No Time For Love (1943) – A sophisticated female photographer (Claudette Colbert) reluctantly takes an assignment shooting a tunnel building crew. She meets a handsome and egotistical “sand hog” (Fred MacMurray) and sparks fly.
Directed: Mitchell Leisen Starring: Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray
This is a frothy little piece of cinematic cotton candy. With the world at war, Hollywood cranked out a lot of these funny little movies. Budgets were tight so none of these movies approach anything like an epic tale. That doesn’t stop it from being a fun little romp.
The movie does suffer a little from age. The male/female dynamics are rather dated. The slang may require a translator at times but the gist is usually pretty clear. At least, two of the male characters are recognizably gay to modern eyes. They are treated with the usual mix of affection and disdain. Hollywood knew how important that group of people was to their success but still looked down on them. It’s always struck me as an odd balancing act. The language is consistently dismissive, but in the end, it’s one of the gay characters that “saves the day”.
Some curious movie trivia in this one. Behind the scenes are two of the great names in costume design of the day – Edith Head and Irene (Lentz, but for her work in the movies she went by just her first name). Head is an icon in costume design. Irene was known for her gown designs and she does just that for Colbert here.
For me, MacMurray movies usually require a mental shift. In my head, he is always Steve Douglas from the 1960s TV series “My Three Sons”. In the movies he often played tough, even dangerous characters that are utterly unlike Mr. Douglas. The first time you see him here he is stripped to the waist and showing off a very impressive set of arms! MacMurray was the inspiration for the look of comic book hero Captain Marvel, and you can absolutely see that in this role. He even plays a superhero in a dream scene in the movie!
Why I Liked It – Some snappy dialogue, the rapid-fire pacing typical of comedies of the age and some great chemistry between MacMurray and Colbert. While dated and cliche, it’s still a fun little movie.
Why You Will Like It – If you’re less than forty years old and not a movie fanatic, my bet is that neither of the stars are familiar names to you. Colbert is the greatest loss to modern movie fans. This movie comes right at the end of her peak popularity years. A star on stage, big screen and little, Nominated for the Tony, the Oscar, the Golden Globe and an Emmy, winning an Oscar for “It Happened One Night” in 1934 and the Golden Globe for “The Two Mrs. Grenvilles” in 1987. Between the two of them, they bring a lot of fun to this simple “opposites attract” story.
Rating – *** Worth A Look
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