Screwball origins

Watching Twentieth Century more carefully proved to be much more enjoying in the end. There's something about this film that makes it difficult for me to keep interested. But the funny thing is that taking in each scene and making notes I was able to fully grasp the story and notice things I hadn't really paid attention to before. I was also able to see why I didn't like certain aspects of the film or its structure. The best explanation I have for what I see as imperfection of a screwball comedy is that the screwball was still developing.

I believe this film, along with It Happened One Night, is described as one of the first screwball comedies. I actually think, especially after several viewings, that Trouble in Paradise should get a mention as well. But there are some that consider Twentieth Century to be one of the first if not the first screwball comedy. That being said, I remember when I first watched Trouble in Paradise how incredibly slow I found it. I think one of the problems with Twentieth Century is that the pacing isn't as quick as the genre demands. Of course, there are no standards set before since the genre developed in reaction to the Hays Code, which didn't go into effect until the latter part of 1934, after this film premiered.

The pacing problem, as I've already mentioned, is due largely to the fact that too much focus is placed on Jaffe in the beginning of the film. Understandably so, Jaffe is the lead, the most entertaining character, and the one whom your sympathies lie with. Normally, if I'm entertained, I can forgive things like not revealing a full premise right away, but unfortunately this is difficult because of the sound. I wonder if the film would improve with a soundtrack or even a better audio track. But again, the pacing needs to be established straight away, and while the tone is set from the beginning, something always seems off because the story doesn't really move along; it just stays in the theatre rehearsal for almost 16 minutes, all to showcase Jaffe's eccentricity.

Then there's Lily Garland, who is perhaps the biggest flaw in this film. Carole Lombard doesn't do a bad job. In fact, in a scene at her apartment, she starts making faces of people, and you see immediately the screwball queen there. The problem lies with Lily; you can't stand her. The whole point with a screwball couple is that they can't live with one another, but it doesn't matter because they belong together and you root for them because you like them in spite of their zaniness. At first, Lily seems like the young ingenue you'd expect, but after three years Lily's frustration is evident and you understand it. But slowly, and most especially during the train ride and on, you see the true spoiled brat that Lily has become, and she isn't charming at all. This isn't Irene Bullock, who's clear stupidity is so endearing in a way you can't explain. This is Cordelia, the Park Avenue Brat you want Godfrey to make cry.

While you certainly can agree in the end that Lily and Jaffe deserve one another, it's hard to enjoy a film in which one half is just plain annoying. John Barrymore as Jaffe is truly a delight to watch. He morphs into different characters and takes on voices of other characters so seamlessly. But as Jaffe he's truly entertaining to watch. And only because he wants Lily will you accept this union in the end, but really, if he doesn't get her in the end, it's okay.

I think a lot of the things that make a film good happen to late in the film. There should've been ample opportunity to showcase Jaffe's character throughout the film without needing to have the first 16 minutes of him interacting with the cast and crew. The film should've started three years later and then with Lily leaving Jaffe for Hollywood. The stakes are drawn high when Jaffe is in ruin and close to losing his theatre. The race for him to get Lily to sign on to another play is important, but again, it happens too late. There's the distraction with the con-artist who sticks Repent stickers all over the train, and he proves vital in the end, but his storyline isn't as entertaining, at least not to me. These are things that are all important to the screwball but needed more refinement.

Finally, the dialogue is the single greatest thing, well along with Barrymore, that comes out of this film. And a lot of it is hard to follow, which I blame on the audio track of my copy of the film. When I sat down to rewatch this, I found myself laughing even more at some of the lines that had just gone over me before. But the dialogue helps set the pace and tone, and if the film doesn't drag, as I've said before, it's due to the dialogue. None of this is more evident than near the end of the film, when Jaffe pretends his dying and cons Lily into signing a contract. There's so much fast talk going on here and you feel like you're in a whirlwind and before you know it, Lily belongs to Jaffe all over again. That feeling of "what happened" is exactly the feeling screwball comedies leave in the end, and this film sets that bar for future screwballs.

Overall, I think I was able to fully understand why I don't love this film as much as I want to, and the bottom line is that it isn't perfect. The leads need polishing, the pace needs to be quickened, the premise needs faster setting up, but then there are other things like dialogue and super fast denouements that show clearly how Twentieth Century is a forerunner to the screwball comedy. And for this reason, it's good to watch to see how the genre evolves from here.