Love Affair

Dorothy Mackaill plays a wealthy heiress who falls for an aviation engineer played by Humphrey Bogart. He’s developed a revolutionary new airplane engine but neglects his struggling company to romance her.

In a bit of pre-code reality, they spend the night together. He proposes the next morning but—almost broke and realizing she’s dragging him down—she says no. He throws himself into his work and—well, you can see where this is going.

Bogart’s sister and Mackaill’s would-be suitor are also an item that—in a refreshing surprise—wraps up without devolving into an idiot plot. Bogart acquits himself well in a good part, but Mackaill carries the movie with her considerable charisma.