RKO's Carefree

The 8th pairing of Fred and Ginger brings us RKO's Carefree co-starring Jack Carson and one of my favorite side players, Ralph Bellamy on loan from Columbia. Fred is Dr. Tony, a psychiatrist who is asked by Stephen (Bellamy) to analyze his fiancee Amanda (Rogers). 

The title intro to this film is extremely unique with finger painting to spell out the players and play makers.  

Amanda keeps putting off the wedding, so Tony agrees to analyze his pal's girl. Before he meets her, he takes down a few verbally recorded anecdotal notes predicting her behavior...they aren't nice.

Amanda is optimistic about her visit with the doctor until she is left alone in his office. There she  stumbles upon Tony's recordings and she is furious! Once Tony returns, the visit does not go well and Amanda now loathes him. After some persuading, Stephen convinces Tony to see Amanda again and he agrees. This time at the country club, where Amanda, who is still not over it, mocks Tony when she sees him play golf.

 Sport shooting is always better when you're dripping in jewels.

Dr. Tony tries some fancy golfing footwork to smooth things over with Amanda, still unaware what went wrong. Tony finally realizes why Amanda is so mean to him when they meet up for a bike ride. She tells him how she listened to his notes, and Tony apologizes. Then they become pals and Tony tries to find out why Amanda is hesitant to marry Stephen.

The patterned tie top, white shorts, and frayed sunhat, love the look Amanda!

After some analyzing and dancing (naturally), Amanda agrees to try a dream technique to dive into her subconscious and help her get to the root of her problems. 

Take a look at this room! This film was art directed by the great Van Nest Polglase (whom we will do a special write up later) and set decorated by Darrell Silvera. Hand painted murals over the fireplace, rounded puff couch, scone lighting.... and this set is in the film for less than 5 minutes.

The next scene takes us to the restaurant where Tony orders "dream inducing foods" which should help Amanda enter swiftly into dreamland so Dr. Tony can analyze away. I love this scene! They order lobster with "gobs" of mayonnaise, shrimp cocktail with whipped cream, and cucumbers in buttermilk! The waiter can't believe it. 

 Instead of hugging the toilet all night, Amanda goes to sleep and dreams...but of Tony! This fun dream sequence has them frolicking in a garden with a lovely painted backdrop.

When Amanda wakes up she very well can't tell Tony that she dreamed about him. Eventually she spills the beans to Tony that she is in love with him and he freaks out. He is trying to get her to marry Stephen! He talks her into letting him hypnotize her so that she will hate him and love Stephen and it works. Trouble is, she gets out while still "under" and goes to work doing a radio spot while under Tony's spell.  A hot mess for Amanda, but very amusing to us.

Just like the eyeball top Rosalind Russell wears in "The Women", I can't get over this heart and arrow sweater!

In the process, and while trying to figure our a way to get all involved out of this pickle, Tony has some self reflection and realizes that he loves Amanda too. What about his friendship with Stephen?  He has already convinced Amanda that she loves Stephen, is it too late?

Before the wedding, Tony must decide if he wants to set the record straight or let Amanda marry Stephen under the arranged spell.

Carefree was nominated for three Oscars for art direction, musical scoring, and original song - the now well known "Change Partners and Dance With Me". Alas it won none. This film was intended to have a Technicolor scene, the number called "I Used to Be Color Blind", but after testing the quality was not up to par and the idea was scrapped. This is the only Ginger and Fred film where Astaire's character is not in show business. I find this film to be cute and delightful as a Fred and Ginger show. A definite favorite in my book!

Art Directors Maurice Ransford and Lyle R. Wheeler: The Boys of Twentieth Century Fox

I've spoken about the great Cedric Gibbons and Edwin B. Willis here on The Affair, and although I am a huge fan of their work, I also cannot exclude the dream team over at Fox, Maurice Ransford and Lyle R. Wheeler.  

Some of my favorite films were art directed by these men, and separately and collaboratively they created some of the best and well known sets in Hollywood. Ransford joined Fox in 1940 and Wheeler came in 1944, both working together inclusively until Wheeler left Fox in the 1950s.  

Maurice Ransford was born in Indiana in 1896. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in architecture and worked as one for over 10 years. He joined Twentieth Century Fox in 1940 and quickly became art director. He worked at Fox for 21 years until his retirement in 1961. 

Ransford was an architect first and foremost, and used these skills in his time as art director using real blueprints, and constructing sets with detail and stability. He was nominated for three Academy Awards for Titanic, The Foxes and Harrow, and Leave Her To Heaven. He died in San Diego in 1968 at the age of 72.

Lyle R. Wheeler was born in Massachusetts and graduated with a degree in architecture from USC. He worked as a magazine illustrator and industrial designer before joining MGM in 1931. Wheeler worked as a layout artist for Cedric Gibbons and was quickly promoted to assistant art director. In 1939 he worked on Gone With the Wind designing sets for Tara and suggesting they light the old sets from King Kong and King of Kings on fire for the film's burning of Atlanta scenes. 

He joined Fox in 1944 as supervising art director and became head of the department. There he worked until 1960 with his last film being the Marilyn Monroe picture, Let's Make Love. He was nominated for 29, yes 29 Oscars, and won 6 notably for Gone With the Wind and The King and I. 

Wheeler fell on hard times in his later years and had to sell his home and put his awards in a storage unit, which he then couldn't pay for and was auctioned off. The Oscars were lost. An empathetic stranger reached out and helped him retrieve at least one of them before his death in 1990 at the age of 84.

Personally my favorite work of these fellas is definitely Leave Her To Heaven. Five minutes into the film you know that their work is something special. The art deco train car in the opening scene, the three homes Gene Tierney's character Ellen inhabits are unique and grand in their own rights. 

I recall the first time I saw this film I quickly tried to research if the Back of the Moon Lodge was a real place and if that cabin was still standing. Nope, this amazing place was the handiwork of Ransford and Wheeler built on Bass Lake in Northern California, and it was, sadly, just a set. 

Another huge favorite is the set from 1957's Desk Set with Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Gig Young, and Joan Blondell. Taking place in New York City, these sets are stunning, mid century eye candy. Who wouldn't want to work in this environment? 

The King and I's grand exterior and interior sets:

1953's Titanic:

I'm thinking James Cameron dug up the old story boards for his 1997 version, they look so similar! 

With much effort I could not find any images of Maurice Ransford, which is a shame since he was so successful. Perhaps because Wheeler had such a long standing career there were more images available. There must have been more cameras around him at the time!

King Vidor and The Citadel

Staying in the theme of the last film, The Patsy, comes another great by director King Vidor. Starring British actor Robert Donat and Ms. Rosalind Russell, and adapted by A.J. Cornin. Robert plays Andrew, a new doctor eager to make a difference and help people. His first assignment is to help the people in a poor town plagued by Typhoid Fever. He helps sick patients, revives a newborn, and starts to really think of himself as a doctor. He meets fellow physician Denny, played by Ralph Richardson, and they both come to the conclusion that the Typhoid is streaming from the water source. Denny has the bright idea to blow up the water system as a means to fix the bad water conditions and help the people. Andrew is thrown by Denny's adventure and risk taking, but in the end goes along with him. The plan works and the new water system prevents another outbreak. 

While treating a child with measles he encounters a pretty teacher named Christine. After a tiff about contagious kids staying home from school as opposed to coming to school sick and sitting in the corner with a glass of milk, the doctor and Christine meet up again when Christine ends up, naturally, sick. She should have listened to the good doctor!

Andrew wants more to his trade and decides to take a job in a miner's town treating the workers. Trouble is, they want a married doctor. Andrew really wants the job, and has the hots for Christine, so he asks her to marry him, without even knowing her first name. Naturally, she says yes. They marry, and Andrew starts his new job. He quickly realizes that the miners are all sick with lung issues and after much research discovers they all share Tuberculosis due to the mining dust. Andrew wants to do tests and study these men, and makes the lungs his focus, even to write his findings in a medical journal. But most of the miners just want a sick pass so they don't have to go to work. Andrew sticks up for himself and his integrity, and in return the minors destroy his research and he and Christine's hard work about this lung disease. Andrew has no better choice than to resign.

The pair move to London in hopes of Andrew starting a practice and getting back on his feet. Trouble is, nobody is calling, and he and his wife fall on hard times. They befriend a restaurant owner next door who feeds and helps them when she can. During lunch one day, the doctor is finally beckoned to help a poor soul in need. The soul turns out to be a spoiled socialite who has a meltdown at the dress shop. Andrew slaps it out of her and takes her home. There he meets an old colleague Dr. Lawford played by a very young Rex Harrison. He invites him to his hospital where the nurses are hired for their looks, each hospital room looks like a suite at the Ritz, and doctors are treating the rich where the only ailment is hypochondria. 

Andrew soon gets into the scam. He is making more money than he knows what to do with it, and he and Christine can finally enjoy the nicer things in life. However, Christine is on to him. When she sees Andrew receiving a huge check for just watching another doctor do surgery and questions him about it, she realizes he isn't doing more than telling his patients what they want to hear and getting paid for it. Christine longs for the days where her husband wanted to make a difference, and stood up for what was right. 

I spy Rex Harrison 4th from right!

She tries to talk about it with Andrew, she even tells him she doesn't care to be rich and isn't happy. Andrew gets angry and storms off. Back at home, they run into old pal Denny. He has a plan to start a healthcare practice for anyone who can afford it with the best doctors, and invites Andrew on the team. Andrew scuffs at the idea, and while at their favorite lunch place hears about his old friend the restaurant owner share that her daughter is very sick and in the hospital with a condition Andrew is an expert in. He blows her off as well as he enjoys some cheese. 

It seems everyone is aware of how much Andrew has changed. Denny is upset from being rebuffed and gets drunk off whisky. He shows up to tell Andrew what he really thinks about him and when he leaves he gets hit by a car. Andrew rushes to his side and takes him to the surgeon at the swanky hospital. The surgeon botches the surgery and Denny dies. Andrew is heartbroken. His best friend is dead due to incompetence. He realizes what he is involved with. Doctors who do nothing but collect a check and have no real care in helping people. Because of this they don't have the skills or knowledge to help anyone who is really in need.  This tragic accident is just what Andrew needs to see what is really going on around him. Andrew must change if he wants to save his practice and his marriage and get back to being the doctor he used to be. 

Vidor and Donat both earned Oscar nominations, as did the screen writers. Let's talk about King Vidor for a moment. As I mentioned before, King directed an array of films that covered topics about real people. His films are heartwarming and full of human emotion. In The Citadel, when newbie doctor Andrew delivers a dead baby and doesn't give up to finally have the baby come to life, you can feel the relief and pride on screen. As Andrew leaves the residence, he exclaims to himself, "Dear God, I am a doctor." Vidor had the ability to draw the audience in and have empathy with his characters, a skill not all directors share. 

Vidor was born to Hungarian parents in Galveston, Texas. His work in show business started as a projectionist and eventually turned to script writing and directing for Boy City Film Company who made shorts focusing on American society issues. This might have influenced Vidor to tackle topics such as race, religion, and blue collar America. He eventually contracted with MGM and continued to make films into his eighties. 

Rosalind Russell was on the brink of true fame when making The Citadel, with The Women and His Girl Friday releasing in 1939, and 1940. In this film, her character is sweet, supportive, and genuine as the wife of a doctor who has his ups and downs professionally. In the scene where the two meet in her classroom, he barges in while she is teaching and gives her the riot act. The class, full of about 8 year-olds, is perfectly still and silent the whole time. As a teacher I chuckled at this, as it is not in any way realistic, but cute nonetheless!

King, Robert, and Ralph on set