Crankenstein requested a screwball comedy tonight, so I asked if she’s seen My Man Godfrey.
“What’s it about?” she replied, and after half-listening to my synopsis she said “Yeah, let’s watch rich kids kidnap a hobo!”
That’s how I’ll think of Gregory La Cava’s ageless madcap masterpiece from now on, even though it features no abductions. If she could give anything but work her undivided attention for 90 minutes, I’d suggest we watch Boudu Saved from Drowning next, touting it as “rich people kidnap a hobo, en français.”
By now I’ve seen Godfrey a half-dozen times or more, and lines like “Life in this family is one subpoena after another” never fail to make me laugh.* On this viewing it was “The only difference between a derelict and a man is a job” that stuck with me, because I seem to be dereliction-bound, at least by that metric, and it’s not a fun place to be.
In other news, this was supposed to be Muriel’s house for the backyard of Crankenstein’s cabin, but it looks smaller than 1:12 scale. If it’s closer to 1:24, I can use leftover roof tiles and a siding sheet recently purchased for scratch-build experiments and make a hangout for Pete’s dog that matches the cottage.
And on that somnolence-inducing note, I’m off to bed, with another dumb post planned for tomorrow. If you’re killing time and need something more to read, here’s an interesting Washington Post article about a lighthouse that can be yours for $450k. There are hitches galore (good luck securing a mortgage or insurance), but I enjoyed clicking through to a 2005 Post piece about its previous sale and this recent Chesapeake Bay Magazine look at its renovation.
* My Man Godfrey is in the public domain, so you can stream it at no cost just about everywhere. Avoid the colorization and stick with black and white.