Carefree (1938)

A psychiatrist agrees to hypnotize his friend's girlfriend in order to convince her to accept his proposals of marriage, but she ends up falling for the psychiatrist instead.

Director:

Mark Sandrich

Writers:

Allan Scott (screen play), Ernest Pagano (screen play)

Stars:

Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Ralph Bellamy

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fred Astaire	...	Tony Flagg
Ginger Rogers	...	Amanda Cooper
Ralph Bellamy	...	Stephen Arden
Luella Gear	...	Aunt Cora
Jack Carson	...	Connors
Clarence Kolb	...	Judge Travers
Franklin Pangborn	...	Roland Hunter
Walter Kingsford	...	Dr. Powers
Kay Sutton	...	Miss Adams
The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir	...	Vocal Ensemble (scenes deleted) (as Robert B. Mitchell and his St. Brendan's Boys)

Storyline

Dr. Tony Flagg's friend, Steven, has problems in the relationship with his fiancee, Amanda, so he persuades her to visit Dr. Flagg. After some minor misunderstandings, she falls in love with Dr. Flagg. When he tries to use hypnosis to strengthen her feelings for Steven, things get complicated.

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Plot Keywords:

screwball comedy | singer | fiancee | psychiatrist | drunkenness | 

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Taglines:

Truck and shag and Susie Q; Tap and stomp and swing-a-roo! Wrap 'em up and holler "WHAM!" Here's the heat wave called THE YAM!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Of the ten Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers pairings, this movie contains the least musical sequences - just four.

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Goofs

In the golf sequence one of the 5 golf balls thrown on the solid base has rolled off onto the grass. After Fred has hit the first four balls, the camera cuts to a new angle and the last ball has moved from the grass to the solid base.

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Quotes

Judge Travers: Oh, fiddle-fuddle!

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Crazy Credits

During opening credits, a pair of hands writes the names, pauses, wipes them out, and writes the next set of names several times.

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Connections

Featured in Fred Astaire: Puttin' on His Top Hat (1980)

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Soundtracks

Carefree
(1938) (uncredited)
Music by Irving Berlin
Danced by Fred Astaire

User Reviews

Delightfully Naive and Adorable Classic

The upper-class Stephen Arden (Ralph Bellamy) brings his fiancée, the radio singer Amanda Cooper (Ginger Rogers), to be consulted by his friend, the psychoanalyst Dr. Tony Flagg (Fred Astaire), to improve their relationship. Amanda listens to the record made by Dr. Flagg about her and has an initial friction with the shrink. But sooner she falls in love with him and discloses her feelings to Dr. Flagg. He decides to hypnotize Amanda to loath him and love Stephen. However his subconscious makes him perceive that he also loves Amanda. But Stephen obtains a restrain order against his friend and he can not get close to Amanda to withdrawal his former hypnotic suggestion.

"Carefree" is a delightfully naive and adorable classic, with a silly story but wonderful dance numbers of the constant pair Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Ginger "steals" the film not only dancing, but also with a funny performance. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Dance Comigo" ("Dance with Me")

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 September 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Carefree

Filming Locations:

RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,253,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1