No Time for Romance

No Time for Romance
Directed by	Corney Cook
Written by	Vivian Cosby
Produced by	Byron O. Anderson
Starring	Eunice Wilson Bill Walker Austin McCoy
Cinematography	Paul Cantonwine
Music by	Austin McCoy
Release date	1948 (1948)
Running time	70 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$60,000

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.[1][2]

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."[3]

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,[4] 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.[5] 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.[3][6][7][8]

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.[3] The film was released on VHS in 1991.[3]

References

1. "30 Sep 1948, 14 - California Eagle at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
2. "King Cole Trio on Ciggie Show". The California Eagle. 19 Aug 1948. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
3. "No Time for Romance". EW.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
4. "Sepia Firm Finishes First Film". California Eagle. 26 Aug 1948. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
5. "Norwanda Productions to Release First All-Sepia Full-Length Pic". The California Eagle. 14 Oct 1948. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
6. Leyda, Julia (2016). American Mobilities: Geographies of Class, Race, and Gender in US Culture. Columbia University Press.
7. Richards, Larry (2015-09-17). African American Films Through 1959: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Filmography. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1052-8.
8. Cripps, Thomas (1993). Making Movies Black: The Hollywood Message Movie from World War II to the Civil Rights Era. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507669-1.