''The Love Test'' is a 1935 British

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film directed by

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a seri ...

and starring Judy Gunn,

Louis Hayward Louis Charles Hayward (19 March 1909 – 21 February 1985) was a Johannesburg-born, British-American actor. Biography Born in Johannesburg, Louis Hayward lived in South Africa and was educated in France and England, including Latymer Upper Scho ...

David Hutcheson David Hutcheson (14 June 1905 – 18 February 1976) was a British character actor. He made his film debut in ''Fast and Loose'' in 1930 and played his only lead role in 1934's '' Romance in Rhythm''. He went on to specialise in hooray henrys, sil ...

Googie Withers Georgette Lizette Withers, CBE, AO (12 March 191715 July 2011), known professionally as Googie Withers, was an English entertainer who was a dancer and actress with a lengthy career spanning some nine decades in theatre, film, and television. ...

and

Thorley Walters Thorley Swinstead Walters (12 May 1913 – 6 July 1991) was an English character actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in '' Two-Way Stretch'' and '' Carlton-Browne of the FO''. Early life Walters was born in T ...

. It was made as a

Quota quickie The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 ('' 17 & 18 Geo. V'') was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. It received Royal Assent on 20 December 1927 and came into force on 1 April 1928. D ...

Plot

When a woman is made the head of a chemistry laboratory, her colleagues hatch a plot to make her fall in love, and neglect her work duties.

Cast

* Judy Gunn as Mary Lee *

as John Gregg *

as Thompson (as Dave Hutcheson) *

as Minnie *

Morris Harvey Morris Harvey (25 September 187724 August 1944) was a British actor and writer. A renowned character actor, he also wrote for the stage, including material for Broadway revues, in which he also appeared. He was the stepfather of film director Ant ...

as Company President *

Aubrey Dexter Aubrey Dexter (March 29, 1898 – May 2, 1958) was a British stage and film actor. Partial filmography * '' East of Shanghai'' (1931) - Colonel (uncredited) * '' Loyalties'' (1933) - Kentman (uncredited) * '' Out of the Past'' (1933) - David ...

as Vice-President * Eve Turner as Kathleen *

Bernard Miles Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE (27 September 190714 June 1991) was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre that opened in the City of London since the 17th ce ...

as Allan * Jack Knight as Managing Director * Gilbert Davis as Hosiah Smith, Chief Chemist *

Shayle Gardner Shayle Gardner (22 August 1890 – 17 May 1945) was an actor from New Zealand actor. Partial filmography * ''The Indian Love Lyrics'' (1923) * '' St. Elmo'' (1923) * '' The Chinese Bungalow'' (1926) * ''Tommy Atkins'' (1928) * '' Sailors Don't Car ...

as Night Watchman * James Craig as Boiler Man *

as Chemist * Ian Wilson as Chemist

Production

The chemistry laboratory is trying to find a way to make the

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wa ...

used to make toy dolls in a non-flammable form. There are obvious resonances to the problem with the highly flammable

celluloid Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common contemporary ...

used to make films like this one. Withers made four quota quickies with Powell, who she found a "difficult man",.Interview with Googie Withers conducted by Francine Stock, ''The Film Programme'', BBC Radio 4, 25 December 2009

Bibliography

* Chibnal, Steve. ''Quota Quickies : The Birth of the British 'B' Film''. London: BFI, 2007. * Powell, Michael. ''A Life in Movies: An Autobiography''. London: Heinemann, 1986. .

References

External links

* * *
''The Love Test''
reviews and articles at th
Powell & Pressburger Pages
1935 films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Michael Powell Films by Powell and Pressburger 1935 romantic comedy films British romantic comedy films British black-and-white films 1930s British films {{1930s-romantic-comedy-film-stub