My Man Godfrey

Even with all of the classic movies and actors I have watched, there are always those few that slipped through my fingers. Some of those names I got introduced to this year (James Cagney, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford).

Two other names are William Powell and Carole Lombard. I saw Powell in Mister Roberts and The Thin Man. I also saw him with Lombard in My Man Godfrey. In all three movies he plays the straight man. Well, the serious man. He says his lines with such deadpan they're funnier every time.

My Man Godfrey marked the first Lombard movie I've seen. I was already familiar with her husband, a Mr. Clark Gable if I recall correctly, so I was bound to see something with Lombard. What better movie than My Man Godfrey? She didn't earn that moniker "Queen of Screwball Comedy" for nothing.

My Man Godfrey is just plain fun to watch. The scenes between Powell and Lombard are why comedies from the 1930's are always the best. It's worth seeing if you're in dire need of a good laugh.

My Rating: *****

Stage Door

Recently I've taken a shine to movies about show business. There's something alluring about the lead character trying to get their name in lights or seeing those lights burn out.

Katharine Hepburn usually plays the aloof leading lady in most of her roles. Here in Stage Door, she's in that type of role. She appears to haughty air to her, but she actually justs wants to get along with the other girls at the boarding house.

The two supporting women that captured my attention were Ginger Rogers and Lucille Ball. They have some of the snappiest lines in a movie full of them. Both are bubbly people, a factor which separates them from the sour grapes of the boarding house.

Although Stage Door is figuratively and literally a chick flick, I loved it. I also think it will appeal to both sexes. It has one of Hepburn's best roles, and that can also be applied to Rogers and Ball. In short, I adore Stage Door.

My Rating: *****