Twentieth Century (1934)

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Charles Bruce Millholland (play)
Ben Hecht (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 May 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

A flamboyant Broadway impresario who has fallen on hard times tries to get his former lover, now a Hollywood diva, to return and resurrect his failing career.

Plot Keywords:

Broadway | Train | Impresario | Twentieth Century Train | Lunatic

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

John Barrymore	...	Oscar Jaffe
Carole Lombard	...	Lily Garland
Walter Connolly	...	Oliver Webb
Roscoe Karns	...	Owen O'Malley
Ralph Forbes	...	George Smith
Charles Lane	...	Max Jacobs (as Charles Levison)
Etienne Girardot	...	Mathew J. Clark
Dale Fuller	...	Sadie
Edgar Kennedy	...	Oscar McGonigle
Billie Seward	...	Anita

Also Known As:

20th Century (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #4312-R, 11 May 1938 for re-release)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Versions presently in distribution, as shown on Turner Classic Movies, bear the updated Columbia logo and title credits from the 1938 re-release.

Goofs:

Plot holes: When Jaffe takes over direction, he addresses Lily by her new name and she responds, even though she hasn't heard it before. This gap was caused by the deletion of a brief scene in which O'Malley informs her that Jaffe has changed her name.

Quotes:

Oscar Jaffe: [lamenting Lily's departure, after trashing her lobby posters] ... O tempora, o mores!

Movie Connections:

References Svengali (1931)

Soundtrack:

Happy Days Are Here Again

Barrymore, Lombard, and Hawks Are Outstanding

John Barrymore is in rare form in Twentieth Century (1934), Howard Hawks's hilarious, fast-paced screwball comedy. He plays flamboyant Broadway director-producer Oscar Jaffe, a man for whom the whole world is truly a stage. The always enchanting Carole Lombard co-stars as Mildred Plotka/Lily Garland. (Oscar demanded the name change because Mildred Plotka isn't nearly as glamorous sounding as Lily Garland.) Mildred, an aspiring Broadway actress, is remade by Oscar into a star of the New York stage. For three years he directs her plays, guides her career, and is her lover. But after they have a big disagreement, she takes off for Hollywood. Her career soars; his plummets. Time passes and then on board the Twentieth Century heading for Grand Central Station, they meet again. As usual in a Hawks film, the supporting cast is outstanding; and Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's screenplay is one of their finest.