I don’t want to tell where all of this leads, although you may well have your expectations. Shanahan plays George Love, the last name being laced with irony. While he can act the role of ardent lover, he doesn’t permit himself to love anyone. He is a con artist who finds women with some money, woos them and then robs them, moving on to the next opportunity.

His prey here is Maulella as Adelaide Pinchin, a milliner who is plain and resigned to being unlikely to attract a husband. Love comes on to her like gangbusters, spewing compliments and words of endearment. He is so blatantly full of blarney that one wonders how Adelaide could be so taken in. The answer lies in her pitiful vulnerability. Her self-esteem is so low that she would like the affection to be true, and there is a dynamic quality about Love that is attractive. What would she have to lose by accepting his offer of marriage?

But Adelaide is no fool. When she finally realizes what the situation really is, she develops her own agenda as a solution. Love is frightened at the mere thought of domesticity with this emotionally hungry woman, who could really make a good companion for him and end his life of crime and rootless existence.