NO TIME FOR COMEDY

 

This is a Jimmy Stewart film that I had never seen. The title of this film, which was produced by Warner Bros. in 1940, is somewhat ironic, because in my opinion there's not a lot of comedy in it. 

NO TIME FOR COMEDY is a film adaptation of a successful Broadway play that starred Laurence Olivier. Believe it or not, James Stewart plays the Olivier role--that of a playwright with the florid name of Gaylord Esterbrook. Before shooting, Warners had the Epstein brothers rewrite the story in order to suit Stewart better. (The main reason that Stewart was making this film for Warners is that David O. Selznick had an option on the actor, and he traded it to WB in exchange for Olivia de Havilland to play Melanie in GONE WITH THE WIND.) 

Stewart's Esterbrook is a naive fellow who comes to New York from Minnesota to help out in the preparation of the staging of a play he has written. The play becomes a hit, and Gaylord falls in love and marries the leading lady, Linda Page (Rosalind Russell). Gaylord writes four hit comedy plays for Linda in a row, but his success has stagnated his creative energies, and he's suffering from writer's block. At a party Gaylord meets a rich banker's wife named Amanda (Genevieve Tobin) who convinces him that he needs to write meaningful drama. Esterbrook starts spending more time with Amanda than his wife, and Linda starts to think that her marriage is doomed....but the fate of Gaylord's new serious play settles the situation for everyone involved. 

The way that NO TIME FOR COMEDY starts out, it might as well have been called MR. SMITH GOES TO BROADWAY. Gaylord is a folksy guy who is a fish out of water in the world of the high-class American stage (at one point he even goes chasing after fire engines like Longfellow Deeds). After the opening night success of Gaylord's play, he and Linda fall in love very quickly. In the second half of the film, Gaylord becomes an unlikable mope, worried about being a serious artist, and ignoring Linda. Needless to say, it's not enjoyable to see Stewart act in such a manner. 

As to be expected from an adaptation of a play, this is a very talky movie, with most of the scenes taking place in immaculate drawing rooms. Despite the star power and likability of Stewart and Russell, the characters are not very engaging (nearly every domicile in this story has a maid or a butler). 

One big problem is the idea that Stewart's Esterbrook would have any interest in the flighty woman played by Genevieve Tobin, especially when he's married to someone as sensible and assured as Russell's Linda. It's hard to have much concern over whether the Esterbrook's marriage will last. 

The supporting cast has plenty of familiar faces, and Charlie Ruggles gets the biggest laughs as Amanda's husband. Director William Keighley handles things efficiently, and the movie isn't terrible--but it lacks a certain spark. The poster above makes it seem like a screwball comedy, which it most decidedly is not. 

I'm sure that James Stewart enjoyed working with Rosalind Russell, but I'm also sure he probably wished that Warner Bros. had given him a better production to star in. It's too bad that Stewart and Russell were not able to appear together as a couple in a story that would have really given them a chance to shine.