''No Time for Romance'' is a 1948 musical directed by

Corney Cook Corney is a small Human settlement, settlement in Cumbria, England, and located in the west of the Lake District. It is near the A595 road, in the civil parish of Waberthwaite and it is located north east of Bootle, Cumbria, Bootle and is 10 mi ...

. 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.

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 Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Wal ...

as J.T. Richards * Austin McCoy as Ted Wayne * Shirley Haven as Marie Gerald *

Joel Fluellen Joel Fluellen (December 1, 1907 – February 2, 1990) was an actor and an activist for the rights of African Americans. He appeared in the films ''The Jackie Robinson Story'', '' Perils of the Jungle'', ''Duffy of San Quentin'', ''Sitting Bull' ...

as Drums Miller *

Mildred Boyd Mildred Boyd (1908-1999) was an actress, a singer, and a dancer who was active in Hollywood from the 1920s through the 1950s. Like many Black actresses of her era, she was often cast as a maid or a nurse. Biography Boyd was born in Kingston, T ...

as Barbara Gerald * Jay Brooks as Lefty *

DeForest Covan DeForest Covan (September 9, 1917 - September 8, 2007) was an American actor, dancer, and former black vaudeville performer. From his first film appearance in 1936, in ''The Singing Kid'', his acting career stretched to the 1990s. In early 1978, ...

as Charlie Byron Ellis * Byron Ellis and

Louise Franklin Louise Franklin, nicknamed Beau and Bo, was a dancer and actress in the United States during the 1930s through 50s. From childhood, she was interested in various forms of dance and also practiced as an actress before starring in vaudeville roles wi ...

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 ''Sun Tan Ranch'' is a comedy western produced by Norwanda Pictures in 1948. Little is known about the film and its crew, not to mention whether a print of the film still exists. Like Norwanda's other 1948 production, ''No Time for Romance'', the ...

''—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.

References

1948 films 1940s musical films Films set in Los Angeles American musical films 1940s American films {{Musical-film-stub