Paula and I love classic Old Hollywood movies. Of course, the vast majority of what we’re showing will be new mainstream, arthouse, and indie movies, but once a month or so, you’ll see a classic on the schedule. We are particularly fond of 1930s and ’40s films, but we know that many moviegoers either don’t like them, or are unfamiliar with them and might think classics aren’t for them.

There’s a wide variety of reasons why you might avoid “old movies.” The most obvious is, they differ in too many ways from today’s cinematic offerings. For instance, the majority of indoor scenes were shot on sets, which, though beautiful, are clearly sets. Film fans accustomed to increasingly realistic CGI can spot these a mile away. Most scenes in moving vehicles often used rear projection and are just as obviously fake. Likewise, the acting and writing often seems unrealistic — in real life people rarely deliver long statements on their feelings, or their views on the world. Most contemporary filmmakers strive to create a naturalistic feel by shooting on location and using dialogue that mimics how people actually talk.

There’s a variety of reasons for these differences, but I’ll stick to just a couple in this post. Many directors, writers, and actors used stage plays as their point of reference. And in the case of movies made in the 1930s, as My Man Godfrey was, filmmakers weren’t too interested in staying completely true to real life, and most fans didn’t want to pay to see it. Struggling through the Great Depression, most had had enough of their day-to-day lives.

However, while many Depression-era films are “just” escapism, many say something very profound and still relevant. In the case of Godfrey, what appears to be a “screwball” comedy actually makes a very clear statement that the self-indulgence and callousness of the wealthy, while often hilarious, are causing the suffering of many other people. The film also makes the political and economic point that the way to end this suffering and possibly the Depression itself is for the wealthy to spend their money creating local jobs for those who desperately need them. But it doesn’t preach. The message is seamlessly interwoven with romantic entanglements, wonderful chemistry between leads William Powell and Carole Lombard, and an unbeatable cast of some of the greatest supporting players ever to grace a big screen. So you can stop by Cinema Detroit to see it this weekend, and if you want easily ignore any thematic content, and still enjoy an example of an Old Hollywood classic that is filmmaking at its best.

My Man Godfrey (1936) – NR [Approved]

90 min – Classic Hollywood

Rated Fresh 100% — Rotten Tomatoes

Saturday, Nov. 2 — 5:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 3 — 5:00 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 7 — 7:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m.