My Man Godfrey - Production

Production

My Man Godfrey was in production from 15 April to 27 May, 1936, and then had retakes in early June of the year. Its estimated budget was $656,000.

The studio's original choice to play "Irene," the part eventually played by Carole Lombard, was Constance Bennett, and Miriam Hopkins was also considered, but the director, Gregory LaCava, would only agree to Bennett if Universal borrowed William Powell from MGM. Powell, for his part, would only take the role if Carole Lombard played "Irene". Powell and Lombard had divorced three years earlier.

LaCava, a former animator and freelancer for most of his film career, held studio executives in contempt, and was known to be a bit eccentric. When he and Powell hit a snag over a disagreement about how Godfrey should be portrayed, they settled things over a bottle of Scotch. The next morning, LaCava showed up for shooting with a headache, but Powell didn't appear. Instead, the actor sent a telegram stating: "WE MAY HAVE FOUND GODFREY LAST NIGHT BUT WE LOST POWELL. SEE YOU TOMORROW."

Morrie Ryskind, who wrote the screenplay, also had some unorthodox working habits. On Godfrey, he improvised dialogue on the set with the leading actors and the director, and would rewrite and reshape scenes on the set.

Powell was 45 when the film was made. A stand-in (Chick Collins) was used when Godfrey carried Irene over his shoulder up the stairs to her bedroom.

When tensions hit a high point on the set, Lombard had a habit of inserting four letter words into her dialogue, often to the great amusement of the cast. This made shooting somewhat difficult, but clips of her cursing in her dialogue and messing up her lines can still be seen in blooper reels.