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''Twentieth Century'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code screwball comedy film. Much of the film is set on the ''20th Century Limited'' train as it travels from Chicago to New York. The film was directed by Howard Hawks, stars John Barrymore and Carole Lombard, and features Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns and Edgar Kennedy. Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur adapted their Broadway play of the same name – itself based on the unproduced play ''Napoleon of Broadway'' by Charles Bruce Millholland – with uncredited contributions from Gene Fowler and Preston Sturges. Along with Frank Capra's ''It Happened One Night'', also released in 1934, ''Twentieth Century'' is considered to be a prototype for the screwball comedy.〔 "Howard Hawks' rapid-fire romantic comedy established the essential ingredients of the ''screwball'' – a dizzy dame, a charming but befuddled hero, dazzling dialogue and a dash of slapstick."〔Columbia Tristar Home Video, 1992,CVR 11493 notes on back cover〕 Its success propelled Lombard into the front ranks of film comediennes.〔Bozzola, Lucia (Allmovie review )〕 The film was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2011. ==Plot== Ebullient Broadway impresario Oscar Jaffe (Barrymore) takes an unknown lingerie model named Mildred Plotka (Lombard) and makes her the star of his latest play, despite the grave misgivings of everyone else, including his two long-suffering assistants, accountant Oliver Webb and the consistently tipsy Owen O'Malley. Through intensive training, Oscar transforms his protegée into the actress "Lily Garland", and both she and the play are resounding successes. Over the next three years, their partnership spawns three more smash hits, and Lily is recognized as a transcendent talent. Then Lily tries to break off their professional and personal relationship, fed up with Oscar's overpossesiveness and control of every aspect of her life. Oscar talks her out of it, promising to be more trusting and less controlling in the future. Instead, he secretly hires a private detective agency run by McGonigle to watch her every move, even to the point of tapping her telephone. When she finds out, it is the last straw; she leaves for Hollywood and soon becomes a big movie star. Without Lily, Oscar produces flop after flop. After one such disappointment, to avoid being imprisoned for his debts, he is forced to disguise himself to board the luxurious ''Twentieth Century Limited'' train travelling from Chicago to New York City's Grand Central Terminal. By chance, Lily Garland boards the train at a later stop with her boyfriend George Smith. After prevaricating, Oscar sees a chance to restore his fortunes and salvage his relationship with Lily. He schemes to get her to sign a contract with him. However, Lily wants nothing more to do with him. She is on her way to see Oscar's rival (and former employee), Max Jacobs, to star in ''his'' play. However, Oscar manages to get George to break up with her. Knowing that Lily offers him one last chance at professional success he tells her of his wish for her to play Mary Magdalene in his new play; "sensual, heartless, but beautiful – running the gamut from the gutter, to glory – can you see it Lily? – the little wanton ending up in tears at the foot of the cross. I'm going to have Judas strangle himself with her hair." Then Oliver thinks he has found somebody to finance Oscar's project, fellow passenger Mathew J. Clark, not realizing that Clark is a harmless escapee from a mental asylum. When Oscar is slightly wounded in a scuffle with Clark, he pretends to be dying and gets a distraught Lily to sign his contract. The film ends with their first rehearsal, where Oscar reverts to his usual domineering self. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Twentieth Century (film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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