When Warren William enters the action of Gold Diggers of 1933, he seems to be the standard issue upper class twit, present only to throw a wrench into the workings of true love and human goodness. But quite unexpectedly, he becomes a major love interest and from the first twitch of his pencil thin moustache, I found him completely captivating.

He's got elitist eyes that seem both bored and haughty at the same time, he fills out tailored pin stripes like he was born to wear them, and kisses his leading ladies with abandon. Just try to stay calm during the “crude and vulgar” kiss scene.

He was unfairly called the poor man's John Barrymore for his striking resemblance to the more popular actor. Today he is less known and remembered partly because of his tragic death at age 54; he left behind an impressive career, full of amoral characters, detectives, and lovers. Having only seen one of his films myself, I'm keen to get cracking on discovering more, particularly the one starring Bette Davis titled (wonderfully) Satan Met a Lady.