The other DVD I rented this week was 1936's My Man Godfrey. Once I adjusted to William Powell playing a part other than Nick Charles, it was actually a pretty funny movie. After I watched it, though, I looked Carole Lombard up online, curious as to how old she was when she made the film. (Answer: 28.) In some ways, her character was portrayed as a young ingenue, but she looked considerably older than that to me. But, anyway, I was surprised to find that she and William Powell had been married and amicably divorced prior to this movie. It added a whole 'nother level to the plot that I'm sure audiences of the time were well aware of, but that was totally lost on me.
For example, from what I read, in real life everyone had predicted that the marriage wouldn't last because of the sixteen year age difference between them. In the movie, Lombard's bitch sister is constantly making snide remarks about her chasing "the middle-aged" because she can't get a guy her own age. I'm sure that was much, much funnier if you knew they'd really been a couple. With age issues.
It makes me wonder what else I'm missing when I watch classic movies. (I watch a lot of British TV as well, and I know that a lot of those jokes and cultural references go sailing over my head, though sometimes I get them from the context.)
xoxo
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