Actually, despite negative reviews, in my opinion, the re-make bears up surprisingly well. In fact, much better than I remembered it. Niven fits easily into a role that was at first retailored for O.W. Fischer, who was signed for the project, but then declined. The script writer was understandably reluctant to change his Fischer script with its puns about Austria and Kangaroos, so Niven is stuck with an Austrian parentage. Miss Allyson is also a little too old to be playing the ingénue, but Jessie Royce Landis (who has the most amusing of the screwball lines) and Martha Hyer are perfectly cast. Henry Koster's direction is reasonably fluid and pacy considering the handicaps – or should we say "advantages" of Cinemascope's extra wide screen – with glossy sets, immaculate photography and oozing production values in true Ross Hunter tradition. Support cast includes Jay Robinson in an amusing lounge lizard role, Robert Keith doing his customary harassed turns, and Zsa Zsa Gabor dispensing glamour as if to the manner born. A comedy of manners that seemed out of date when first made has both mellowed and sharpened with age. But I look forward to viewing the original again!
Review of My Man Godfrey
