Sunday, March 27, 2016

Movie review - "Carefree" (1938) **

The first Astaire-Rogers film to lose money. To give the filmmakers credit they tried to move on some the frothy misunderstandings and mix ups with characterised their earlier works to tackle something more serious - to wit, psychiatry.

Ralph Bellamy - better known as "poor old Ralph Bellamy" - is in love with Ginger Rogers but he won't marry him so he sends her to see shrink Fred Astaire to cure her. It's a bit yuck that Bellamy does this and that Astaire falls for Rogers (watching a shrink fall for a patient was never going to be a great frothy musical comedy idea).

It only goes for 80 minutes but feels longer. There are only four musical numbers which are extremely well done. But the main thing about this is the story. It's horrible that Astaire brainwashes Rogers into not being in love with him, then the climax involves her getting punched in the face, and the last shot has her going down the aisle with a black eye. It's awful.

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