The Warner Brothers, who made a good movie about a bad composer in "Yankee Doodle Dandy," have made an exceedingly bad movie about a good composer in "Rhapsody in Blue." George Gershwin is the composer, and his music is the only authentic or tasteful thing in the show.

The differences between Gershwin's terrestrial and cinematic lives are many, and in every instance Gershwin managed it better when he was alive than the script writers have done it now. For instance, Gershwin never had any spectacular loves. In an attempt at rectifying this, he has been provided with Joan Leslie and Alexis Smith, and has one or the other hounding him at every turn.

This, and all the other discrepancies in "Rhapsody in Blue," would not particularly matter except to the Gershwin purist if the result had been a good movie. But it is dull without being realistic grandiose without being epic, and emotional without having any feeling. Even the musical numbers are not well produced, the dancing being particularly uninspired. Exceptions were the fine performances of the major works, including the "Rhapsody in Blue," the "American in Paris," and the "Concerto in F," this last chopped up and presented in sections throughout the film. Oscar Levant and Paul Whiteman (who play themselves) are responsible for these moments of excellence, and they deserve loud cheers.

Some of the secondary characters, such as music publisher Max Dreyfuss (Charles Coburn), and one of Gershwin's teachers (Albert Basserman), have been carefully reduced to outworn types. In these cases Dreyfuss represents the lure of financial success, and the old teacher stands for true art. Conversely, Papa Gershwin (Morris Carnovsky) has had his personal eccentricities exaggerated to the bursting point. There is no consistency in the incongruity.

But the music is sprinkled generously through the movie, and the selections are from the best of Gershwin. This in itself is a high recommendation.