Twentieth Century

Flamboyant, egomaniacal theatrical impresario Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore) transforms chorus girl Mildred Plotka (Carole Lombard) into leading lady Lily Garland, the toast of Broadway. Once she's ascended to stardom, Mildred/Lily cannot abide Jaffe's obsessive control of her life and career. When he ...more

Adapted by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur from their Broadway play, Howard Hawks's Twentieth Century (1934) paired John Barrymore and Carole Lombard in a prickly romance that helped usher in the heyday of 1930s screwball comedy. Poking fun at his master thespian image, Barrymore's hammy Broadway impresario Oscar alternately threatens to shut "the Iron Door" on his associates or kill himself to get his way, but ultra-spirited Lombard as shopgirl-Mildred-turned-diva-Lily proves his equal in ...more