MovieChat Forums > Twentieth Century (1934) Discussion > The Letter 'O'

The Letter 'O'

posted 16 years ago by Dolly_Lo
6 replies | jump to latest

I love this film. But anyone else notice there are a lot of 'O's in it?

Barrymore plays Oscar Jaffe (known as 'OJ'). His cronies are Oliver and Owen (O'Malley), and the detective's first name is also Oscar. Throw in the Oberammergau guys and that's a lot of names beginning with the letter 'O'. Also, notice how many times characters shout o-interjections like "Outrageous!" and "Oddsbodkins!"

So, here's my point: Hawks made Scarface a couple of years before, and peppered that film intentionally with the letter 'X'. Could the extravagent use of 'O's in Twentieth Century be another (less obvious) pattern? Is Hawks playing a private game of Tic-Tac-Toe in these two films? Or maybe the 'O' is for Overacting? Or Over-the-top?

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[–] ksf-2 16 years ago

dont forget oblivion, olives, overwhelming, and oriental!

[–] AliciaHuberman59 15 years ago

Perhaps that was a sarcastic "hommage" to David "O". Selznick, another maniacal producer and svengali of Jennifer Jones. Selznick tacked on that "O", because he thought it sounded classier. Alfred Hitchcok made fun of it (although they produced films together, the two did not get along) in "North By Northwest", by use of Cary Grant's character "Roger O. Thornhill". The scene in the dining car when he lights Eva Marie Saint's cigarette with his monogrammed - "R.O.T." - matches is a nod to this, as well.

[–] Dolly_Lo 14 years ago

Interesting, mckee-4. I hadn't considered the Selznick angle.

At any rate, I love the abundance of O-words in Twentieth Century. Hawks and his writers frequently worked inside jokes into their scripts (like the subtle Sgt York reference in Ball of Fire).

"When you feed people crap, they lose their tastebuds." ~Henri Langlois

[–] genplant29 14 years ago

Brilliant observation! I think you may very well be on to something there!

[–] JackBluegrass 11 years ago

Very likely.

Famous directors often seemed to like playing games with their audiences, by inserting something mild into their movies that would pass over the heads of many moviegoers unnoticed. But, that would be instantly recognized by their fans.

Hawks, Hitchcock, Woody Van Dyke, and Jack Conway all did it.

[–] rayincumbria 10 years ago

Nice one!

It may be chance, but you have convinced me.. Well spotted and thanks for making the post.

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