Editing My Man Godfrey (section)

===Modern===
Modern critics have praised it as enduring amusement, and truth, and as a "landmark" icon of the 1930s [[screwball comedy]] film concept, and the overall craft of filmmaking.<ref name="gem_theguardian" /><ref name="cinemontage">[https://cinemontage.org/brother-can-spare-job/ "Brother, Can You Spare a Job?,"] September 1, 2011, This Quarter in Film History, ''[[Motion Picture Editors Guild#Publications|CineMontage]],'' [[Motion Picture Editors Guild]], retrieved May 27, 2024</ref><ref name="americancinemetheque">[https://www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/my-man-godfrey-the-philadelphia-story-12-27-23/ ''My Man Godfrey / The Philadelphia Story:'' "About the films,"] December 27, 2023, [[American Cinematheque]], retrieved May 27, 2024</ref><ref name="brooklyn_academy">[https://www.bam.org/film/2024/living-cartoons-my-man-godfrey "My Man Godfrey,"], April 2024, [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]], retrieved May 27, 2024</ref><ref name="pickford_film_ctr">[https://www.pickfordfilmcenter.org/movie/my-man-godfrey/ ''My Man Godfrey,''] June 2024, [[Pickford Film Center]], retrieved May 27, 2024</ref>

In 1999, the film was selected for the [[Library of Congress]]'s [[National Film Registry]] (NFR) of motion pictures "selected for... historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions," saying that "Carole Lombard sparkles [at] one of her greatest roles," in this "comedic take and sometimes caustic commentary on the Great Depression," adding "William Powell portrays Godfrey with knife-edged delivery," in "one of the most exemplary screwball comedies of the 1930s." The NFR also praises Ted Tetzlaff's black-and-white cinematography.<ref name="complete_loc_gov">[https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ "Complete National Film Registry Listing,"] [[National Film Registry]], [[Library of Congress]], retrieved May 27, 2024</ref><ref name="brief_loc_gov">[https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/descriptions-and-essays/ "Brief Descriptions and Expanded Essays of National Film Registry Titles,"] [[National Film Registry]], [[Library of Congress]], retrieved May 27, 2024</ref><ref name="nypl_org">[https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2024/07/06/national-film-registry-series-gregory-la-cavas-my-man-godfrey-1936 "National Film Registry Series: Gregory La Cava's 'My Man Godfrey (1936),"] [[New York Public Library]], retrieved May 27, 2024</ref>

In 2023, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine selected it as one of the "100 Best Movies of the Last 10 Decades," placing it among "the greatest romantic comedies" to come out of that "decade full of terrific ones."<ref name="time_100_best_movies">[https://time.com/collection/100-best-movies/6295179/my-man-godfrey-1936/ "My Man Godfrey (1936),"] in "100 Best Movies of the Past 10 Decades," July 26, 2023, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]],'' retrieved May 27, 2024</ref>

"God,... this film is beautiful," declared critic [[Roger Ebert]], who praised the cinematography as "a shimmering argument" for the virtues of films produced in black-and-white, rather than color. He praised the film, and "the actors in it,... its style of production," even... "the system that produced it," as an escape from today's "pop culture of brainless vulgarity."<ref name="ebert">[[Roger Ebert|Ebert, Roger]]: [https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-my-man-godfrey-1936 "The man who came to buttle,"] May 29, 2008, "Great Movies," [[Roger Ebert]].com, retrieved May 27, 2024</ref>

Critics have also praised the elegant set design and costumes, particularly [[Travis Banton]]'s costume designs.<ref name="cinemontage" /><ref name="ebert" /><ref name="the_collection">[https://filmcostumecollection.omeka.net/items/show/1223 "Carole Lombard as Irene Bullock in 'My Man Godfrey' Costume Designed by Travis Banton,"] [[The Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design]], retrieved May 27, 2024</ref>