Biography
Gershwin himself appears in
The King of Jazz (1930) playing his world-renown Rhapsody in Blue (and, for some unfathomable reason, uncredited), and in archive footage in the television miniseries New York: A Documentary Film (1999). The ever popular and variously interpreted and orchestrated Rhapsody in Blue also occurs in Gus Arnheim and His Ambassadors (1928),
Rhapsody in Blue (1945), the TV miniseries
Jazz (2001), and an exquisite animated sequence in
Fantasia 2000 (1999). The signature clarinet glissando has been used to open countless city scenes and to suggest contemporaneity.
The composer's famed opera Porgy and Bess, a brilliant synthesis of Tin Pan Alley lyricism, Impressionist opera, harmonies, blues, and gospel influences, has received several productions: in a sketchy but very effective 1959 dramatization directed by
Otto Preminger with an all-star cast including
Sidney Poitier as Porgy,
Dorothy Dandridge as Bess, Sammy Davis Jr. as Sportin' Life, and
Pearl Bailey as Maria; Trevor Nunn's faithful and excellent 1993 television version with Willard White and Cynthia Hayman; a fascinating television documentary entitled Porgy and Bess: An American Voice (1998) which features many personalities and performers who have been involved in the history of the legendary piece; and the New York City Opera's 2002 television production of the complete work. Individual songs from the opera have appeared in
The Wizard of Speed and Time (1988) ("It Ain't Necessarily So"), an electronic version of "Summertime" in Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey (1993), and in numerous television performances, and as fragments employed as momentary references and segues in many films.
Other concert works employed include quotes from the Concerto in F for piano and orchestra in
You Were Meant for Me (1948), and parts of An American in Paris in Assignment: Rescue (aka The Story of Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee, 1997) and
An American in Paris (1951).
Individual Gershwin songs have enhanced many productions: "But Not for Me" in the comedy
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994); "A Foggy Day" in
The Notorious Landlady (1962); "That Certain Feeling" is the title tune for a 1956 film; "I've Got a Crush on You" in
Three for the Show (1955); "Somebody Loves Me" is the title tune for a 1952 film; "Lady Be Good" and "Fascinating Rhythm" occur in
Lady Be Good (1941); and "Strike up the Band" is the title tune of the 1940 film. Several songs are used throughout
Love's Labour's Lost (2000),
The Choirboys (1977),
Broadway Rhythm (1944),
So's Your Uncle (1943),
The Goldwyn Follies (1938), The Flame Song (1934), the television tributes A Tribute to George and Ira Gershwin: A Memory of All That (1998), Ira Gershwin at 100: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (1997), and the
American Masters episode
George Gershwin Remembered (1987).
Other significant films adopting the Gershwin sound are
Woody Allen's
Manhattan (1979),
Billy Wilder's Kiss Me, Stupid! (1964), the
Audrey Hepburn/
Fred Astaire vehicle
Funny Face (1957), the Seaton comedy with
Betty Grable The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947), and the drama
The Man I Love (1946) with
Ida Lupino and
Robert Alda. ~ "Blue" Gene Tyranny, All Movie Guide