Without Love (1945)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

While not the best of the Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn pairings, this is a decent film about a platonic marriage. While predominantly a comedy, there are some marvelous dramatic exchanges between the two (for example, the scene where each describes why they don't want love again).Keenan Wynn lends levity with his alcoholic playboy role, and he is quite good at it. In fact, he is as likable in this film as I've ever seen him. Interesting also is a supporting role by a young Lucille Ball.There are times the script is witty and engaging, and other times it really seems to drag a bit. It's worth watching at least once, but it may not find a spot in your DVD collection, while most of the other Tracy/Hepburn films probably will.

In Wahington during WWII, a scientist and a rich widow enter into a marriage of convenience. Arguably the least well known of the nine films they co-starred in, Tracy and Hepburn are OK here but the script is nothing special. In fact, it's a rather silly affair about him developing a high altitude oxygen mask for fighter pilots and her becoming his assistant. Ball and Wynn provide some humor, and Grahame has a bit role in just her second film. The script is by the team that wrote "The Philadelphia Story," but the inspiration is lacking. It is directed by someone named Bucquet, who suffered an untimely death soon after making this, his last film.

The first 95% of this film was excellent. In particular, the dialog was first-rate--especially the very suggestive and smart-alecky lines given to supporting actress, Lucille Ball, though the rest of the cast all had some wonderful zingers scattered throughout the film. And the main idea of the plot--two people who marry out of convenience but come to love each other is marvelous. However, there is one small gripe and one big one about the film. The small one is that Katherine Hepburn's marriage proposal just seems to come out of thin air--with no indication WHY she would do this (other than the fact it was in the script, of course). But the biggest problem was that this film SHOULD have gotten a score of 8, but the ending was such a dud--a major letdown! Suddenly, the smart acting and hip dialog degenerated to a sickly sweet and annoying conclusion. It's a real shame, because with a smoother ending, this might have been among the best of the Tracy-Hepburn films.A final note--I think it was probably an inside joke and done intentionally, but when Katherine Hepburn is making faces in the mirror at herself, the reflection isn't totally in sync--especially at the very end. Watch the scene carefully and you'll see what I mean.

This is an excellent vehicle for Tracy-Hepburn, not their best but darn close to it. Cleverly made comedy.The whole cast is just fine, but I think this is Lucille Ball's all-time best feature film performance. She didn't have much opportunity for high-brow sophisticated parts, and as Kitty, the real estate agent and love interest for Keynan Wynn, Ball is just wonderful. What a shame she didn't get parts like this very often.Direction and set design is typical of MGM's best of the 1940's.Nifty film.....now if Warner Home Video would get around to releasing it on DVD, I'd be a happy camper.