My Man Godfrey (1936) (b/w, Criterion Collection)

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CAROLE LOMBARD (To Be or Not to Be) and WILLIAM POWELL (The Thin Man) dazzle in this definitive screwball comedy, directed by GREGORY LA CAVA (Stage Door)-a potent cocktail of romantic repartee and Depression-era social critique. Irene (Lombard), an eccentric Manhattan socialite, wins a society-ball scavenger hunt after finding one of the "items" on the list, a "lost man" (Powell), at a dump. She gives the man she believes to be a down-and-out drifter work as the family butler and soon falls head over heels in love. Her attempts to both woo Godfrey and indoctrinate him in the dysfunctional ways of the household make for an unbeatable series of madcap hijinks. La Cava's deft film was the first to garner Oscar nominations in all four acting categories and it is one of Hollywood's greatest commentaries on class and the social unrest of its time.