Twentieth Century

Twentieth Century is a comedy set in the New York theatre world and on the luxury train of its title. Oscar Jaffe is a Broadway impresario with a domineering manner and a string of successful productions behind him. During casting for a new show he takes on an untrained young woman, Mildred Plotka, renames her Lily Garland and turns her into a star through his forceful methods. Once she is famous, she no longer accepts his control, leaves the stage for Hollywood and builds a career there, while his own fortunes slide. Their paths cross again aboard the Twentieth Century Limited, where he tries to sign her for a comeback.

Howard Hawks directed and produced the film, working from a screenplay by Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur and Preston Sturges. It was the second of the nineteen films he directed in chronological order, following Scarface and preceding Bringing Up Baby. John Barrymore plays Oscar Jaffe and Carole Lombard plays Lily Garland, with Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Ralph Forbes and Charles Lane among the credited cast of forty-four.

Released in May 1934 by Columbia Pictures, the film runs ninety-one minutes. It holds a 7.2 rating on IMDb from around 7,800 votes and a 6.8 on TMDB from roughly 114 votes, while critics' reviews average 7.7, a slightly warmer assessment than the wider audience scores suggest.