Twentieth Century

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Scott R @ScottR Dec 27, 2025 NYT 1000 films. Another lost Flixster rating. I had certainly seen this before. It’s a fun farce comedy that focuses on word play surrounding the stage and drama. Great cast and direction for its day. RUS. See more Alec B @Alec97 Jan 10, 2024 Barrymore and Lombard make for a delightfully insane duo and using the director/actor relationship in this fashion is a great idea. See more Steve D @RT35616104 May 10, 2023 It is more fun for actors than the general public but should be a blast for both. See more CodyZamboni @CodyZamboni Feb 22, 2023 Movie starts off very amusing, and enjoyable when it shows the behind the scenes of producing a Broadway play. But once Lombard and Barrymore get on the title train, things turn increasingly silly and shrill and very noisy. The constant yelling and shrieking got annoying, and movie's fun factor dropped, hence my rating. See more jrzy78 @jromans Feb 22, 2023 While I love all the actors and the director but thought the film terribly dated. I found the performances over the top and Barrymore, in particular, was a repulsive character. Just too much screeching and awful people getting away with terrible things. I love screwball comedy but this one was a real disappointment. See more michael d @RT16138633 Dec 17, 2021 Master filmmaker Howard Hawks' sure hand at outrageous, character-driven farce is what maneuvers this seminal 1934 screwball comedy into its acknowledged status as a film classic. More than anything else here, he appears responsible for the transformation of Carole Lombard's screen persona from uncertain glamour girl to first-class comedy pro, as she vividly portrays Mildred Plotka, a struggling actress nurtured by Oscar Jaffe, an egomaniacal Broadway impresario. Through his Svengali-like techniques, he has changed the former Mildred into Lily Garland and a major star, but his obsessive behavior leads to her departure to Hollywood for film success and his tailspin into a series of stage flops. By chance, they are both on the Twentieth Century en route from Chicago to New York, and the frenetic plot settles into Oscar's excessive attempts to re-sign Lily to another contract. Screenwriters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, already famous for their fast-talking "The Front Page", apply the same kinetic energy to this broadly theatrical farce. Even though not all the comedy bits work (for instance, the rich asylum escapee's placing "Repent" stickers everywhere), the feverish pitch never lets up, and the cast is very game for the shenanigans. Precariously dangling himself at the edge of caricature, John Barrymore is in peak form in a ham-fisted turn as Jaffe. Whether drawing the chalk lines for Lily to follow or repeatedly caught in fake-suicide attempts, Barrymore seems to relish every moment in what was to be his last first-class starring role. On the other hand, Lombard blooms with her performance here, as she matches toe to toe with Barrymore. Their chemistry, which only hints at a romantic relationship, seems to be the prototype for all persistently contentious movie couples thereafter. Familiar character actors Roscoe Karns and Walter Connolly breezily play Jaffe's exasperated assistants. See more Read all reviews

Twentieth Century

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