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Now Screening Online: 'My Man Godfrey'

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Looking back on Hollywood entertainment during the Great Depression, it's easy to see why people flocked to movies about rich folks who didn't have a care in the world. It was escapism -- a two-hour break from their work-weary lives during which they too could feel carefree. Makes you wonder what future generations will say about us and the movies we watch now, don't it?

This weekend's Classic Cool Theater film is "My Man Godfrey," a 1936 screwball comedy that had William Powell playing a tramp who ends up serving as a butler for a well-to-do family. It highlights the disparity between America's rich and poor, with the decidedly 99 percent Powell seeming far more sensible than the decidedly 1 percent Bullock family. And while social commentary is well and good, "My Man Godfrey" is further helped by the fact that is actually quite funny, with Powell enjoying some particularly great banter with the film's love interest, who's played by his real-life ex-wife, Carole Lombard.

"My Man Godfrey" is screening all week on KCET.org. Hit the links below to enjoy the whole Classic Cool Theater package!

  • For this week's feature presentation, click here.
  • For this week's Classic Cool Theater cartoon, click here.
  • For this week's Classic Cool Theater melody, click here.
  • And for this week's Classic Cool Theater newsreel, click here.
  • And for even more historical background on all our past Classic Cool films, click here.
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