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Carefree (film)
Encyclopedia
Carefree is a 1938 musical film
starring Fred Astaire
and Ginger Rogers
. With a plot similar to screwball comedies
of the period, Carefree is the shortest of the Astaire-Rogers films, featuring only four musical numbers. Carefree is often remembered as the film in which Astaire and Rogers shared a long on-screen kiss at the conclusion of their dance to "I Used to Be Color Blind
," all previous kisses having been either quick pecks or simply implied.
Carefree was a reunion for the Astaire and Rogers after a brief hiatus following Shall We Dance. The next film in the series, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
(1939), would be their final RKO film together, although they would reunite in 1949 for MGM's The Barkleys of Broadway
.
) does his friend Stephen Arden (Ralph Bellamy
) a favor by taking on his fiancee, Amanda Cooper (Ginger Rogers
), as a patient. Amanda, a singer on the radio, can't seem to make a decision about Stephen's many proposals of marriage, so Tony probes her subconscious, but in the process Amanda falls in love with him. He tries to cure her with hypnosis, but this only leads to chaos, as Amanda wanders around in a carefree hypnotic state.
in Pasadena, California
, and at the Columbia Ranch.
The number "I Used To Be Color Blind" was originally planned to be shot in Technicolor, but color-tests were made, and the transitions from black-and-white to color did not look good, so the idea was dropped. RKO felt that the expense of having the entire film in color was not justified, as the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers films had always drawn well without it.
Astaire didn't like "mushy love scenes," and preferred that lovemaking between him and Rogers be confined to their dances. Because rumors sprang up that Astaire's wife wouldn't let him kiss onscreen, or that Rogers and Astaire didn't like each other, Astaire agreed to the long kiss at the end of "I Used to Be Color Blind", "to make up for all the kisses I had not given Ginger for all those years."
Besides the number ""Let's Make the Most of Our Dream," another scene that was dropped from the released film was one where Astaire tries to analyze a scatter-brained patient, played by Grace Hayle.
The film was released on 2 September 1938. The previous Astaire-Rogers film, Shall We Dance, had been released in May of 1937, and the 16 month gap between the films was the longest between Astaire-Rogers films to that date.
Cast notes
, and with the exception of "Change Partners," which he had written for Astaire and Rogers years before, he wrote them all over the course of a few days, while on vacation in Phoenix, Arizona
.
An army of uncredited orchestrators contributed to the catchy settings of the tunes, principally among them Broadway's Robert Russell Bennett
and future MGM stalwart Conrad Salinger
.
As usual, Astaire created the choreography, with the help of his principal collaborator Hermes Pan
. In preparation for The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
, the Astaire-Rogers film which was already scheduled to follow Carefree, the choreography for this film contains more lifts than usual.
Carefree was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Art Direction (Van Nest Polglase
), Best Musical Scoring (Victor Baravalle
) and Best Song "Change Partners
",
written by Irving Berlin
.
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
starring Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
. With a plot similar to screwball comedies
Screwball Comedy
Screwball Comedy is an album by the Japanese band Soul Flower Union. The album found the band going into a simpler, harder-rocking direction, after several heavily world-music influenced albums.-Track listing:...
of the period, Carefree is the shortest of the Astaire-Rogers films, featuring only four musical numbers. Carefree is often remembered as the film in which Astaire and Rogers shared a long on-screen kiss at the conclusion of their dance to "I Used to Be Color Blind
I Used to Be Color Blind
"I Used to Be Color Blind" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1938 film Carefree, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire.-Notable recordings:*Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook...
," all previous kisses having been either quick pecks or simply implied.
Carefree was a reunion for the Astaire and Rogers after a brief hiatus following Shall We Dance. The next film in the series, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle is an American biographical musical comedy, released in 1939 and directed by H.C. Potter. The film stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver, and Walter Brennan....
(1939), would be their final RKO film together, although they would reunite in 1949 for MGM's The Barkleys of Broadway
The Barkleys of Broadway
The Barkleys of Broadway is a 1949 musical film from the Arthur Freed unit at MGM that reunited Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers after ten years apart...
.
Plot
Psychiatrist Dr. Tony Flagg (Fred AstaireFred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
) does his friend Stephen Arden (Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy was an American actor whose career spanned sixty-two years.-Early life:He was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lilla Louise , a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was fifteen and managed to get into a road show...
) a favor by taking on his fiancee, Amanda Cooper (Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
), as a patient. Amanda, a singer on the radio, can't seem to make a decision about Stephen's many proposals of marriage, so Tony probes her subconscious, but in the process Amanda falls in love with him. He tries to cure her with hypnosis, but this only leads to chaos, as Amanda wanders around in a carefree hypnotic state.
Production
Carefree was in production from 14 - 15 April 1938 (the golf-ball number) and from 9 May to 21 July. Location filming was done at Busch GardensBusch Gardens
Busch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of Blackstone Group. One of the parks is in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the other is in Tampa, Florida...
in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, and at the Columbia Ranch.
The number "I Used To Be Color Blind" was originally planned to be shot in Technicolor, but color-tests were made, and the transitions from black-and-white to color did not look good, so the idea was dropped. RKO felt that the expense of having the entire film in color was not justified, as the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers films had always drawn well without it.
Astaire didn't like "mushy love scenes," and preferred that lovemaking between him and Rogers be confined to their dances. Because rumors sprang up that Astaire's wife wouldn't let him kiss onscreen, or that Rogers and Astaire didn't like each other, Astaire agreed to the long kiss at the end of "I Used to Be Color Blind", "to make up for all the kisses I had not given Ginger for all those years."
Besides the number ""Let's Make the Most of Our Dream," another scene that was dropped from the released film was one where Astaire tries to analyze a scatter-brained patient, played by Grace Hayle.
The film was released on 2 September 1938. The previous Astaire-Rogers film, Shall We Dance, had been released in May of 1937, and the 16 month gap between the films was the longest between Astaire-Rogers films to that date.
Cast
- Fred AstaireFred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
as Tony Flagg - Ginger RogersGinger RogersGinger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
as Amanda Cooper - Ralph BellamyRalph BellamyRalph Bellamy was an American actor whose career spanned sixty-two years.-Early life:He was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lilla Louise , a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was fifteen and managed to get into a road show...
as Stephen Arden - Luella Gear as Aunt Cora
- Jack CarsonJack CarsonJohn Elmer "Jack" Carson was a Canadian-born U.S.-based film actor.Jack Carson was one of the most popular character actors during the 'golden age of Hollywood', with a film career spanning the 1930s, '40s and '50s...
as Thomas Connors - Clarence KolbClarence KolbClarence William Kolb was an American vaudeville performer and actor.He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the only child of second generation Austrian parents who owned a local meat company....
as Judge Joe Travers - Franklin PangbornFranklin PangbornFranklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor. Pangborn was famous for small, but memorable roles, with a comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W.C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break...
as Roland Hunter - Walter KingsfordWalter KingsfordWalter Kingsford was a British stage, film and television actor born in Redhill, Surrey, England. He was born Walter Pearce and had several sisters...
as Dr. Powers - Kay Sutton as Miss Adams
Cast notes
- Hattie McDanielHattie McDanielHattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
appears briefly as a maid - RKO borrowed Ralph Bellamy from Columbia PicturesColumbia PicturesColumbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
for this film.
Songs
The songs in Carefree were all written by Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
, and with the exception of "Change Partners," which he had written for Astaire and Rogers years before, he wrote them all over the course of a few days, while on vacation in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
.
An army of uncredited orchestrators contributed to the catchy settings of the tunes, principally among them Broadway's Robert Russell Bennett
Robert Russell Bennett
Robert Russell Bennett was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers. In 1957 and 2008, Bennett received Tony Awards...
and future MGM stalwart Conrad Salinger
Conrad Salinger
Conrad Salinger was an American arranger, orchestrator and composer, who studied classical composition at the Paris Conservatoire. He is credited with orchestrating nine productions on Broadway from 1931 to 1938, and over seventy-five motion pictures from 1931 to 1962...
.
As usual, Astaire created the choreography, with the help of his principal collaborator Hermes Pan
Hermes Pan (choreographer)
Hermes Pan was an American dancer and choreographer, principally celebrated as Fred Astaire's choreographic collaborator on the famous 1930s movie musicals starring Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Early life:...
. In preparation for The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle is an American biographical musical comedy, released in 1939 and directed by H.C. Potter. The film stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver, and Walter Brennan....
, the Astaire-Rogers film which was already scheduled to follow Carefree, the choreography for this film contains more lifts than usual.
- "Since They Turned 'Loch Lomond' into Swing" - Fred Astaire came up with the idea of hitting golf balls for this number, and spent two weeks rehearsing it. It was shot three weeks before the rest of the film, with Astaire performing to a piano track – the orchestrated arrangement was added later. Because of the difficulty of the action, the performance was pieced together from multiple takes, which was very unusual for Astaire, who preferred his dance numbers to be made from a minimum number of long takes.
- "I Used to Be Color BlindI Used to Be Color Blind"I Used to Be Color Blind" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1938 film Carefree, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire.-Notable recordings:*Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook...
" - The dance for this number was shot at four times normal speed to create the slow-motion effect seen when the film is shown at normal speed.
- "The Night Is Filled With Music" (instrumental) - RKO had hired Ray Hendricks to sing this song, but it was dropped from the production and survived only as an instrumental.
- "The Yam" - Fred Astaire reportedly thought this song was silly, and refused to sing it, which is why Ginger Rogers sings it alone — although they do dance together after the vocal section. Eventually he made a record of it, which can be heard in his collected works.
- "Change PartnersChange Partners"Change Partners" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1938 film Carefree, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. Hit records included Astaire, Ozzie Nelson and Jimmy Dorsey...
" - The only song from this film which had an afterlife, "Change Partners" was nominated for an Academy Award.
- Another number, "Let's Make the Most of Our Dream," a second dream sequence, was filmed but deleted.
Reception
Carefree received generally mixed reviews when it was released, although the critic for the Motion Picture Herald, William R. Weaver, called it "the greatest Astaire-Rogers picture." The film earned $1.7 million, but lost the studio $68,000.Carefree was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Art Direction (Van Nest Polglase
Van Nest Polglase
Van Nest Polglase was an American art director. He was nominated for six Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. Best remembered as head of the design department at RKO Pictures, he worked on 333 films between 1925 and 1957.He was born in Brooklyn, New York and died in Los Angeles,...
), Best Musical Scoring (Victor Baravalle
Victor Baravalle
Victor Baravalle was an Italian born composer and conductor. He conducted the orchestra for the Broadway premiere production of Show Boat in 1927, as well as for the original stage productions of nine other Jerome Kern shows, among them The Cat and the Fiddle, Music in the Air, and Roberta...
) and Best Song "Change Partners
Change Partners
"Change Partners" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1938 film Carefree, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. Hit records included Astaire, Ozzie Nelson and Jimmy Dorsey...
",
written by Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
.