My Man Godfrey Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

My Man Godfrey Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 17, 2023

Henry Koster's "My Man Godfrey" (1957) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critic Simon Abrams and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The winning animal

Any proper evaluation of Henry Koster’s film must include a comparison with Gregory La Cava’s film. However, even though both use material from Eric Hatch’s novel 1101 Park Avenue, they produce different stories with different characters. Their treatment of these characters is unique as well.

For example, in Koster’s film the two wealthy sisters, Irene (June Allyson) and Cordelia (Martha Hyer), are hunting for an animal, not an item, and the former accidentally discovers an exotic-looking man (David Niven) who agrees to follow her back to her lavish home to help her win the silly scavenger hunt. The personalities of the two sisters are new as well. Even though both are detached from reality, as described in the novel, now they behave like spoiled teenagers rather than pampered young women, so a lot of the drama throughout Koster’s film has a very different dynamic. (Consider this: the sisters engage in an intense catfight after one of them brings home a large dog to keep the other away from her). The new butler has a different character, too. Now he is an Austrian man who has entered the United States illegally and does not have any proper documents. While Irene does her best to make him fall in love with her, the butler becomes a target for Cordelia, and after the latter attempts to frame him as a thief, the local authorities become interested in him as well. As tensions rise, the butler then wins the respect of the head of the family (Robert Keith), who is on the verge of losing everything in the upcoming market crash, and through a former lover (Eva Gabor), who is getting married to a millionaire, secures a loan for him.

However, the crucial discrepancies between Koster and La Cava’s films emerge from their social messaging. In Koster’s film, there are only a few sequences with witty, thought-provoking social criticism targeting the elitist mind, and the new material simply emphasizes Irene and the butler’s romantic incompatibility. The effect on the emerging contrasts – which define La Cava’s film – is, to put it mildly, quite significant. Also, because of these changes, Koster’s film becomes even more unrealistic than La Cava’s film.

But to characterize Koster’s film as an unfortunate misfire, as admirers of La Cava’s film often do, is quite simply wrong. They are just different films that happen to have been inspired by the same original material.

Virtually all serious troubles in Koster’s film are in some way related to Allyson’s performance because it is so over the top that it creates a domino effect of problems. For example, Allyson’s behavior instantly makes it impossible for Niven to evolve into an authentic character because much of her presence defines him. Allyson’s behavior has a very similar effect on Hyer, who is required to be the catalyst of all the negative energy in the film. So, while the fireworks between Allyson and Hyer and Niven and Hyer can be quite entertaining at times, they never look convincing because of Allyson’s dominant but problematic performance.

The best compliment that can be given to Koster’s film is to say that despite everything that could have been done better still manages to be entertaining. There is lightness in it that quickly becomes attractive and as strange as it may sound enormously calming. Though not a lavish film, it is a very good looking film, too.

Koster’s director of photography was Oscar-winner William Daniels, whose credits include such classics as Grand Hotel, Anna Karenina, The Naked City, Winchester '73, and Harvey.

My Man Godfrey Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, My Man Godfrey arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a new 2K master that was struck from an interpositive. Even though there is room for some minor cosmetic improvements -- a few white specks and blemishes pop up here and there and in a couple of areas color stability could be a tad better -- I like it a lot because it produces wonderful organic visuals. I was particularly impressed with the consistency of these visuals because they boast lovely depth, clarity, and sharpness. Yes, there are a few density fluctuations before and after transitions, but they are inherited fluctuations that are part of the original cinematography. Grain exposure is very good. A higher quality master would further strengthen grain exposure, but I liked a lot what I saw on my system. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

My Man Godfrey Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The dialog is very clear and easy to follow. The upper register is solid and there are no other serious age-related anomalies. In a few segments I noticed minor unevenness, but it never becomes distracting. Even if it is addresses in a future remastering job, I do not think that the improvement will be significant.

My Man Godfrey Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic and author Simon Abrams. I listened to the entire commentary and found that a lot of Mr. Abrams' observations sum up how I feel about Henry Koster's film. Also, Mr. Abrams mentions anecdotes and articles that I found very interesting. (Some of the information also pertains to Gregory La Cava's film). Very nicely done commentary.

• Trailer - a vintage trailer. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

My Man Godfrey Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is easy to find flaws in Henry Koster's film because there are plenty. I think that the most serious ones have something to do with June Allyson's performance, but it is difficult to tell if a different actress working with the same screenplay would have helped make the film dramatically better. It appears that Koster simply went to work to deliver a decent film, not a great film that would challenge the reputation of Gregory La Cava's film, which is ultimately what he did. Despite its flaws, if seen late at night, this film can be quite enjoyable. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a solid new 2K master. RECOMMENDED.