My Man Godfrey (1936)

Set in the Great Depression, a madcap debutante (Carole Lombard) picks up a homeless man (William Powell) living in a New York City dump along with other down on their luck men. She needs a "forgotten man" in order to win a scavenger hunt. Enamored of the homeless man, she hires him to be the family butler. Based on the novel 1101 PARK AVENUE by Eric S. Hatch and directed by Gregory La Cava (STAGE DOOR). A beloved screwball comedy, every decade or so I revisit it in the hopes that I'll finally get what everybody sees in it but alas, I still found it more tiresome than amusing. Unlike fans of the film, I don't find Lombard adorable but downright irritating and grating my nerves. She spoils whatever pleasure I might have derived from the movie. Heretic that I am I -gasp- prefer the 1957 remake. Powell is elegant and charming as usual and Alice Brady's airhead mother provides some bright spots. I'll try again in another ten years. With Gail Patrick, Eugene Pallette, Jean Dixon, Mischa Auer, Alan Mowbray and Franklin Pangborn.