Rhapsody in Blue

(Irving Rapper, US 1945, 140 min., 16mm)

Eastman Entertains. The life story of George Gershwin would be interesting on its own, but here it’s greatly enhanced by the music, most of which is played in its entirety (including the title piece). Robert Alda plays Gershwin, the highly driven and supremely talented musician who tragically died at 39, but not before writing some of the best-known music of the twentieth century. Many of the people who knew and worked with Gershwin play themselves in the film, including Al Jolson. Free to members.