Train Load Of Precode

20th Century (1934) Is Barrymore's Last Roar

It must have been quite something to sit in a theatre and watch a play about staging a play. 20th Century had been a major hit on Broadway, so was known quantity and a squeaker under lowering net that was fuller enforcement by the PCA (released May 1934). 20th Century improves for me on repeat viewings now that I'm reconciled to shouting that goes on throughout. Howard Hawks comedies had a habit of setting a pitch early on and maintaining it. That could mean set at high decibel, or early resort to speed that never flags. I've seen modern viewers exhaust fast on Hawks comedies. He might be credited as a screwball pioneer depending on your definition of screwball. Hawks did introduce a new wrinkle to comedy by using name stars as buffoons, per here with John Barrymore and Carole Lombard playing at clowns. We can see  contradiction between what a public expected and what Hawks delivered by looking at posters for 20th Century, the leads depicted on glamour and romance terms for sell purpose, with no suggestion of manic performance both give in the film. 20th Century did $308K in domestic rentals, less than most Columbia A's or any of the Capras (excepting The Bitter Tea Of General Yen). It certainly had nothing of tremendous word-of-mouth that propelled It Happened One Night, with which hopeful ads compared 20th Century.

What standing the film acquired had to come much later. 20th Century became a property every actor sought to play. Television staged it often, once with Orson Welles and Betty Grable, a pairing I'd like to see if any kinescope exists. The 1934 20th Century profited more inside the industry than out, for however a public misunderstood or rejected it, there were definitely ideas here that could be refined, or better put, softened, by others who'd pursue the screwball concept. Hawks was like The Fountainhead's Howard Roark introducing a radical mold for colleagues to later chip at and re-form to fit H'wood convention. No screwball cast would be so uninhibited as Barrymore and Lombard here. Every performance she'd give was subtle drop from this, but again, how could any career with hope of sustaining do so at energy projected in 20th Century? For Barrymore it mattered less, for this was his last roar in a lead, and besides, he was known for try-anything and indifference to rigid image others might impose on him, JB long celebrated for range whereas Lombard, of course, was not. He had nothing to lose by playing 20th Century full-out. I wonder if any director other than Hawks could have gotten this last epic performance from Barrymore, the profile fast collapsing as 20th Century went forward during February-March 1934.

Mae West Endorses A 1933 Performance of the Play in Hollywood  

The "Oscar Jaffe" character was evidently based on several Broadway impresarios. Anyone who could mount repeated successes in this viciously competitive trade had to, by definition, be bigger than life. In fact, many such men were despised, especially by actors and others who jumped when they hollered. Was ever a Broadway personage depicted who was not utterly self-centered? Persistent image of players who have no identity outside of characters they enact is well maintained here. That's spelled out in dialogue referring to Carole Lombard's "Lily Garland." I've wondered if there was truth to such prevailing belief. More than a few have told me that actors are less real people than mere fictional ones they portray. How much did Lombard become a screwball after 20th Century got her noticed for that? There was much press and publicity afterward of her doing crazy stunts, playing lavish practical jokes on peers, the stuff of press invention, yes, but Lombard was said to engineer much of it, and I have to wonder, did all this change her materially? The woman Clark Gable knew and married in latter half of the 30's may have been very different from the one he first made acquaintance with when they co-starred in 1932's No Man Of Her Own.

Lombard did return loyalty. Three years after 20th Century, she used her position at Paramountto have Barrymore hired for a support part in True Confession, not a good picture but enhanced by what he could contribute. I looked at Barrymore's credits and noted two-years between 20th Century and Romeo and Juliet. Associates from the latter would speak of his struggle with dialogue. Reginald Denny blew a take when he applauded a speech (finally) done right by JB, cast/crew having gone through multiple attempts before Jack nailed it. George Cukor said he would have given Barrymore more and bigger parts had the Profile been able to deliver, but even most sympathetic observers saw it was hopeless. Watching 20th Century, and knowing this is a final hurrah, puts bittersweet aftertaste to mirth. I wonder how 20th Century would stack up in a revival. The play continues to be restaged, actors recognizing it as a splendid vehicle for both male and female leads. The movie might be something else for a modern audience. Is dialogue too dense and fast for modern minds to follow? The Capras get more respect, it seems. Columbia's bare-bones DVD remains all that is available, although Amazon does stream the film in HD.