Show Boat (1936)
-
100% of critics liked it
(8 reviews) -
71% of users liked it
(922 ratings)
This second film version of the Edna Ferber/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Show Boat is considered by many film buffs to be the best of the three. Covering nearly four decades (was there ever an Edna Ferber novel that didn't?), the film stars Irene Dunne as Magnolia Hawks, a role… More This second film version of the Edna Ferber/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Show Boat is considered by many film buffs to be the best of the three. Covering nearly four decades (was there ever an Edna Ferber novel that didn't?), the film stars Irene Dunne as Magnolia Hawks, a role she'd previously played on stage, though not in the Broadway version. The daughter of showboat impresario Captain Andy (Charles Winninger, who was in the Broadway original), Magnolia is swept off her feet by dashing gambler Gaylord Ravenal (Allan Jones). Yearning to appear on the showboat stage, Magnolia gets her chance when Captain Andy's leading lady, the tragic Julie (Helen Morgan, likewise a holdover from Broadway), is ordered not to perform by a small-town sheriff because she is Mulatto. Julie's husband Steve (Donald Cook) loyally walks out with his wife, thereby leaving the leading-man position open--but not for long, since Gaylord Ravenal agrees to take over for Steve, the better to stay close to Magnolia. Despite the disapproval of Magnolia's mother Parthy Hawks (Helen Westley), Magnolia and Ravenal are married. Later on, the couple has a baby girl named Kim. At first, the young family is blissfully happy, but as Ravenal's gambling debts begin to mount, things turn sour. Unable to support Magnolia and Kim, Ravenal walks out on them both. Desperately, Magnolia tries to get a job as a singer in Chicago. She auditions at a night spot where, fortuitously, Julie is the featured attraction. Hoping to give Magnolia a break, Julie gets drunk, forcing the manager to hire Magnolia as a replacement. During her New Years' Eve debut, Magnolia "chokes up" in front of the raucous audience--and then, who should emerge from the crowd but lovable Captain Andy, who gives Magnolia the encouragement she needs. Magnolia goes on to become a famous musical comedy star, as does her grown-up daughter Kim (played as an adult by Sunnie O'Dea). On the eve of Magnolia's retirement from the theater, she is reunited with her now-contrite husband Gaylord Ravenal. While the second half of Show Boat departs radically from both the novel (in which Ravenal never returns ) and the Broadway show, the film manages to capture the spirit of its literary and theatrical ancestors. Of the original score, "Cotton Blossom," "Ol' Man River," "Where's the Mate for Me?" "Make Believe," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," You are Love" and "Bill" are retained, while most of the other songs are heard as background accompaniment. Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II penned three new tunes for the film version: "Ah Still Suits Me," "Gallavantin' Around" and "I Have the Room Above." As in all stage and screen versions of Show Boat, the Charles K. Harris standard "After the Ball" is heard in the New Year sequence. In addition to the aforementioned Dunne, Jones, Winninger, Westley, Morgan, and O'Dea, the Show Boat cast includes the magnificent Paul Robeson as Joe (his rendition of "Ol' Man River" can still induce goosebumps), Hattie McDaniel as Queenie and Sammy White and Queenie Smith as the engagingly second-rate vaudeville team of Frank and Ellie Schultz. Though James Whale of Frankenstein fame seems an odd choice for director, he brings a vibrant theatricality to the proceedings that is lacking in other versions. Show Boat literally saved the financially strapped Universal Pictures from receivership--but not soon enough to prevent the ousters of Carl Laemmle Sr. and Jr. in favor of a new administration. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- James Whale
- Genres
- Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- May 14, 1936 Wide
Critic Reviews
-
Phil Hall, IdentityTheory
Represents the apex of Hollywood musical productions.
-
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The great booming voice of Paul Robeson singing "Ol' Man River" throughout is as good a number as was ever done in a musical.
-
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Best version is this truly classic version; superior musical on all counts
-
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Hands down the best version of the stage show. Brilliantly conceived and executed by James Whale.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Also available on
Other Retailers
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Subscription Services
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Cast
-
Irene Dunne
as Magnolia Hawks
-
Allan Jones
as Gaylord Revenal
-
Charles Winninger
as Capt. Andy Hawks
-
Paul Robeson
as Joe
-
Helen Morgan
as Julie
-
Helen Westley
as Parthy Hawks
-
Donald Cook
as Steve
-
Queenie Smith
as Ellie
-
Sammy White
as Frank Schultz
-
Hattie McDaniel
as Queenie Joe's Wife
-
Francis X. Mahoney
as Rubberface
-
Charles B. Middleton
as Sheriff Vallon
-
Arthur Hohl
as Pete
-
John Farrell MacDonald
as Windy
-
Patricia Barry
as Baby Kim
-
Marilyn Knowlden
as Kim (younger)
-
Sunni O'Dea
as Kim (elder)
-
May Beatty
as Landlady
-
Clarence Muse
as Sam the Janitor
-
Stanley Fields
as Zebe
-
Maude Allen
as Fat Woman
-
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
as Young Black Man
-
Brooks Benedict
as Race Fan
-
Donald Briggs
as Press Agent
- Eddy Chandler
-
E.E. Clive
as Englishman
- Edmund Cobb
-
Grace Cunard
as Mother
-
Elspeth Dudgeon
as Mother Superior
-
Helen Jerome Eddy
as Reporter
-
Al Ferguson
as Gambler
-
Flora Finch
as Woman
- Dorothy Granger
-
George Hackathorne
as YMCA Worker
-
Marilyn Harris
as Little Girl
- Ernest Hilliard
-
Arthur Houseman
as Drunk
-
Jimmy Jackson
as Young Man
-
Selmar Jackson
as Hotel Clerk
-
Jane Keckley
as Mrs. Ewing
-
Theodore Lorch
as Simon Legree
- Frank Mayo
-
Monte Montague
as Old Man
- Jack Mulhall
-
Georgia O'Dell
as Schoolteacher
- Edward Peil Sr.
- Barbara Pepper
- Lee Phelps
-
George H. Reed
as Old Black Man
-
Forrest Stanley
as Theater Manager
-
Bobby Watson
as Lost Child
-
Renee Whitney
as Chorus Girl
-
Charles C. Wilson
as Jim Green
-
Harry Barris
as Jake
-
LeRoy J. Prinz
as Dance Director
-
Lois Verner
as Small Girl
-
Jack Latham
as Juvenile
-
Stanley "Tiny" Sandford
as Backwoodsman
