Rhapsody in Blue

There's slightly more fancy than fact in this lavish film biography of legendary American composer George Gershwin, but oh! That music! Director Irving Rapper had wanted Tyrone Power to play Gershwin, but Power was still serving in the Marines, so Rapper had to settle for Robert Alda--who isn't bad ...more

Some films, including Rhapsody in Blue succeed very much in spite of themselves. Rhapsody should by no means be as good as it is. Like so many other biopics of the period (and today), Rhapsody plays very fast and very loose with the facts and has very little value as biography. The screenplay is a string of clichés, and filled with uninspired dialogue spouted by characters that, if not cardboard, are still not flesh-and-blood. And while Robert Alda has some of Gershwin's appeal, he doesn't give ...more