Twentieth Century (1934)

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.

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writer:

Charles Bruce Millholland (play)

Stars:

John Barrymore, Carole Lombard, Walter Connolly

1 win.

Cast

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

Storyline

Broadway director Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore) is a bigger ham than most actors, but through sheer drive and talent he is able to build a successful career. When one of his discoveries, Lily Garland (Carole Lombard), rises to stardom and heeds the call of Hollywood, Oscar begins a career slide. He hits the skids and seems on his way out, until he chances to meet Lily again, on a train ride aboard the Twentieth Century Limited. Oscar pulls out all the stops to re-sign his former star, but it's a battle... because Lily, who is as temperamental as Oscar is, wants to have nothing to do with her former mentor.

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Plot Keywords:

train | impresario | actress | twentieth century train | lunatic | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

11 May 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

20th Century

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was later adapted as a Broadway musical "On the Twentieth Century", which opened at the St. James Theatre in New York on Feb. 19, 1978 and ran for 449 performances. In the opening night cast were Imogene Coca, Madeline Kahn, John Cullum and Kevin Kline.

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Goofs

When Jaffee claims he has an inspiration he grabs Owen's coat, and in the next shot his hand is open.

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Quotes

Oscar Jaffe: Lily, you're crying.
Lily Garland, aka Mildred Plotka: Sure, I turn on a faucet. It's that sort of scene.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years at the Movies (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Happy Days Are Here Again"
(1929)
Music by Milton Ager
Lyrics by Jack Yellen
Sung a cappella by Walter Connolly

User Reviews

The first O.J.!

Nobody gets decapitated, however, as the acronym here stands for Oscar Jaffe. 66 years on, TWENTIETH remains a perfect comedy and a wonderful movie. Howard Hawks' hand is evident, though subtly, in the many ingenious setups and camera movements. Wisely, for the most part he's content to let the play be the thing, blessed as he was with a brilliantly funny property and cast. You all know about Barrymore's ego-monster producer and Lombard as his diva-protege, but not enough has been written in praise of the crack support of Roscoe Karns, Walter Connolly, Charles Lane and unforgettable Etienne Girardot. Of course, Barrymore outshines them all, with his 'iron-door' pronunciamentos, his acting out every role in the antebellum play he's staging, and even his unforgettable enunciation of the name 'Max Mandelbaum'. They don't make 'em like this any more, but the hard fact is they didn't often make 'em like this back then, either. Why are you reading this when you could be renting the video??