Feel the G-forces, lady?
It may have Bogart in it, but he’s a very young Bogart, with just hints of what he’ll become. Love Affair (1932) is a stilted affair, and the version we saw had a hissing audio which served to underline the problems in this film: characters who didn’t ring true, dialog with no imagination, delivered after uncertain pauses, and a story that didn’t drag us into its clutches.
I don’t wish to suggest it’s entirely without virtue, as the opening scene is quite engaging as Bogart, a pilot, takes a pretty young socialite up in his biplane for some stunt flying. It’s fun and the two develop a fair bit of chemistry, between doing loopedy loops and holding down the vomit. But then we veer off into random social torture, the vicissitudes of the Great Depression and the lusts, however politely held in check, of older men, and, oh, I’ll tell you that this had twists and turns – and I didn’t care. This is Bogart still learning his craft, his face uncarved, merely a pretty boy.
And while there are some nice parts, you have to tramp through too much to get to it.
