Twentieth Century

Oscar Jaffe is a Broadway producer. He puts Mildred, a shop assistant, on stage, changes her name and makes her a star. She becomes famous, leaves him and goes to Hollywood. Jaffe goes bankrupt. Then the two board the same train: the express from Chicago to New York. Through the journey he tries every means to get her back under contract; he lies, pretends to be ill, produces a false agreement and shouts. She shouts back. Howard Hawks directs. John Barrymore plays Jaffe and Carole Lombard plays Lily Garland. The screenplay is by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. The film is counted among the first examples of screwball comedy; fast talk, overlapping lines and physical exaggeration are all here together. Carole Lombard became known through the part and her career changed; Hawks described pushing her to play more freely. Almost all of the narrative takes place on the train and the compartments are used like a stage. Barrymore's playing comes from the theatre and the character mocks his own extravagance. The subject is the theatre world itself and the film shows it mercilessly. It was made just before the censorship rules in Hollywood tightened, and that shows in some of the lines. Who it is for: viewers who like classic American comedy and fast dialogue. Who it is not for: the acting is very broad, the characters tiring, and the pace never stops.