Rhapsody in Blue (1945)

Director:

Irving Rapper

Writers:

Howard Koch (writer)
Sonya Levien (story)

Release Date:

22 September 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Musical

Tagline:

The jubilant story of George Gershwin.

Plot:

Composer George Gershwin is driven by his need to succeed. Unfortunately his drive destroys his romantic relationships with singer Julie Adams...

Plot Keywords:

Composer | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Robert Alda	...	George Gershwin
Joan Leslie	...	Julie Adams
Alexis Smith	...	Christine Gilbert
Charles Coburn	...	Max Dreyfus
Julie Bishop	...	Lee Gershwin
Albert Bassermann	...	Prof. Franck
Morris Carnovsky	...	Poppa Morris Gershwin
Rosemary DeCamp	...	Momma Rose Gershwin
Oscar Levant	...	Himself
Paul Whiteman	...	Himself
Al Jolson	...	Himself
George White	...	Himself
Hazel Scott	...	Herself
Anne Brown	...	Herself - as Bess
Herbert Rudley	...	Ira Gershwin

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Germany:16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Oscar Levant had three functions in this film: he provided George Gershwin's piano playing as Robert Alda's double, he portrayed himself on screen and he was heard playing piano on the soundtrack as himself, Oscar Levant, in the commemorative performance of "Rhapsody in Blue" which ends the film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The opening credits say "Music and Lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin", when in fact George wrote the music and Ira wrote the lyrics. None of the other lyricists in the film, including DuBose Heyward, who wrote the lyrics to "Summertime", are credited.

Quotes:

George Gershwin: I don't want to be just a concert pianist. I want to use the piano as a stepping stone!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Wonderland (1947)

Soundtrack:

The Sidewalks of New York

Great Music

This film presents many Gershwin tunes in great fashion with several great settings and great production numbers. Yes, it's unfortunate that the story line is so heavily fictionalized and even misleading. But, the sets are honest to the periods covered, several sequences are very tastefully done and fun, the show excerpts are good, and did I mention the music? As several other commentators have indicated, the music is faithfully recreated in long segments that bring you much or all of the tune.

If you come to this film to hear some wonderful Gershwin performed by some great artists staged with a lot of character and splash (my favorite set is Hazel Scott's Paris show), you won't be disappointed. The story line is simply a convenient string to tie together the thread of music.