Twentieth Century (Howard Hawks, 1934): USA

Reviewed by Byron Potau. Viewed on DVD.

The name of John Barrymore is synonymous with acting and I have to think most of that reputation was made in the theater. As for his film career it is infested with several hammy performances. Whether in silent or in sound films there is always at least a bit of the overactor in him. However, in Twentieth Century he finally had a role in egomaniacal theater producer Oscar Jaffe for which his overacting suited the part perfectly.

Oscar Jaffe is determined to turn his new discovery, lingerie model Mildred Plotka (Carole Lombard), into a star of the theater. He renames her Lily Garland and bullies her into a great performance. After her triumph on the stage she becomes his lover and they spend the next three years making hit after hit. She finally leaves him and heads for Hollywood when his insane jealousy and spying on her, he has her followed day and night and has her phone tapped, becomes too much for her. Her career takes off while his flounders in flop after flop. When they end up on the same train he is determined to get her back so he can resurrect his career.

Barrymore’s style of acting was very theatrical to begin with and here he turns the dial up even more, reveling in the role of his lifetime. Jaffe is the kind of person who has forgotten how to be a real person. When he has fallen on hard times he must play up the role of the down trodden. When he is jilted by his lover he must feign suicide attempts. When he is disagreed with he impulsively fires that person only to talk to them moments later as if nothing had happened. The tempermental, narcisissistic Jaffe is always performing. He lives the theater day and night and Barrymore could not have played him better. You can feel his delight as he sinks his teeth in the role. It is easy to mistake Barrymore’s acting here for overacting, but it is important to remember that the part called for it and Barrymore was only to happy to provide.

Carole Lombard is also excellent in her career making performance as Mildred Plotka/Lily Garland. She is every bit Jaffe’s creation as she often finds herself performing in real life situations. These two can’t seem to keep their theatrical mannerisms on the stage. Lombard and Barrymore show great chemistry as they bicker wildly trying to out act the other.

Supporting player Walter Connelly is very good as Jaffe’s business manager and lackey Oliver Webb, but the film finds most of its humor in the wise cracking, perpetually intoxicated press agent and other lackey to Jaffe, Owen O’Malley played by Roscoe Karns. He has a witty remark for all the mania going on around him, but also needs to the booze to keep himself from being swept up in it. Karns has impeccable timing and deserves recognition for carrying much of the comedic weight of the film on his small shoulders.

Director Howard Hawks is known for his fast paced style of direction and he is no different here. There is not as much of the rapid fire dialogue that marks some of his other comedies, but he keeps the action moving briskly as to keep everyone out of breath. Written by one of the preeminent screenwriting teams in all of cinema, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, and among their finest work (based on their play), Hawks had plenty to work with. The film is classic screwball comedy and one of the finest hours for all involved.