Twentieth Century (1934)

Too much of everything

The Age of Commercialism

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Blistering performances.

His performance defines this splendid comedy about the world of theater, hypocrisy, a sort of love, succes and mix between art and life. a film who has all the virtues to admire it. the smart dialogue, Carol Lombard giving the right performances, the supporting actors giving the best job, the atmosphere of a lost world who reminds significant details defining us. and a sort of melancolic exotism. short, a film as a remember. about the circle of a way to trnslate the near realities in brilliant manner on the screen.

My husband and I sat through this last night on TCM. We should have been warned by the lead-in, where Robert Osborne issued a list all the positive words in his vocabulary, and Drew Barrymore mewled for five minutes over how much she missed, or loved, or whatever her grandfather, John Barrymore. Neither one said anything very specific about the movie. Just that it was a great great treasure, yada, yada, yada.Rather than a great anything, it's one of those grossly-overrated 'comedies' written by two guys the cultural gatekeepers worship: Charles McArthur and Ben Hecht. Their idea of comedy was to keep people running around, yelling as loud as their lungs will permit. Maybe people found that hilarious in 1934. The plot has John Barrymore as an impossible theatre producer (gee, that's something new) and Carole Lombard as a clueless would-be actress, who flourishes under his tutelage, even to the point of dumping him and becoming a star in Hollywood.Then she hates him, and he needs money, they both accidentally show up on the same train, and amazingly, no one else on the train complains about the endless screaming of Lombard, Barrymore, and the pool of supporting players.The only redeeming thing about this movie is that it shows John Barrymore really was a good actor, and not one of those talent-free critics' darlings so many of his contemporaries were.What he could have done with a far FAR better script is a tragic missed opportunity.

John Barrymore in Twentieth Century. Simply put. Every once in a while I may stumble upon a screen performance which leaves an indelible impression, brings me new levels of respect towards a performer and to even write a review. That's the effect John Barrymore's tour de force had on me in Twentieth Century. Barrymore is an absolute beast as the ego maniac Oscar Jaffe delivering one of my favourite film performances ever. Barrymore had earned the reputation of being a ham actor although that's perhaps the nasty way of putting it. Theatrical style acting may seem outdated and laughable to many nowadays but it is a style onto itself. When Barrymore asked director Howard Hawks why he should play the role of Oscar Hawks replied "It's the story of the biggest ham on Earth and you're the biggest ham I know". The film even foreshadowed Barrymore's own future as he himself became a washed up actor in the final years of his life like how the character of Oscar Jaffe becomes a shadow of his former shelf. Really has there ever be a more impassioned performance which is hammed up to 11 than this. Barrymore doesn't just chew the scenery in every scene he is in, he devours it like a ravenous dog; he's the definitive representation of the angry stage director stereotype. Just look at his breakdown scene when his Tribley leaves him for Hollywood, one of the greatest displays of histrionic acting poweress. Oscar Jaffe really is a fascinating character. It isn't just enough for him to tell an employee of his theater that they have been fired, he has to tell them in the most melodramatic fashion "I close the iron door on you!", or what about his constant comparisons to his present occurrences to scenes from famous plays or historical events. Half of what this man says is more melodramatic than Charlton Heston and William Shatner combined. Barrymore was known as The Great Profile and rightfully so; talk about an enigmatic screen presence.The sheer energy between Barrymore and Carole Lombard is incredible in this ultimate battle of the egos; both of these two performers cross that line in comedy of playing hateful, selfish, disciple characters you can't help but love. Carole Lombard herself has an endearing, childlike quality to her, getting overly emotional when Jaffe insults her acting ability; appropriate though since much of the film is two adults acting like children. The first portion of the film is comprised of a stage rehearsal, showcasing an impressive display of actors playing actors giving bad performances with Jaffe insulting them at every turn ("The old south does not yodel") but it's the film's second half in which things really get crazy, taking place onboard the Twentieth Century Limited. When I first watched the film I found the subplot with the religious fanatic to feel out of place at first but trust me when I say the payoff is worth it. Twentieth Century is very screamy and very shoutey but there are many little subtle touches such as the establishing shot at the start of the film of a poster advertising the Jaffe theater (showcasing the man's insane ego); possibly the funniest establishing shot I've ever seen. Also keep an ear out for several references to Svengali, adapted to film in 1931 also starring John Barrymore. I also must give a shout out to Mary Jo Mathews, the actress who plays Valerie Whitehouse. She only has several lines in the entire film yet I'm intrigued by her; she appears to have star quality to her.Along with It Happened One Night released the same year, Twentieth Century movie marks the birth the screwball comedy. I can never get enough of these films, they're incredibly addictive and they always leave me with the feeling of wanting more. I don't like to be labeled as one of those "they don't make 'em like they used to" people actually who am I kidding, of course I do.

Off the top of my head, Jerry Lewis, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Don Knox, Lucille Ball, Bettie White, Alan Alda, Werner Klemperer, Jackie Gleason, Art Carny, Dick van Dyke, Carl Reiner, Larry Linville, Carol Burnette, JIM CARREY, etc. etc. have all derived their comedic style from this performance by the GREAT Barrymore. You don't have to be a genius to know that Black Sabbath had a tremendous influence on Heavy Metal Music. This performance by Barrymore set a stage. I forgot Billy Crystal. You do schtick, the audience knows it, you still do the schtick and get away with it. I loved the fact he was having so much fun that Carol Lombard finally got with it. His side kicks were far superior to R2D2, and C3PO.