One of Hollywood’s most famous couples, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn first paired together for 1942’s Woman of the Year. They quickly followed that with 1942’s Keeper of the Flame, but their third mutual flick waited until 1945 and Without Love.

Due to the war effort, virtually all lodging in Washington DC becomes occupied. Desperate for space to conduct tests on his military inventions, Pat Jamieson (Tracy) locates room in a house owned by Jamie Rowan (Hepburn).

The pair initially dislikes each other. However, as they get better acquainted, a strong friendship blossoms.

Due to past relationships, both Pat and Jamie swear off romantic love, so they decide to get married in a platonic situation. Along the way, they find deeper feelings in spite of their attitudes.

No one who ever saw a romantic comedy can claim to call that last sentence a spoiler. Love offers the stereotypical tale of the couple who initially dislikes each other but connects by the end.

With a movie like this, the possible charm comes from the way the filmmakers tell the story. We can tolerate the predictable nature of this sort of flick as long as it finds something enjoyable and engaging to keep us with it.

For its first act, Love manages to do so, mainly because it remains light and lively. With a screwball tone and amusing moments, the movie’s opening segment promises a brisk affair.

Alas, Love too soon embraces a more maudlin tone, essentially around the time Pat and Jamie tell us their backstories. When we learn why both refuse romance, the film goes down a more morose path and it loses its prior energy.

It doesn’t help that 110 minutes seems far too long for a story like this. Love pads that running time with all sorts of unnecessary moments, none of which add to the overall package.

Love occasionally sparks to life when it indulges in the secondary romantic tale of Jamie’s cousin Quentin Ladd (Keenan Wynn) and her real estate agent Kitty Trimble (Lucille Ball). Though meant mainly as comic relief, those two show much more spark and personality than do the leads, so we tend to wish Love would focus on them.

Whatever real-life connection they enjoyed, Tracy and Hepburn fail to demonstrate that chemistry here. It doesn’t help that the film tries to convince us Jamie’s 10 years younger than Hepburn’s actual age – heck, I’m not sure Hepburn ever looked 28! - but even without that, the leads don’t charm the way they should.

Without Love never turns into a bad movie, but it does deliver a sluggish one. Despite Hollywood legends on the screen, it brings us a dull affair.

Without Love appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Despite a few inconsistencies, this became a fairly positive presentation.

In general, sharpness satisfied, as the movie usually appeared well-defined. Some softness popped up for the occasional shot – often due to smeared photography intended to make Katharine Hepburn look younger - but the majority of the flick boasted nice delineation.

Shimmering and jaggies remained absent, and edge haloes also failed to appear. The movie’s grain structure felt natural, and print flaws failed to mar the proceedings..

Blacks appeared deep and dark, and contrast came across well. Shadows generally held up nicely, though a few nighttime exteriors displayed a bit of murkiness. Though the image didn’t excel, it still gave us a mostly appealing transfer.

Similar thoughts greeted the sturdy LPCM monaural soundtrack of Love, as it held up nicely over the decades. Speech could seem a bit thin at times, but lines were intelligible and concise enough.

Music and effects displayed the expected restricted dynamic range, but they showed acceptable clarity and didn’t suffer from distortion. The mix lacked pops, clicks, hum, or other defects. This was a more than competent track for a movie from 1945.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we find two 1945 short films: Purity Squad (19:52) and Swing Shift Cinderella (7:46).

The former provides a live-action reel tells of a pharmaceutical company that rushes an unsafe product to the market. Squad essentially offers a public service announcement, one that borders on pro-government propaganda. It’s too long and not very interesting.

As for Shift, it brings an animated mix of Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderall. While not a classic, it comes with some laughs and charm.

Despite their vaunted real-life relationship, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy fail to connect in Without Love. They find themselves stuck in a long, slow movie that their talents can’t redeem. The Blu-ray comes with generally good picture, adequate audio and minor supplements. After an engaging first act, this one turns into a chore to watch.