Carefree

Carefree, directed by Mark Sandrich, is a musical comedy, one of nine films pairing Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, about a psychiatrist reluctantly agreeing to analyze his best friend's fiancee, only to fall for her himself while trying to uncover her subconscious fears through hypnosis. To quell rumors about Astaire's reluctance to kiss on screen, he is said to have agreed to a lingering kiss with Rogers at the end of the film's final number. Despite earning three Academy Award nominations, for art direction, score, and the song "Change Partners," the film is considered one of the weaker entries in the duo's partnership; with only four musical numbers and a runtime of 83 minutes, it was their shortest RKO collaboration, and closed with a loss of 68,000 dollars according to studio records. Who it's for: anyone curious about the one entry in the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers partnership where the two rarely seen actually kiss on screen. Who it's not for: those looking for the duo's strongest, most musically packed collaboration, since this is one of the shortest and weakest performing entries in their series.