Review of Twentieth Century (1934) by Tara H — 14 Mar 2016
This is a great satire on Broadway theatre, pre-dating Lombard's roles in Nothing Sacred and To Be or Not to Be, and Joe Mankiewicz's masterpiece, All About Eve. Some may find it a bit one-note and frantic - thanks to scriptwriter Ben Hecht and director Howard Hawks, the pace never lets up.
Nobody could play the vainglorious producer better than John Barrymore - in a lesser actor's hands, Oscar Jaffe would simply be a monster, but Barrymore brings a certain poignancy to the role. Carole Lombard more than holds her own as his protegee, a shopgirl turned stage diva in one of the first great screwball comedies; a genre with which she (and Hawks) will forever be associated.
And the supporting cast are also sublime.
This review of Twentieth Century (1934) was written by Tara H on 14 Mar 2016.
Twentieth Century has generally received positive reviews.
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