YES! I was just thinking the same thing!

I liked him. He reminded me of Orson Welles in The Third Man.

Actually, I'm not sure whom I found more annoying Emily Brent's prissiness, Bloor's obtuse behavior, Walter Huston's mugging while doing his best "Rhett Butler" impersonation, or Richard Haydn's milquetoast mumbling as the servant Rogers !
There should be a re-make, where annoying characters get their comeuppance wait, my mistake, that was already done in the original
Willie Wonka
!!
J'ai l'il AMRICAIN !

To each their own, I like Louis Hayward. A lot of young leading men in the '30s were just saccharine and bland. Hayward usually played those kinds of roles with a welcome bit of tongue in cheek.
"He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy! Now, piss off!" - Free speech forever!

I came to start a thread of a similar sentiment. His perpetual smirk just begs to be slapped off.
Not just in this film but generally, Louis Hayward was one of most unlikeable leading men of his era.
Love the film though despite this weak link.

Somehow I found him less annoying than the killer himself - and the killer's first victim.
Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!

Lombard was after the young woman. It would not be my approach, but I think the point is he got what he wanted. Sometimes a woman wants to be pursued. It certainly shows a level of interest.
If you were instead talking about his views of the others, remember he is one of two people who really were not "bad", and he at least knew he was not from the get go. May have affected his way of relating to them