Customer Reviews

Rhapsody in Blue (No Scratch. 139 Minutes. Full Length. Robert Alda, Joan Leslie, Alexis Smith)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I discovered this movie back in the early 60's when i use to collect vintage 35mm movie prints. This is the only works i've ever seen of George Gershwin. A pleasant surprise for me was an actress named Alexis Smith. Little did i know that one day i would work with her in "Follies" on Broadway. Pure class Alexis was.But i digress. "Rhapsody in Blue" is one of those great Warner Brothers musicals that have countess number of production numbers in them. One of my favorites is "Blue Monday Blues." The music is beautiful and would also make my eyes tear-up. This is a wonderful classic that you can watch over and over again. With todays technology i only hope that someone will invest the time to transfer it to DVD and maybe rechannel the sound to 5.1? or is that asking for to much.If you can, get this one for your collection, i promise you won't be disappointed especially when they play "The Rhapsody in Blue." Hmmm, now that i wrote this, i think i watch it again.

Robert Alda stars in this odd, melodramatic potboiler which looks at the rags-to-rich (and more riches) rise of one of America's greatest popular composers. The film is hampered by a few small points, one being that Gershwin's life doesn't readily lend itself to dramatic portrayal (until the very end, when he drops dead at a very young age, and your jaw just drops)... The problem is that guy was just too darn successful! He hit a groove and never stopped, moving from one huge critical success to another (with one or two flops in between)... The scriptwriters were obviously aware of this, and insert several belabored sequences wherein Gershwin anguishes over this or that, and a couple of sniffly, symbolic deathbed scenes, just for good measure. Other problems include Alda himself (yes, he's Alan's dad...) who isn't completely up to the role, as well as the weak portrayal of George's brother Ira, a super-brilliant, super-important lyricist, who is here presented as a mere hanger-on and cheerleader for his brother, the big-shot genius. Hello? Excuse me... Ira Gershwin?!? Of the Gershwin brothers? Oh, forget it. Oh, also check out Gershwin's kooky pal Oscar Levant, who plays himself, in a somewhat true-to-life portrayal as George's confidant and stand-in concertizer. Other celebrities who play themselves here include Al Jolson and bandleader Paul Whiteman... and the music, of course, can't be beat.

George Gershwin is one of giants of American composers. He transformed popular music and brought Jazz and Blues stylings to the Broadway stage and to the classical concert hall. This film tells the story of his brief life and brilliant career.

Tho most notable things about this movie are the music and the guest stars. "Rhapsody in Blue," "An American in Paris," and "Swannee" are all performed in with great skill and in their entirety. Excerpts from many other pieces are heard also. Much of the music is presented in what we might call "music video style," with montages and editing that help bring out the sources and meanings of the music. Al Jolson, Paul Whiteman, and Oscar Levant all play themselves and perfom Gershwin's music on screen. George White, Hazel Scott, Anne Brown, John B. Hughes, and Tom Patricola also appear as themselves.

The performances range from the really good to the over-characterized to the kind of stiff. This being a Hollywood bio-pic of a Great American composer, everyone (except for the old stiff who ran the song publisher Gershwin quit) is noble, generous, and cool. Robert Alda (father of Alan) plays the compser, and his performance most has the stilted mannerisms of one trying not to disrespect a legend. Oscar Levant establishes his "tough guy" persona which he carried through several films. Morris Carnovsky as "Poppa" and Herbert Rudley as Ira Gershwin give two of the sronger performances.

One interesting aspect of this film is the role of Black people. There is irony in the fact that Blues and Jazz are forms of music that essentially were developed by Black musicians, and here was a White person taking it a step further, bringing it to audiences that had not appreciated it before. The irony is emphasized by seeing where black people are in this movie. There is a development of the relationship of his music to black people. At first, his "Black" songs are sung by white performers in blackface (Al Jolson is never seen without it), but later he sees a black female singer in Paris and his opera is sung by an all black cast. However, there are no other Black people in the entire movie except the obligatory maids and servants. This may be good fodder for an examination of music and social history.

If you love this music (and it IS glorious) add a star to this review. Aside from that, it is a good bio-pic that accurately covers the events of Gershwin's live and examines his motivation, his drive to push the boundaries of what could be done with music.

Gershwin's life is expertly done in the movie and Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris are played in their entirety. Oscar Levant, a personal friend of Gershwin's, plays some of the piano pieces. Robert Alda, a super hunk, is superb in his portrayal of Gershwin. Rhapsody in Blue is performed by the Paul Whiteman orchestra who actually performed the 1st performance of Rhapsody in Blue and adds to the quality of the movie.

As a Hollywood biopic this is only average. Too much of the film is devoted to Gershwin's supposed romantic involvement with two women, who are both entirely fictional. Far more important in reality was his friendship with Oscar Levant, who was not only the composer's best friend but also after his death was widely recognized as the most authoritative interpreter of his major works for piano, Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F. Levant's presence in the film lends it some historical authenticity. Also present are Al Jolson, a legendary figure in the history of American popular entertainment and the interpreter of Gershwin's single most popular song, "Swanee", and Paul Whiteman, the bandleader who collaborated with Gershwin in the premiere of Rhapsody in Blue. (Fred Astaire is sorely missed.) There is also a superb--I do not use the word lightly--extended three song set by singer/pianist Hazel Scott (who later married the controversial minister/politician Adam Clayton Powell Jr.) about halfway through the film. It has absolutely nothing to do with the plot but is magnificent nonetheless. Robert Alda deserves to be remembered perhaps not for his work in this film but for his origination of the role of gambler Sky Masterson in the great musical Guys and Dolls.

This is a wonderful movie. I am a little upset that is not easily available right now, and I will have to wait for the price to go down before I buy it.

Check out the Gershwinfan.com site if you are interested in Gershwin.

This is one of those films that seems WAY longer than it actually is, and it's not exactly short to begin with. Second, I can think of better leads than Alda. But he was actually better than I'd thought he'd be. What makes this film a little gem is seeing people like Hazel Scott act and perform, as well as all the great music and historical perspective the film offers. Hopefully, we'll be seeing it on DVD soon.

The panning of this film by previous reviewers is out of proportion to its attributes, not the least of which is the quite convincing performance of Robert Alda and the casting of Oscar Levant as a musician playing himself, i.e. the pianist who, approximately ten years after the film's completion, would record the first distinguished LP of Gershwin's major concert works on Columbia--in fact, he was so close to Gershwin that he finished George's last song, "Our Love Is Hear to Stay," after a brain tumor cut short the celebrated prodigy's life at the age of 39. There are simply no Hollywood biopics that do justice by the indigenous American art of jazz or popular song, but some at least are 1. moderately entertaining, 2. include generous segments of the featured artist's music, and 3. "enhance" without falsifying the historical circumstances of the composer's life.

"Rhapsody in Blue" introduces viewers to the real "Tin Pan Alley" and to the young George who once hustled his music in W. 34th St. music houses until getting the public's and Al Jolson's attention with what would become his first popular hit song, "Swanee." Like most of the other great songwriters of the 20s and 30s, George was lured to Hollywood, where he found money but not happiness and companionship. And like the other great Jewish-American composers of American popular song (Porter and Ellington being the two notable exceptions), he would return to New York and Broadway for his defining artistic triumphs. The film ends with a sentimental but, in many respects, moving and effective performance of "Concerto in F," played by George Levant for his friend George Gershwin, who hears it on the radio before expiring.

The film does a better job with Gershwin's "serious" music, referencing "Porgy and Bess" in addition to the "Concerto" and the title song, than his prolific and distinguished pop song oeuvre. But it does include fascinating footage of not just Al Jolson but Paul Whiteman (the conductor known as the "King of Jazz" in the 1920s) and pianist-vocalist Hazel Scott (outstanding keyboardist who was married at one time to Adam Clayton Powell and who put out a trio LP with a rhythm section comprising jazz immortals Charles Mingus and Max Roach!)

Sure, the film has some corny and leaden dialogue, and neither musically nor narratively is it up to another biopic, "Alexander's Ragtime Band," a delightful B&W film that charges headlong through a dazzling cavalcade of Irving Berlin tunes. But "Rhapsody in Blue"'s shortcomings are more than compensated for by the musicians and the music. No apologies needed.

Compared to time and mind-wasters like "Patch Adams" or "Forrest Gump" the script reads like Ingmar Bergman--or Shakespeare. As for the DVD, previous reviewers are right. It's a non-professional transfer. You could do as well with a videotape and a cheap conversion program or VHS-to-DVD machine.

I was nine years old when this masterpiece first appeared on our neighborhood screen. I may have missed it cause you know young boys interests were cowboys and indians, and Saturday serials. My parents probably did see it, but it was never mentioned over the dinner table. Now, 56 years later, I have found this classic, and have it my own tape. This is music noone will ever see or hear again. As we grow out of our chilhood years into young adult, we start to appreciate these kind of stories. And, I mus say, made only better in black and white, a standard of that time. Maybe this classic wouldn't have went over in color, maybe it would. But, I will now enjoy this classic all I want. As an aside, when I was that young tot, I had thought that George and Ira were married! Goes to show how much I paid attention. Dumb, heh? Woody Allens' movie "Manhattan" has many of these songs in it's sound track. See it too.....

George Gershwin is an American icon, a man who devoted his life to music, both jazz and "important pieces." His Rhapsody in Blue has been used to open the Olympic ceremonies, and his works stand the test of time. They are a symbol of an era, beautifully crafted songs that keep your feet bouncing.

The movie does a good job portraying Gershwin, a temperamental workaholic whose restlessness gave him an amazing career in his short life. The outline of the film follows the details of his life well, from his start plugging tunes on Tin Pan Alley to fraternizing overseas with refined society.

Gershwin's own friends appear in the film. Oscar Levant plays himself, as do Al Jolson, who introduced Swanee, Paul Whiteman, and George White.

One of the best things about this movie is the extensive use of music. If you aren't a fan of Gershwin, you won't like this movie, as the music is the real focus. It is brilliantly displayed in performances and as background music.