Love Affair

Love Affair is a 1932 American pre-Code romance film based on Ursula Parrott's short story of the same name. The film is directed by Thornton Freeland and produced by Columbia Pictures. Love Affair follows an adventurous socialite (Dorothy Mackaill), who is in love with an aviation designer (Humphrey Bogart). Plot Wealthy socialite Carol Owen decides to take up flying. Gilligan sets her up with a homely instructor, but she requests dashing Jim Leonard instead. Jim has some fun, taking her through some aerobatic maneuvers that leave her queasy, but still game. For revenge, she gives him a lift into town in her sports car, driving at breakneck speeds. They begin seeing each other. Carol learns that Jim is designing a revolutionary aircraft engine, but cannot get any financial backing. She decides to give him a secret helping hand, persuading her skeptical financial manager, Bruce Hardy, to invest in the project. Hardy is only too pleased to oblige, as he has asked Carol numerous times to marry him. Hardy keeps a mistress on the side, aspiring stage actress Linda Lee. Unbeknownst to him, she is Jim's sister and in love with Georgie Keeler, a Broadway producer. Things become serious between Carol and Jim. He begins neglecting his work and eventually spends the night with her. The next day, he asks her to marry him. She realizes that she is distracting him from making a success of his engine and turns him down.