"No Time for Love" is the middle of seven movies Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray made together. The two stars clicked in all of them; and in this one, Colbert clicks her camera to get photos of MacMurray. He plays Jim Ryan, a tough Irish sandhog whose brawn and handsome looks are attractive to a certain type of girl. But, Colbert's Katherine Grant is not of that type. The classes clash in this very witty, fast and furious comedy.
The film has a very good supporting cast as well. Katherine's sister, Hoppy, is played by Ilka Chase. The two live amidst the fashionable and proper of Upper Manhattan. Their crowd is mostly a silly, highbrow retinue of the rich and lazy. On the fringe are some eccentric hangers-on. Ryan's circle includes a bunch of rough and tumble construction workers, several of whom have some very funny lines. They include Rhys Williams as Clancy, Grant Withers as Pete Hanagan, John Kelly as Morrisey, and Alan Hale Jr. as the Union Checker.
Katherine thinks she belongs in her crowd of snobs and effete daytime boozers. But, she doesn't seem to fit well. When she gets an assignment to shoot the workers digging a highway tunnel beneath the East River, she meets Ryan. From then on, the sparks fly as a very snappy dialog takes us between a number of funny scenes. My favorite has little dialog. Katherine, her friend Henry (played by Paul McGrath) and Clancy go back into a tunnel flooded with muck to find her camera. I can see that Colbert is wearing long wading boots under her dress, but still, she slogs, wades and pushes her way through the mud until she's covered in it. The cast must have had a blast on the set shooting some of these scenes.
There's a riotous scene at Murphy's Restaurant when Katherine steps in to stop the "boys" from another fight. Instead, they play musical chairs. As Henry plays "Mary had a Little Lamb" on the piano, the burly men circle a row of chairs. All mayhem breaks out when the music stops. After a second round of this, the boys gang up on Morrissey who refused to leave the game. As the brawl moves outside the dining room, Ryan says to Katherine, "You're right. This is a lot better than fighting." She then pivots around and lands a slap square on his face that knocks him out of his chair. He gets back up, sits down, and exclaims with a big grin on his face, "Well!"
Another hilarious scene occurs when Katherine has a special shooting assignment. She has hired Ryan to help her carry equipment, set up props, etc. The dialog leads into the hilarity. Katherine: "No, we're working right here." Ryan: "Oh, anything good?" Katherine: "Special assignment. The Body Beautiful." Ryan: "Oh, where is she?" Katherine: "Who?" Ryan: "The ..what you said." Katherine walks off smiling and Mr. America enters wearing leopard skin trunks. The look on MacMurray's face is worth a long laugh. He and the muscle man go at each other with lines, and Ryan bumps into him, slugs him in the stomach and drops a light on his head.
Katherine breaks them apart and tells Ryan to leave the guy alone. Katherine: "Ryan, clean this mess out of the way." Ryan: "You just told me not to touch him." Katherine: "You know what I'm talking about. Now do it." In another scene, Ryan has borrowed Katherine's car for the night to impress his date. He just wants to leave it parked outside her apartment. Then ensues a hilarious phone conversation between the two. Then there's a scene when Katherine has a dream sequence. It's a laugh- out-loud riot – and a very good job of special effects for 1943. After a night of dreams, Katherine is sitting at the breakfast table when Hoppy comes in. Hoppy finds Katherine carrying on a hilarious conversation with an imaginary Ryan, and correcting his oafish table manners. This movie is dotted with little gems like that throughout.
This film came out in 1943. I wonder if the filmmakers didn't already have another film for the two stars lined up in four years – "The Egg and I." In her opening scene in "No Time for Love," Colbert's Katherine is taking still photos of a solitary egg. Was it just coincidence, or another little witty insert?
The repartee in this film runs to the very last line. This is one very funny, enjoyable film. The whole cast shines. And, while Colbert is her usual fine self, I think MacMurray's performance was over the top funny. I don't see how any of the cast could keep a straight face in most scenes. Or, perhaps they had to shoot many retakes?
The film has a very good supporting cast as well. Katherine's sister, Hoppy, is played by Ilka Chase. The two live amidst the fashionable and proper of Upper Manhattan. Their crowd is mostly a silly, highbrow retinue of the rich and lazy. On the fringe are some eccentric hangers-on. Ryan's circle includes a bunch of rough and tumble construction workers, several of whom have some very funny lines. They include Rhys Williams as Clancy, Grant Withers as Pete Hanagan, John Kelly as Morrisey, and Alan Hale Jr. as the Union Checker.
Katherine thinks she belongs in her crowd of snobs and effete daytime boozers. But, she doesn't seem to fit well. When she gets an assignment to shoot the workers digging a highway tunnel beneath the East River, she meets Ryan. From then on, the sparks fly as a very snappy dialog takes us between a number of funny scenes. My favorite has little dialog. Katherine, her friend Henry (played by Paul McGrath) and Clancy go back into a tunnel flooded with muck to find her camera. I can see that Colbert is wearing long wading boots under her dress, but still, she slogs, wades and pushes her way through the mud until she's covered in it. The cast must have had a blast on the set shooting some of these scenes.
There's a riotous scene at Murphy's Restaurant when Katherine steps in to stop the "boys" from another fight. Instead, they play musical chairs. As Henry plays "Mary had a Little Lamb" on the piano, the burly men circle a row of chairs. All mayhem breaks out when the music stops. After a second round of this, the boys gang up on Morrissey who refused to leave the game. As the brawl moves outside the dining room, Ryan says to Katherine, "You're right. This is a lot better than fighting." She then pivots around and lands a slap square on his face that knocks him out of his chair. He gets back up, sits down, and exclaims with a big grin on his face, "Well!"
Another hilarious scene occurs when Katherine has a special shooting assignment. She has hired Ryan to help her carry equipment, set up props, etc. The dialog leads into the hilarity. Katherine: "No, we're working right here." Ryan: "Oh, anything good?" Katherine: "Special assignment. The Body Beautiful." Ryan: "Oh, where is she?" Katherine: "Who?" Ryan: "The ..what you said." Katherine walks off smiling and Mr. America enters wearing leopard skin trunks. The look on MacMurray's face is worth a long laugh. He and the muscle man go at each other with lines, and Ryan bumps into him, slugs him in the stomach and drops a light on his head.
Katherine breaks them apart and tells Ryan to leave the guy alone. Katherine: "Ryan, clean this mess out of the way." Ryan: "You just told me not to touch him." Katherine: "You know what I'm talking about. Now do it." In another scene, Ryan has borrowed Katherine's car for the night to impress his date. He just wants to leave it parked outside her apartment. Then ensues a hilarious phone conversation between the two. Then there's a scene when Katherine has a dream sequence. It's a laugh- out-loud riot – and a very good job of special effects for 1943. After a night of dreams, Katherine is sitting at the breakfast table when Hoppy comes in. Hoppy finds Katherine carrying on a hilarious conversation with an imaginary Ryan, and correcting his oafish table manners. This movie is dotted with little gems like that throughout.
This film came out in 1943. I wonder if the filmmakers didn't already have another film for the two stars lined up in four years – "The Egg and I." In her opening scene in "No Time for Love," Colbert's Katherine is taking still photos of a solitary egg. Was it just coincidence, or another little witty insert?
The repartee in this film runs to the very last line. This is one very funny, enjoyable film. The whole cast shines. And, while Colbert is her usual fine self, I think MacMurray's performance was over the top funny. I don't see how any of the cast could keep a straight face in most scenes. Or, perhaps they had to shoot many retakes?