In 1933, he directed Flying Down to Rio which launched the screen partnership of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers although it had originally been designed as a starring vehicle for the Mexican actress Dolores del Río.
[1] The following year Freeland made a film version of the long-running Broadway revue George White's Scandals.
In 1936 he made Accused at Isleworth Studios, which was produced by and starred his fellow American Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. who had also moved to Britain at the time.
Britain was experiencing a major boom in filmmaking at the time, and many of Freeland's projects were made with an eye to the international market.
However he also directed comedies with more local appeal such as Skylarks (1936) featuring Nervo and Knox and Hold My Hand (1938) with Stanley Lupino.