This is not a bio-pic of the life of France's greatest playwright. Rather, it is a fictionalised interpretation of what may have happened during an unknown period of his life. Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, a.k.a. Moli((eacute))re, is rescued from prison in order to assist an aristocrat woo the subject of his amour. Sacr((eacute))e bleu! Things don't go according to plan, as Moli((eacute))re falls in love with the wife, whilst his master is gradually swindled by another deceptive raconteur.

This film has been compared to the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love and, whilst it doesn't quite reach those heights, there are similarities, as well as a lot of fun along the way. Duris happens to be the current piece of French crumpet wooing female cinemagoers around the world, so if you haven't acquainted yourself yet, that's one more reason to see the movie (the only films we've screened of his are The Spanish Apartment and its sequel Russian Dolls). The farce was just a tad too broad for me, but maybe I was just taking it a bit too seriously, so for something light and enjoyable, I recommend a date with Moli((eacute))re.

(And, literally, apologies for the French!)

In answer to the most obvious question - no, this isn't about the years 1900-1999 - the title comes from the 20th Century Limited Railroad Company, who run the train where on which renowned theatre director and humungous egotist Oscar Jaffee flees from bankruptcy in Chicago. Once, he had success, raising the unassuming Mildred Plotka to stardom, renaming her Lily Garland in the process. But Lily has escaped to fame and fortune in Hollywood. Now, with the discovery that Lily is on the same train as he, Oscar will pull out every dirty trick he can think of (short of any demonstrations of humility) to get Lily back on a signed contract.

This really is Barrymore's movie - Howard Hawks claimed he was looking for the biggest ham of all time, and Barrymore fits the bill perfectly -. Jaffe devours scenery whole, making his entire existence a series of hysterical melodramatic scenes, driving nearly everyone around him to complete distraction. Hawks went on to other successes in the screwball comedy genre, including His Girl Friday and Bringing up Baby, but this is his earliest and quite possibly his screwiest.

(This print provided courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive)