No Time for Romance is a 1948 musical directed by Corney Cook. The film was noted for having an all-Black cast and for being one of the few all-Black films to be filmed in color during the era.
Contents
Plot
A struggling L.A. nightclub performer (Eunice Wilson) and bandleader (Austin McCoy) have a shot at success with their new song, "A Lovely Day."
Cast
Eunice Wilson as Cynda Drake
Bill Walker as J.T. Richards
Austin McCoy as Ted Wayne
Shirley Haven as Marie Gerald
Joel Fluellen as Drums Miller
Mildred Boyd as Barbara Gerald
Jay Brooks as Lefty
DeForest Covan as Charlie Byron Ellis
Byron Ellis and Louise Franklin as Byron and Beau Dance Team
Ray Martin as Ringer Gordon
Production
Shot in Burbank, California, for a budget of around $60,000, No Time for Romance was intended to be the first feature of six produced by Norwanda Pictures, a motion picture company owned and operated by Black filmmakers. However, it appears that the company folded shortly after making No Time for Romance, although the 1948 western Sun Tan Ranch—which features many of the same actors—appears to also have been a Norwanda Pictures production.
Release
The film showed in a few Black theaters in Los Angeles but was mostly forgotten about until the producer's daughter discovered the film in the family attic in 1983. The film was released on VHS in 1991.