George Gershwin is a driven composer whose need to succeed destroys his relationship with singer Julie Adams and socialite Christine Gilbert.2h 15min | Biography, Drama, Musical | 27 June 1945
Director: Irving Rapper
Stars: Robert Alda, Joan Leslie, Alexis Smith, Oscar Levant.
LeRoy Prinz ... dance director
Bootleg copy, fuzzy print.
Available online $3 rental from YouTube, GooglePlay and Vudu.
Available online $3 rental from YouTube, GooglePlay and Vudu.
In the Tap! Appendix for Johnny Downs, Joan Leslie, Tom Patricola. I wouldn't say the dancing was a reason to watch this.
I don't really care how accurate the biography is. This is mostly an album of Gershwin (and other) music, linked by a story. The performances are good, especially Levant's piano playing, dubbed for Alda, and the orchestral and operatic works. And I've long been a fan of Gershwin's music, especially the neo-classical works. I grieve for all of us missing whatever else he could have composed had he lived longer.
The dramatic portions of the film that have an impact on me surround Oscar Levant. He really was George's friend. He really was the foremost interpreter of George's music for 20 years. I don't know if he really learned of GG's death while playing his music in a concert, but that moment had the most impact on me. I hope that making this film, playing himself, helped OL psychologically, because I've read that his mental health was fragile, and his wife had to commit him to hospital from time to time.
Bonus pleasure: Hazel Scott performs 3 songs in succession. I'm glad to know her name, and I think of her as the Lena Horne of piano, but she sings too. She didn't do any tricks (like playing the keyboard backward, as she did in prior films), but did good renditions, supposedly in a Paris nightclub with GG in attendance.
I don't really care how accurate the biography is. This is mostly an album of Gershwin (and other) music, linked by a story. The performances are good, especially Levant's piano playing, dubbed for Alda, and the orchestral and operatic works. And I've long been a fan of Gershwin's music, especially the neo-classical works. I grieve for all of us missing whatever else he could have composed had he lived longer.
The dramatic portions of the film that have an impact on me surround Oscar Levant. He really was George's friend. He really was the foremost interpreter of George's music for 20 years. I don't know if he really learned of GG's death while playing his music in a concert, but that moment had the most impact on me. I hope that making this film, playing himself, helped OL psychologically, because I've read that his mental health was fragile, and his wife had to commit him to hospital from time to time.
Bonus pleasure: Hazel Scott performs 3 songs in succession. I'm glad to know her name, and I think of her as the Lena Horne of piano, but she sings too. She didn't do any tricks (like playing the keyboard backward, as she did in prior films), but did good renditions, supposedly in a Paris nightclub with GG in attendance.
This should probably be a film I watch once a year, maybe 26Sept, GG's b'day.
Warner, dir. Rapper; 8
