No Time for Love

Claudette Colbert is a busy, successful and rather self-satisfied photographer on a popular picture magazine. Sent to do a story on a crew tunneling under the river, she encounters brash and beefy laborer Fred MacMurray. Not surprisingly, the two complete opposites take an instant dislike to each other. It's equally not surprising when they can't stay away from each other.

Yes, the plot is pretty predictable, but Colbert and MacMurray manage to entertain nevertheless. Fred is the kind of guy who talks tough but is nobody's fool when it comes to using his brains when he needs to invent a new machine to get his work done. Claudette, on the other hand, lives the intellectual life among magazine editors and pianists-but, it turns out, isn't afraid to get her feet muddy when it comes to helping a friend.

Rhys Williams is a good sport as MacMurray's pal from the tunnel. June Havoc is just right as the dancer who hangs out with Fred but can't compete with Claudette: fun-loving, slightly obnoxious, and just sympathetic enough that we almost feel bad for her.

Highlights include a sequence in the tunnel where mud is seeping through the walls and MacMurray's team-and Colbert-are in it up to their waists. There's also a hilarious bit where Colbert convinces the men to play musical chairs instead of throwing a fight. (They try it, it turns into a fight.)

Quite enjoyable, overall, thanks mainly to the personalities of the two stars. Colbert and MacMurray really are hard to resist.