Twentieth Century (film) - Production

Production

The genesis of Twentieth Century was Napoleon of Broadway, a play by Charles Bruce Millholland about his experiences in working for the legendary and eccentric Broadway producer David Belasco. His play was not produced, but it became the basis for the Hecht-MacArthur comedy, which lasted for 152 performances on Broadway, beginning on December 29, 1932, and which they later adapted for the big screen.

Howard Hawks was not the first choice; Roy Del Ruth and Lewis Milestone had been set to direct before Hawks got the job. Columbia tried to get William Frawley from the Broadway cast, but instead borrowed Roscoe Karns from Paramount.

Before Lombard was cast, Columbia boss Harry Cohn negotiated with Eugenie Leontovich, who had played the part on Broadway, and then considered Gloria Swanson and Miriam Hopkins. Other reports say that Cohn also approached Ina Claire, Tallulah Bankhead, Ruth Chatterton, Constance Bennett, Ann Harding, Kay Francis and Joan Crawford. However, Hawks believed that Lombard was a brilliant actress who had yet to be unleashed on film. He convinced a reluctant Columbia to borrow her from Paramount Studios.

During Barrymore's initial reading with her, he looked to Hawks with an expression that showed he did not believe in Hawks' intuition. The rest of the production went dryly, with Lombard staggering through one scene after another and playing the same stoic characters that she had been taught to portray. Hawks took her aside and asked her what she was being paid for the film. Lombard told him and Hawks asked her what she would do if a man said "something" about her, coming up with an example from the back of his mind. Lombard said, "I would kick him in the balls." Hawks said, "Well, Barrymore said that, so why don't you kick him?" Of course Barrymore had said nothing of the sort, but the plan worked and after Lombard yelped a few profanities, she continued through the shoot with an unforgettable vigor. For the rest of her career, before beginning a film, Lombard would always send a telegram to Hawks saying, "I'm going to kick him!"

Lombard and Barrymore became friends during filming. When Barrymore's career was declining, Lombard raised hell to get him to work on her film True Confession (1937).

Preston Sturges was hired to write the screenplay around late November 1933, but was removed from the project a week later because he hadn't made sufficient progress. Columbia then tried to get Herman Mankiewicz to write it, with Felix Young to produce.

Twentieth Century – a title which Columbia considered changing because they feared that many westerners would not be familiar with the name of the train – was in production from February 22 to March 24, 1934.

During the filming, there were some problems with the censors at the Hays Office, who were concerned about the religious angle in the comedy of the film, and requested that it be toned down. Joseph Breen, who ran the Office, worried that "there will be serious difficulty in inducing an anti-Semitic public to accept a play produced by an industry believed to be Jewish in which the Passion Play is used for comedy purposes." The Office ultimately asked that one line be removed, which it was. They also requested that it be made less clear where Oscar jabs Lily with a pin.

The film was premiered in New York on May 3, 1934 and went into general release on May 11. Its success propelled Carole Lombard into the front ranks of film comediennes.