Carefree

Introduction by critic Brian Seibert at the 7pm screening on July 14

The most infectiously lighthearted of the duo’s pairings adds a lively dose of screwball to the Astaire-Rogers formula. He plays a Freudian analyst who finds himself in a spot when new patient Ginger falls id-over-ego in love with him. The zaniness—which includes a heavily sedated Rogers wreaking havoc on the streets of Manhattan—carries over into the supreme strangeness of “The Yam,” surely the weirdest dance craze never to catch on. It’s balanced by two of the most exquisitely romantic moments in the Astaire-Rogers catalogue: the breathtaking, slow motion “I Used to Be Color Blind” and “Change Partners,” in which a sorcerer-like Fred casts a love spell on the dance floor.