CAREFREE (DVD/P&S-1.33/ENG-FR-SP SUB) DVD

Carefree
It's more Ginger Rogers than Fred Astaire, and more comedy than singing and dancing in this Astaire-Rogers entry into the screwball comedy sweepstakes which features a top-of-the-line Irving Berlin score (Change Partners, I Used to be Color Blind, The Night is Filled with Music). Fred Astaire plays Dr. Tony Flagg, a psychiatrist, who enters the psyche of Amanda Cooper (Ginger Rogers), a radio singer whom Tony's friend Stephen Arden (Ralph Bellamy) takes to see him. It seems Arden thinks that Amanda needs psychiatric help since she can't reach a decision regarding Stephen's proposal of marriage to her. As Tony explores her subconscious dream life, she falls in love with him. Tony feels that her love is temporary -- merely a sign of transference. To channel her love in the right direction, Tony hypnotizes her to believe that she is in love with Stephen. But then things become more complicated when Tony comes to realize that he, in fact, is in love with Amanda himself. He now has to figure out a way to bring her out of her hypnosis and get her back to normal so that they can both fall into the clinch. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Cast Fred Astaire as Tony Flagg Ginger Rogers as Amanda Cooper Ralph Bellamy as Stephen Arden Luella Gear as Aunt Cora Jack Carson as Connors Clarence Kolb as Judge Travers Franklin Pangborn as Roland Hunter Walter Kingsford as Dr. Powers Kay Sutton as Miss Adams

Crew Carroll Clark - Art Director Van Nest Polglase - Art Director Fred Astaire - Choreography Hermes Pan - Choreography Howard Greer - Costume Designer Edward Stevenson - Costume Designer Argyle Nelson - First Assistant Director Mark Sandrich - Director Willaim Hamilton - Editor Victor Baravalle - Composer (Music Score) Irving Berlin - Composer (Music Score) Victor Baravalle - Musical Direction/Supervision Irving Berlin - Songwriter Mel Burns - Makeup Robert de Grasse - Cinematographer Pandro S. Berman - Producer Darrell Silvera - Set Designer Vernon Walker - Special Effects Hugh McDowell, Jr. - Sound/Sound Designer Hagar Wilde - Screen Story Dudley Nichols - Screen Story Allan G. Scott - Screenwriter Ernest Pagano - Screenwriter

Carefree
The Astaire-Rogers unit at RKO deserves credit for trying something different with Carefree. By 1938, the duo's pictures had fallen into a repetitious formula, and this film attempted to alter that formula a bit. As a result, there's less music and more comedy, less emphasis on Fred and more on Ginger, the suburbs substitute for the City, and Ginger (at least initially) chases Fred. Unfortunately, rather than making the film seem fresh, this all makes it seem disjointed; the pieces just don't fit together as naturally as they should. The dialogue is also not strong enough, a crucial factor when there's less music to enjoy. Irving Berlin's mini-score is quite good, with "Change Partners" a standout, and the "I Used to Be Colorblind" sequence is memorable, slow-motion photography and all. Astaire still gets a big dance solo, displaying his facility with a golf club; it's entertaining, but not his best. His performance overall is fine, but this time it's Rogers who gets to shine. Her drunken binge is especially noteworthy, a beautifully calibrated comedy. Carefree is fun and enjoyable, but one (perhaps unfairly) expects more from the screen's most celebrated dance team. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
 

Irving Berlin: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Song (nominated) Van Nest Polglase: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Art Direction (nominated) Victor Baravalle: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Score (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: Vintage musical short Public Jitterbug No. 1 Classic Cartoon September in the Rain Subtitles: English, Français, Español (feature film only). DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 83 min   DVD Chapters: Disc #1 -- "Carefree" 1. Credits [1:44] 2. Trouble With Amanda [3:56] 3. On the Record [4:18] 4. You Don't Play it [2:48] 5. Since They Turned Loch Lomond Into Swing [2:45] 6. Bikeoanalysis [2:33] 7. Dream-inducing Dining [4:19] 8. Relax, Cora [1:31] 9. I Used to Be Color Blind [4:21] 10. Marvelous Morning Meal [2:00] 11. Textbook Case [4:54] 12. Acting on Impulse [4:23] 13. Oddly Smashing [2:41] 14. Damage Control [3:44] 15. The Yam [8:00] 16. Amanda's Dilemma [3:45] 17. Hypnotic Suggestion [4:44] 18. Sure Shooting [3:47] 19. Gun Crazy [2:13] 20. Court Order [2:59] 21. Change Partners: Song [4:30] 22. Change Partners: Dance [2:54] 23. Wedding Day Spell [3:26] 24. Cast List [:30]