Fred and Ginger: 'Carefree'

I must admit I have a soft spot for “Carefree,” the eighth film with Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers and the first after a 15-month break.

“Carefree” is a breezy, fun film that works like a screwball comedy with music than what is expected from an Astaire/Rogers film. Even the look sets it apart from what had come before, ditching the art deco and urban glitter for wood and fieldstone, replacing swanky nightclubs with a country club.

Astaire plays Tony Flagg, a psychiatrist approached by friend Stephen Arden (Ralph Bellamy), who is having some problems with his fiancé Amanda Cooper (Rogers). Amanda initially rejects Tony as a quack but ultimately falls for him. Tony tries to get Amanda to refocus on Stephen but is drawn to her after she fabricates an elaborate recurring dream in order to continue seeing him.

“Carefree” reunites several key players from the Astaire/Rogers series, including Irving Berlin and director Mark Sandrich. Ginger was not happy that Sandrich was directing again, and she felt he treated her as a supporting member of the team. However, Ginger loved the role of Amanda, and it was a substantial one. She made three films during the break – “Stage Door” with Katharine Hepburn, which didn’t make money but was a hit with the critics; “Having Wonderful Time” with Douglas Fairbanks Jr.; and “Vivacious Lady,” opposite Jimmy Stewart, a delightful romantic comedy that demonstrated that Ginger didn’t need Fred to succeed in films. “Carefree” is really Ginger’s film, allowing her comedic abilities to shine, and it’s telling that the movie was renamed “Amanda” for its European release. 

 

Both Fred and Ginger were eager for the break. It wasn’t that they disliked each other; each wanted to demonstrate his/her individual abilities. Ginger succeeded; Fred less so. While he had spent his career first on stage with his sister Adele at his side and on film with Ginger at his side, Fred didn’t choose well for his first starring film role without either. “A Damsel in Distress” has its charming moments, but it plays like a Fred and Ginger film – minus Ginger. Joan Fontaine, in her first big role, isn’t a singer or dancer and looks lost in this film, and it only emphasizes how much the audience wishes she was Ginger. The film should have been far different in order to demonstrate what Fred was capable of, despite his doing some terrific solos. Thankfully that would come later.

So Fred and Ginger are back together in “Carefree,” and both are in terrific. The film was supposed to be filmed in color, and Berlin actually changed lyrics in songs to emphasize color. Unfortunately, due to cost, the idea of color was scrapped, so both Fred and Ginger would have to wait for their first color film appearances.

The first big number in “Carefree” is a marvelous Fred solo, one of his best in the series. “Since They Turned ‘Loch Lomond’ into Swing” puts Fred on the golf course and manages to incorporate golf clubs and some perfect golf drives. It’s one of Fred’s favorites and, like most of his solos, pure delight to watch. 

 

“I Used to Be Color Blind” would have been sensational in color (two of my books contain conflicting facts – one says a test of this sequence was filmed in color but it didn’t turn out, while another states color was vetoed before any filming began). Still, it’s marvelous to watch. It’s actually a number that Amanda dreams about, and the trick here is that it is filmed in slow motion. It’s a number filled with more lifts and jumps than most of the Fred and Ginger numbers as they move through a dreamy garden and over streams, the slow motion often leaving them airborne. The segment captures the pure joy of their movements and the expressions on their faces register that joy. The dance ends with a long kiss – actually a short peck extended due to the slow motion. It’s a rare occurrence in a Fred and Ginger film, because the dances always represented any physical displays of affection or passion. 

 

Ginger said Fred didn’t think much of “The Yam,” which is why she sings it initially before they begin dancing. This is the big production number, and it was created to cash in on such popular dances as the Big Apple and the Lambeth Walk. Although the name probably sank its popular appeal, it’s a tremendous sequence in the film as it physically moves in and out and back inside the country club, starting between the stars, engaging all of the guests. It then climaxes with a breathtaking display of physicality as Fred extends one leg onto various pieces of furniture around the room and then lifts Ginger as she leaps across his leg, the two flying around the room until the number ends.

Perhaps the best song in the film is the lovely “Change Partners,” which begins with Fred singing to Ginger as they dance with different partners across a crowded dance floor. Once alone outside, he entrances her in a lovely dance that is simply done. Such straightforward elegance is what the story demands at this point, and it’s that elegance that has always defined them and is what the audience wants.

The supporting cast may be new to the series but they are in fine form, including Jack Carson, Bellamy and Luella Gear.

Even though “Carefree” may not be considered by some one of the duo’s best films, I think it is underestimated. The tight story, marvelous numbers and confident performances from Fred and Ginger make this one a winner. Unfortunately, the end was drawing near for this dynamic duo for a number of reasons. First, Sandrich, unable to negotiate a better contract with RKO, left to set up a production deal at Paramount. Second, RKO – the major studio that seemed to teeter on the brink of financial ruin more often than the other major studio – was suffering once again. Third, because of the 15-month break, Fred and Ginger fell out of the top ten box office draws by the end of 1938, and while “Carefree” made money, it wasn’t the smash that earlier films were. Fourth, since Ginger had proven herself during the break, RKO was viewing her as one of its top stars and wanted to use her as such.

But Fred and Ginger still had one more film left before the end of the decade, and it would be very different from what they had made before.