RHAPSODY IN BLUE (1945)

WORLD PREMIERE RESTORATION

This world premiere restoration of Warner Bros.’ highly fictionalized George Gershwin biopic features nearly 13 minutes of never-before-seen footage, including musical numbers cut from the original U.S. release. Although completed in 1943, the picture was one of many held back from release in favor of more topical pictures dealing with World War II, but it was still screened for service members overseas in its original form. Broadway actor Robert Alda makes his film debut as Gershwin, while singer Al Jolson, band leader Paul Whiteman, and soprano Anne Brown perform renditions of Gershwin’s music. The composer’s friend, Oscar Levant, plays himself and dubbed Alda’s piano solos. Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F are two of the five orchestral pieces performed on screen, in addition to more than 20 Gershwin songs.  The 1945 version was cut down by 12 minutes, and has been viewed that way ever since. This is the first time public audiences have ever seen the complete film, which includes a performance of the song, “Summertime” from Gershwin’s opera, Porgy and Bess, sung by the original star of the Broadway show. Also restored, was the original overture featuring a 10-minute medley of Gershwin music.

d. Irving Rapper, 162m, DCP

The brand-new 2K restoration was sourced from 4K scans of the original nitrate negative, supplemented with a nitrate composite fine grain to reconstruct the complete feature. The picture was meticulously cleaned and graded at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging. The original mono audio mix was restored from the composite fine grain track. The audio was mixed for theatrical exhibition at WB Post Production Sound.