Watch this one for John Barrymore, who is so perfectly cast as the eccentric and frenetic Broadway director who rants and raves melodramatically at everyone around him. He makes a star out of a young woman (Carole Lombard) and gets involved with her personally, but when he becomes too controlling, she leaves him to make films in Hollywood. Barrymore and Lombard are both in roles where they have to act as a person who is always acting, and sometimes the character is doing this well, sometimes not, which is probably not all that easy. Regardless, they both give big, emotive performances here, and are delightful on the screen. The script is not outstanding but it's reasonably good, and there were a few genuinely funny moments.
Interestingly enough, director Howard Hawks had to coach the young actor Carole Lombard into letting go, just as Barrymore does with her character in the film. As Todd McCarthy tells it in his book on Howard Hawks, Lombard was very stiff and unnatural, so he pulled her aside and asked her "What would you do if someone said such and such to you?" The often-salty Lombard's reply was "I'd kick him in the balls!" Hawks then channeled this into the lovely kicking scene in the film, telling her "Now we're going back in and make this scene and you kick, and you do any damn thing that comes into your mind that's natural, and quit acting. If you don't quit, I'm going to fire you this afternoon." Hawks claimed that from then on, "She never began another picture after that without sending me a telegram that said, 'I'm gonna start kicking him.'"
Interestingly enough, director Howard Hawks had to coach the young actor Carole Lombard into letting go, just as Barrymore does with her character in the film. As Todd McCarthy tells it in his book on Howard Hawks, Lombard was very stiff and unnatural, so he pulled her aside and asked her "What would you do if someone said such and such to you?" The often-salty Lombard's reply was "I'd kick him in the balls!" Hawks then channeled this into the lovely kicking scene in the film, telling her "Now we're going back in and make this scene and you kick, and you do any damn thing that comes into your mind that's natural, and quit acting. If you don't quit, I'm going to fire you this afternoon." Hawks claimed that from then on, "She never began another picture after that without sending me a telegram that said, 'I'm gonna start kicking him.'"