This movie was on my Blu-ray wish list for many years before it finally became reality last month thanks to the fine folks at Warner Archive. Sure, you could get the DVD from 2012, but here’s a multi-Oscar-nominated film about perhaps the most famous American composer that was tragically overlooked for a step up in fidelity until now. Thankfully, the wait isn’t just for an upscale, with the new Blu-ray sourced from newly remastered 4K scans of nitrate materials and extended with over 12 minutes of footage never before seen by the general public. The Blu-ray also includes an overture of Gershwin melodies that only previously appeared during the original Hollywood and New York premiere engagements. In short, there’s never been a better time to get acquainted with this overlooked classic.
Buy Rhapsody in Blue Blu-rayThe film presents a somewhat fictionalized biography of George Gershwin’s career, examining his winding path to immense fame and acclaim. Gershwin is played by Robert Alda, who looks so much like his son, Alan, that I found myself doing double takes throughout the film. It was made so soon after Gershwin’s death that many of the luminaries he crossed paths with are played by the actual stars, most notably his longtime friend, competitor, and esteemed interpreter of his works, Oscar Levant. This makes for a fascinating blend of reality and selective fiction, as the real people interact with actors playing a story they experienced in real life.
Other real contributors to the film include Al Jolson in his final film appearance, appearing at one point in his signature blackface to perform his signature song, and Gershwin’s first hit, on film for the only time, “Swanee.” Elsewhere, Anne Brown, the original Bess from Gershwin’s Broadway opera Porgy and Bess, has a far too brief musical number, but one that hints at her raw talent that led Gershwin to pointedly alter his opera’s title from the source material of DuBose Heyward’s original book and play, Porgy. While other real stars also appear, the only other truly notable turn is by jazz pianist and singer Hazel Scott, contributing a scorching musical number so outstanding that I immediately added her albums to my playlist. Even if the film was a complete dud (it’s not), it’s stacked with so many historic musical performances that it would be worth watching for those alone.
With so many musical numbers, the film may seem like a musical, but it’s really not. All of the included songs are merely performances of Gershwin’s works, not sequenced in any way to move the plot forward. This clearly adds to the screen time, with the now-expanded film ballooning to a whopping 161 minutes to accommodate both the performances and the biography. And yet, it never drags, and even allows for a welcome full run through the lengthy title piece “Rhapsody in Blue” and a healthy majority of the even-longer “An American in Paris,” with the latter simply presented as a fascinating travelogue montage of Parisian street scenes of the era. It’s impossible not to compare that simple, understated approach to Gene Kelly’s later amazingly complex and fanciful staging of the work in Vincente Minnelli’s An American in Paris film, with both interpretations owing their existence to the brilliant mind of George Gershwin.
Alda is fantastic as Gershwin, fully inhabiting the role in his screen debut. He brings a genuine warmth and likeability to a mercurial character, making us root for Gershwin even as he’s written as an insufferable workaholic so devoted to music he misses out on lasting romance and life in general. Charles Coburn is reliably sage-like as Gershwin’s early supporter and long-time producer of his Broadway shows, while Joan Leslie and Alexis Smith add limited romantic intrigue in their underserved roles. Aside from Alda, I was most fascinated by Levant’s constantly self-owning portrayal of himself, always in the Gershwin inner circle but forever in George’s shadow, making humorously withering but straight-faced comments about his own lesser acclaim with zinger asides such as “that’s the difference between talent (Levant) and genius (Gershwin).” While his most famous movie role was yet to come, again owing to Gershwin’s genius, as Gene Kelly’s pal in An American in Paris, he’s simply magnetic here playing himself in scenarios he actually lived through just a few years earlier.
The Blu-ray presents the black-and-white film in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio, with DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono sound. The restoration looks fantastic, with crisp definition, bright whites and inky blacks. This is likely the best presentation of the expanded film we’re ever going to get, and it only took 80 years to get here. While no bonus features are included, consider the stacked performances of Gershwin’s indelible hits all the bonus needed.
While the script may romanticize certain aspects of Gershwin’s tragically short life, it’s mostly straightforward and an enlightening overview of the man behind the music. Powered by Alda’s star turn and Levant’s trip through his own past, as well as an incredible selection of Gershwin’s legendary contributions to the Great American Songbook, this is an unforgettable biopic finally available in a well-deserved premium format.
