed to be a mutually amicable separation, but I wouldn't doubt that Powell felt a lot of mixed emotions spending so much time on the set with his ex-wife and co-star. If I've nailed it on the head with that observation, it actually enhanced Powell's performance as the befuddled Godfrey who's trapped like a rat into marrying this ditzy dame!...
Actually, you couldn't be more wrong. There certainly were no "mixed emotions" with working with ex-wife Lombard Powell was hired first and requested Carole for the role because he knew she was perfect for it. She wouldn't have gotten the part without him.
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Powell recommended Lombard for the role. They were still friendly after the divorce. Apparently, Clark Gable and William Powell switched partners. Clark Gable married Powell's ex - Carole Lombard. William Powell was in love with Gable's ex - Jean Harlow(until her death). And they were all friends. I read a book about the 4 of them and there interconnected relationship.
shareAnother story is Constance Bennett was up for the role but she was batsh*t crazy so Powell talked up Lombard. Me, I have no idea why Powell would need to recommend Lombard. Lombard was a big star herself at the time, and when she signed on as Irene she had the clout to bring a lot of her own people with her, such as the clothing designer she preferred. If she had that kind of clout, she had the clout to pitch herself for the movie.
I think the movie suffers from lack of chemistry between the leads. For years I blamed Lombard and took for granted Powell was flawless. But now when I look again, I think he gives her very little on camera. She's out on a limb wafting about, being ditzy, running on. I could see him being the touchstone she bounces off of, but in reality he's giving very little energy back. She doesn't impact him much, so she is largely stuck acting by herself.
Even on its own, I think this is the second most problematic William Powell performance next to "Double Wedding" (his acting there is so all over the map it's like he's playing six completely different people). He swarthy and intimidating in the beginning, quite dark. Then he does a bit of deadpan butlering, but it never gets witty. Along the way he's supposed to click with Irene on a friendship basis, but I don't see that happening on his side. She's out there having a crush on him out of thin air. The movie never figures out how to mesh the two, nor does it figure out how to generate sparks from him resisting her. He does, though, click with Gail Patrick. I suspect because she's very dry, and that works with Powell, and also the material they played were more in his wheelhouse.