MY MAN GODFREY (1936) Campaign book

Vintage original 26 x 13” (65 x 32 cm.) campaign book, 20 pages, USA. William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady, Gail Patrick, Eugene Pallette, dir: Gregory La Cava; Universal. A superb comedy classic with an always contemporary moral lesson, basically summed up with Godfrey’s (William Powell) one line “The only difference between a man and a derelict is a job.” The brilliant script by Eric Hatch and Morrie Ryskind was Academy Award nominated as were actors Powell, Lombard, Auer and Brady. Director La Cava got an Oscar nomination as well. Irene, a spoiled wealthy girl (Lombard) hires a man she believes to be a derelict to be her butler after “finding” him in a dump during a scavenger hunt. He brings sanity to her dysfunctional family and she develops feelings for him, while his history remains a mystery to all. Lombard and Powell were married between 1931 and 1933 and had been divorced for 3 years before making this film, but, when Powell read the script, he knew that the only actress to play Irene was Lombard. He was correct, the casting was perfect. Here is a lovely oversized campaign book which is witness to the extravagant promotion Universal heaped upon this now film. Included are references to the original book by Eric Hatch, campaign and exploitation strategies, including contests and lobby displays. There are a variety of pre-written “advance publicity” articles, touting the merits before anyone had seen the film and stories about the stars. There are a variety of newspaper and magazine advertising lay outs. There are fashion lay outs with Carole Lombard and of course all the posters, lobby displays and photos for theatres to feature. The hand -out theatre herald is present too. A really exceptional campaign book. The front and back covers in full color are on a linen type paper. There are two original folds and minor creasing around those folds, as the item was original shipped folded. It has been stored flat for years and the folds are not minor. Minor soiling to cover. ABOUT FINE.