CAREFREE

This 1938 musical is the seventh outing (of nine) for Fred and Ginger, and there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s not their best work.

The blame for this lies with RKO Studios who were fretting about the rising cost of these vehicles, and as a result this one feels more like a Robin Reliant than a Rolls Royce.

It has a short running time, with a bare minimum of musical numbers (written by Irving Berlin, mostly in something of a rush) and it is devoid of any glamour or spectacle.

Having said that, second rate Astaire and Rogers is still better than most.

Fred is oddly cast as a psychiatrist whose friend Steve wants him to sort out why his girlfriend (played by Ginger) won't marry him. The reason might simply be that Steve is played by boring Ralph Bellamy. 

Of course it’s not long before Fred and Ginger fall in love.

She realises this when she has a dream in which they dance (what else?) and which ends in what for them is quite a long kiss (sadly not in closeup). Part of the dance is in slow motion which is a lovely opportunity to appreciate their synchronicity.

Apart from this sequence they only get to dance together twice, one of which is to a song so silly that Fred refused to bring himself to sing it.

The highlight therefore is the short and sublime dance they perform near the end when she is in a hypnotised trance (don’t ask).

The plot is daft even by the standard of these things but there are some occasional laughs, mainly provided by Steve’s Aunt Cora who gets some funny lines.

At the very least this should appeal to those who like their musicals to be frivolous rather than pretentious.