The Love Test

A romantic comedy set in a chemistry lab up against a deadline to produce a formula for fireproof celluloid. Hoping to be made department head, Thompson (Hutcheson) stirs up chauvinist resentments when the appointment goes provisionally to Mary (Gunn), a serious young woman with no time for men; and he ensures that John (Hayward), already interested in Mary, is elected in a plot to distract her from her work. With the pair soon head-over-heels in love, Thompson throws another spanner in by telling Mary that John is actually making a play for her job, meanwhile ensuring that work comes to a standstill. Only John, though repulsed by the angry Mary, goes on working selflessly to find the formula... Scripts like this were the bread-and-butter of British movies, the difference being that Powell's stylishness, invention and impeccable direction of actors turn this one into a real charmer. Hayward and Gunn are touchingly sincere as the lovers, and Googie Withers (among several fine supporting performances) contributes a gem of a cameo as a pertly predatory secretary.