Twentieth Century

"We don't know anything about love unless it's written and rehearsed. We're only real in between curtains". I couldn't not think of any line that comprises with this greatness the art of understanding life through lies and fiction -- or through acting. And I couldn't point out a film that made me more proud and happy of being a dude that tries hard to live a life through lives I only see on screen. Forgotten masterpiece by Hawks.

Enjoyable, but it's annoyingly hectic. The film seems to keep the same tone the entire time, which is not really a good thing. It just involves a lot of screaming and whining and that's about it. The actors were good, but John Barrymore overshadowed the others too much and it felt a bit jumbled. The comedy isn't really that funny either, but it's harmless and entertaining.

Barrymore delivers a strong performance, Lombard is very likable and the comedy is good. It's a shame so much of the film relies on whining and histrionics, though, because it gets rather painful to watch at times.

Don't close the iron door on this one. My 1000th rating on criticker.com is one of the best satires of theatre people that I know.

I can appreciate what Hawks is going for here--these people are insufferable. He portrays them well, but I also struggle to find any joy in it. I do find the supporting characters more interesting as they try to navigate the world of the two self-absorbed leads. It's probably best that the two leads don't really advance, but it's hard not to tire of their infantile antics.

Quite funny in parts, a bit insufferable in others. It was ridiculously overly dramatic., even if the movie plays on the fact that this is what the audience expects happens with the great divas. Personally, I like a little more silence in comedy routines so you have time to enjoy it. (And now whenever I leave a room, I plan to say, "I close the iron door on you!")

I somehow missed the existence of a Barrymore / Lombard / Hawks / Sturges / Hecht collaboration... until now. An often exasperating love letter to creative psychotics. You're tricked into believing the movie works, even when it doesn't, because it never gives you time to breath, from either laughter or panting. Barrymore goes full dementia to a point where his flailing hair is almost a supporting cast member. Lombard matches Barrymore for calculated lunacy.

"Hail, messenger of death! Cold passport to the great unknown..." We need more hams in modern cinema.

Star Rating: ★★★★

A comedy that, with a few notable exceptions, wasn't particularly funny. While immensely entertaining at first, Barrymore's flamboyant character eventually felt fatiguing and repetitive and Lombard failed to win me over with her exaggerated performance. There's also a number of dated poltically-incorrect jokes peppered throughout as well as, mysteriously, what's clearly a swastika in the background while they're in Chicago, which I'm not at all sure what to make of.

A kind of classic but I tend to be miopic about Hawks. Very entertaining and funny, not a dull moment, and a grand acting performance at its center. And not altogether unreal, as it pertains to how it looks at its characters and the general folly of romance and power plays.

Rewatch. For some reason, I've only ever remembered the rather tame first ten minutes of the picture and not the completely bonkers 80 minutes that follow. A great tribute-- and a rather loud, unhinged one-- to all the ham bone drama kings and queens who make the movies possible.

82.500

John Barrymore as the God of self-pitying! And he's got his Goddess with him in Carole Lombard and together they are the emphasis of artistic temperament overacting to extreme levels! One sure got to patient to get through all the screaming in this one, but it's all done in lovely parody on theater creators. This does have a fantastic supporting cast managing to get some spotlight in between the attention sucking scenes with it's stars. Excellently crazy production from Howard Hawks!

Lionel Barrymore gives one of the greatest comedic performances of all-time, flying through charades and ruses so fast it is like he's playing three characters at once. Superb stuff. I will admit that if you can't get into how manic and LOUD the film is, there won't be much for you to like.

"Tell her I'm dying, but don't overact." The great John Barrymore is screaming. Of course, Lombard and Barrymore in fact excel in overacting. Very funny.

Goes nowhere, but at ten thousand miles an hour and having a decent time most of the way. After a brilliant start, the creakiness of the devices begins to grate about midway through, when Lombard and Barrymore find each other, for no good reason, in adjoining rooms on a train.

I might have been able to enjoy this movie more if John Barrymore and Carole Lomabard had toned it down a bit. As it is I was praying for the credits to roll after about an hour due to all the shouting and over-acting.

"Casually reverses and undermines its frumpy thesis by validating the effortlessly supple benefits of the seventh art." - Eric Henderson

A superior screwball comedy directed at a frenetic pace. Barrymore and Lombard are hilarious as a pair of battling egomaniacs. Not to be missed.

A lot of screwball comedies haven't aged well, but this one still works often enough

Suprema Conquista tinha sua première há 90 anos em New York. Não revejo esse desde o centenário da Carole, continua ainda mais obra-prima do que me lembrava. Vou ser eternamente grata pelo Hawks numa só tacada ter inventado o screwball, dar o melhor papel da carreira do Barrymore e abrir as comportas para a Lombard se tornar a maior comediante da história do cinema. Box Versátil O Cinema de Howard Hawks.

A witty and entertaining early screwball comedy, with Lombard and Barrymore handing in terrific self-abasing performances as histrionic theater types.