Twentieth Century: Howard Hawks

Much like William Keighley's The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), our enjoyment of Howard Hawks' Twentieth Century depends on us loving the irascible old man at the center of the narrative who selfishly manipulates people for his own purposes. And like The Man Who Came to Dinner, Hawks' film fails to convince us that he is anything other than a nasty, unlikable, despicable human being. One of the earliest of screwball comedies, Twentieth Century follows Broadway impresario Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore) as he transforms lingerie model Mildred Plotka (Carole Lombard) into a superstar. But after three years Mildred, now renamed "Lily Garland," leaves him because of his domineering control over her life and day-to-day affairs. Time passes and Lily becomes a Hollywood star and Oscar a penniless bum on the run from creditors. But by chance they both board a train going from Chicago to New York. And wily ol' Oscar sees one last chance to reclaim Lily...and his fortunes. We don't immediately hate Oscar Jaffe. For the first 30 minutes or so he seems like a (passably) decent and kind control freak who just happens to be shackled to a fiery temper. But then he becomes unpleasant, then obnoxious, then hateful. He starts to abuse people mentally and emotionally. Only in a screwball comedy can a character as mean-spirited and detestable pass for a genuine hero on the basis of their abilities to scheme, manipulate, dominate, and fast-talk. But I'm not buying it. But that hardly matters. By the last third of the film Barrymore and Lombard (who seems to be warming up for her deliciously grandiose turn in My Man Godfrey [1936]) get into a contest to see who can out-overact the other. The razor-sharp dialogue, so crucial to the screwball formula, loses its finesse in their over-the-top histrionics. All screwball comedies get loud and chaotic at some point. But we only enjoy these moments when we care about the characters. And Mr. Oscar Jaffe is too repugnant to care about.

5/10