JohnHowardReid In the latter half of 1953, director Charles Vidor signed a one-picture-a-year deal with M-G-M. The films he directed under this arrangement were Rhapsody (1954), Love Me or Leave Me (1955) and The Swan (1956).Incredibly based on the novel, "Maurice Guest", by Henry Handel Richardson, Rhapsody is a confused melange of hokum and sentiment. In his first Hollywood movie, Italy's Vittorio Gassman is even more boorish than usual in his account of the student-turned-violinist, but the film is saved by the radiant charm with which Elizabeth Taylor imbues her role as the wealthy ingénue. Beautifully photographed by Robert Planck against attractive settings in Zurich and the Engadine, Miss Taylor is expertly guided through the twists of a corny plot that has John Ericson and Louis Calhern interspersed with a few snippets of Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff, all of which are indifferently played by Michael Rabin and Claudio Arrau.

edwagreen When Elizabeth Taylor made "A Place in the Sun" in 1951, this was supposed to be her entry into more mature roles. In this film, for the first part of it, she sounds like a girl out in the rural areas of "National Velvet." She is churlish at best with a whining, annoying stature.Louis Calhern, as her father, certainly proves again that Father Knows Best but to a certain degree.It is with her attempted suicide in the film that she finds maturity and her performance improves.She goes back and forth in her desires between two notable musicians, the violinist (Vittoria Gassman) and pianist John Ericson, both of whom are excellent in their respective roles. Ironically, Gassman was married to Shelley Winters, the latter being a rival to Taylor in "Place in the Sun."The music here is divine and Tchaikovsky was never better.

k-degroot This movie is nothing but a marvelous concert of marvelous pieces of music held together by a bit of film.I have it on in the background while I do other stuff, like a radio.They could just as well have shown any other film material as the music plays, like the Marx Brothers or something, totally inconsequential.So not much of a movie really, but like I said : great music. And given a choice between this and any other Modern product coming out of Hollywood I'll pick this anytime.There was obviously some sort of contractual obligation somewhere, the studios had to produce so much in so much time.Seems like a project put together over a quick lunch somewhere.

jabflyfish I fell upon this movie one morning on TCM while in an early morning stupor and was instantly awakened by the sight of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Although I had never seen any of her 1950's or early 1960's roles, I quickly realized this woman was Elizabeth Taylor and was completely mesmerized. Previous reviews of this movie compared the story line to a soap opera and I certainly agree. Without Ms. Taylor drawing me in, I would have lost interest very quickly; However, I could not resist watching her every move and eventually found myself absorbed by the story line and very competent acting by all performers. The classical music was a tremendous plus for the film and made up for the stand-in sets to some degree. For me, this film was about beauty. Beautiful music surrounding a beautiful woman in all her glory. Classical music hand-in-hand with one of the classic women of the big screen. I would recommend this movie highly if for no other reason than to see the definition of the female sex symbol. Elizabeth Taylor, with her face, figure, class and charisma, is that definition. She makes the so called sex symbols of today (Jessica Simpson, Pamela Anderson, etc.) look like caricatures. What a revelation! Mediocre story, adequate acting, beautiful music, and an irresistibly stunning leading lady are the summations of this movie, in my humble opinion.