Show Boat (1929)

A mostly silent version of Edna Ferber's original novel, with some songs from the musical as a last-minute addition

Director:

Harry A. Pollard

Writers:

Edna Ferber (by), Charles Kenyon (continuity),

Stars:

Laura La Plante, Joseph Schildkraut, Emily Fitzroy

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Laura La Plante	...	Magnolia
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Gaylord Ravenal
Emily Fitzroy	...	Parthenia Ann Hawks
Otis Harlan	...	Capt. Andy Hawks
Alma Rubens	...	Julie Dozier
Jack McDonald	...	Windy
Jane La Verne	...	Magnolia as Child / Kim
Neely Edwards	...	Schultzy
Elise Bartlett	...	Elly
Stepin Fetchit	...	Joe
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jules Bledsoe	...	Joe [prologue]
Tess Gardella	...	Queenie [prologue] (as Aunt Jemima)
Carl Laemmle	...	Himself [prologue]
Helen Morgan	...	Julie LaVerne [prologue]
Plantation Singers	...	Offscreen chorus

Storyline

The film begins with Magnolia, daughter of Captain Andy Hawks and his domineering wife Parthy, enjoying her childhood aboard her father's show boat. Parthy, irritated over the supposed influence of leading lady Julie (Magnolia's idol and best friend) fires her, despite her husband's objections. Many years later, Magnolia is a young woman and becomes a leading lady. Her leading man is Gaylord Ravenal, a riverboat gambler with whom she falls in love and elopes. But the sudden and unexpected death of Captain Andy forces the couple to leave the boat and move to Chicago rather than endure the disapproving Parthy, and Ravenal's gambling luck soon runs out. Then, Parthy announces she's coming to visit.

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Plot Keywords:

riverboat | gambler | blackface | actress | african american | 

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Taglines:

Dialogue and Sound

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 July 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Komödiantenschiff

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min 147 min (including prologue) 118 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System) (talking and singing sequences) Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The silent version (missing reels 1, 2 and 5) is held by the UCLA Film and Television Archives.

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Goofs

When Nola is given the letter Gaylord has left for her telling her he is leaving her, she is shown holding and reading the letter with her right hand holding the letter near the top and her left hand near the bottom. In the next shot, her hands have changed positions.

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Quotes

Magnolia Hawks as a Child: [intertitle]
[marching in the show boat parade]
Magnolia Hawks as a Child: Mama's going to paddle me, but I don't care.

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Crazy Credits

All performers in the prologue are identified verbally.

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Connections

Referenced in M*A*S*H: For Want of a Boot (1974)

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Soundtracks

"Down South"
(Ravenal's Theme Song) (1900) (uncredited)
Music by William H. Myddleton
Lyrics by Sigmund Spaeth
Information on performance not available

User Reviews

Beautiful, other-worldly performances

Edna Ferber did not write "Showboat" as a musical, but as a novel, and this 1929 silent-early talkie version fleshes out the story of a complicated marriage and makes it completely believable. It is certainly not dated, especially with the number of people today who are addicted to gambling, and it stands on its own two feet without the Jerome Kern score. I was pleasantly surprised, and enjoyed TCM's broadcast completely.

Favorite scenes: when little Magnolia is torn from Julie (Alma Rubens, who would be dead from heroin addiction only two years later) by her jealous mother (Emily Fitzroy, with her customary severe hairknot appearance), when Gay and Magnolia first meet on the Showboat (how beautiful those close-ups were!), and the ending, when the elderly Gay falls at Magnolia's feet and the forlorn Lonesome Road is sung in the background. The last scene in particular seemed other-worldly to me, and that was because of the performances of both Laura La Plante and Joseph Schildkraut, which were so solid and touching.

Especially compared to the later musical versions, which glossed over some of the more difficult aspects of Gay and Magnolia's marriage, 1929's "Showboat" has the courage to show the seedier aspects of the downward turn in their relationship due to gambling. The Grayson-Keel musical has their child being born after Gay leaves, with Magnolia never informing Gay she was pregnant. But in the 1929 version Gay is shown to basically abandon both wife and young child, instead of living up to his responsibilities to get a real job to provide for them. We should have less sympathy for such a man, but somehow, we understand and forgive.