On a cross-country train, pretentious and near-insane Broadway producer Barrymore (Drew's grandad) pursues his ex-protégé Lombard, whom he transformed from innocent nobody into a hugely glamorous movie star, hoping to win her heart but, more importantly, get her into a contract for his next stage spectacular.
No screen couple have ever exchanged bile and venom with more relish than Barrymore and Lombard; he delivers his greatest film performance, while she looks like an angel and demonstrates a strident mouthiness that makes the average alternative comedian seem like Beatrix Potter. Three hours of jokes crammed into an hour-and-a-half of film.