Show Boat (1951)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

John Lee Mahin (screenplay)
Jerome Kern (immortal musical play "Show Boat") ...

Release Date:

24 September 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

It's NEW!

Plot:

The daughter of a riverboat captain falls in love with a charming gambler, but their fairytale romance is threatened when his luck turns sour.

Plot Keywords:

Riverboat | New Year's Eve | Based On Musical | Christmas | Famous Score

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Kathryn Grayson	...	Magnolia Hawks
Ava Gardner	...	Julie LaVerne
Howard Keel	...	Gaylord Ravenal
Joe E. Brown	...	Cap'n Andy Hawks
Marge Champion	...	Ellie May Shipley
Gower Champion	...	Frank Schultz
Robert Sterling	...	Steve Baker
Agnes Moorehead	...	Parthy Hawks
Leif Erickson	...	Pete (as Lief Erickson)
William Warfield	...	Joe

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:G | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

When preparations for this film version of "Show Boat" were begun as far back as 1944, Walter Huston and Ethel Barrymore were set to play Cap'n Andy and Parthy. Both finally had to back out of the production, and Huston eventually died before the film started shooting.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the "Ol' Man River" sequence, after the boat has stopped moving to allow Ravenal to climb on board, it begins moving again and passes other dock workers on rafts. Joe is seen in long shot, standing on the deck of the show boat and singing to them the words "You an' me, we sweat and strain...", etc. During that specific moment, his voice is not quite synchronized with his arm and lip movements (he shakes his fists for emphasis). Then, on the line "Ya get a little drunk", he is shown in medium shot, and his voice matches his lip movements perfectly.

Quotes:

Julie: Where to, Sir Lancelot?
Steve: Gonna get a cup of coffee.
Julie: Gonna be a good boy?
Steve: Sure, if that's what you want.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Bob Newhart Show: Old Man Rivers (#2.7)" (1973)

Soundtrack:

C'mon Folks

Spared No Expense

When MGM acquired the rights to Show Boat for the Arthur Freed unit, no expense was spared in making this one of the most expensive films the studio had ever produced. A whole riverboat was constructed as well as the Natchez landing was completely built on a location on a lake which served as turn of the last century Mississippi river locale.

No doubt also that Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson sang beautifully together. Those three Jerome Kern ballads, Make Believe, Why Do I Love You? and You Are Love were just written for their voices.

Ava Gardner is a beautiful and fetching Julia. Annette Warren's dubbing of Julie LaVerne's songs Can't Help Loving That Man and Bill perfectly matched Ava's speaking voice.

The problem I've always felt with this version is that Howard Keel is too strong a character to be playing Gaylord Ravenal who is essentially a weak personality. Allan Jones in the 1937 version perfectly captured Ravenal's frailty.

That 1937 version also had two people from the original Broadway production who made those parts all their own, Helen Morgan as Julie and Charles Winninger as Captain Andy. And it had the incomparable Paul Robeson though William Warfield is a fabulous Joe.

The singing of the Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II score is in the major leagues. The rest of the film however is in a minor key when compared with the earlier sound version with Allan Jones and Irene Dunne.