The Love Test (1935)

Michael Powell must have been gaining a reputation for directing movies efficiently by the time he made THE LOVE TEST. He had already been trusted with directing Leslie Banks and Ian Hunter when he was lent to Fox' English unit for this pleasant programmer.

When Gilbert Davis comes down with the hiccoughs, he must resign as head of the project to develop a fireproof celluloid. He recommends as his replacement the best chemist working under him, Judy Gunn. This does not please David Hutcheson, who makes some Male Chauvinist Pig remarks and order Louis Hayward to distract her by courting her. Of course, they fall in love, and of course Hutcheson decides to cut Hayward out after he has warmed up the cold fish.

It sounds almost modern in its discussion of men, does it not? Well, it falls into the all-too-neat routines of romantic comedy, but it certainly didn't hurt Louis Hayward's career. The movie, which turned up in the early 1990s, times in at barely more than an hour. It seems a totally unremarkable film, and probably didn't add much to Powell's reputation at the time.... except as a man who could get a decent film done on budget. That's never a bad thing.