Drew Barrymore in Conversation with TCM Host Jacqueline Stewart: Twentieth Century (1934)

Join actress, entrepreneur, and award-winning talk show host Drew Barrymore and TCM host Jacqueline Stewart for a conversation about Drew’s love of classic film, featuring a screening of Twentieth Century (1934), starring her grandfather, John Barrymore.

When John Barrymore asked director Howard Hawks why he wanted him to play histrionic theatrical impresario Oscar Jaffe in this trailblazing screwball comedy, Hawks replied, “It’s the story of the biggest ham on Earth, and you’re the biggest ham I know.” Barrymore accepted on the spot and quickly bonded with the director. This was the first of Hawks’ great comedies and one of the first Hollywood films in which glamorous stars like Barrymore and Carole Lombard made fools of themselves on camera. It was also hailed as a departure from Barrymore’s run of dramatic and swashbuckling roles in films like Don Juan (1926) and Grand Hotel (1932). When Lombard, cast as the rebellious star Barrymore needs for his next production, had trouble capturing the film’s comic spirit, Hawks and her co-star worked tirelessly to get her to loosen up. With Barrymore’s help, Lombard became a top star, often hailed as “The Daffy Duse.”