The "Cotton Blossom", owned by the Hawk family, is the show boat where everyone comes for great musical entertainment down south. Julie Laverne and her husband are the stars of the show. After, a snitch on board calls the local police that Julie (who's half- African-American) is married to a whiteman, they are forced to leave the show boat. The reason being, that down south interracial marriages are forbidden. Magnolia Hawk, Captain Andy Hawks daughter, becomes the new show boat attraction and her leading man is Gaylord Ravenal, a gambler. The two instantly fall in love, and marry, without Parthy Hawks approval. Magnolia and Gaylord leave the, "Cotton Blossom", for a whirl wind honeymoon and being to live in a Pl: fantasy world. Magnolia soon faces reality quickly, that gambling means more to Gaylord than anything else. Magnolia confront Gaylord and after he gambles away their fortune he leaves her - not knowing she is pregnant...
Written by Kelly
It reportedly took only one take for William Warfield to pre-record his rendition of "Ol' Man River" prior to filming.
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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.
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Quotes
Joe:
[brushing Pete's clothes off immediately after his fistfight with Steve]
Please, Mister Pete, don't go gettin' yourself all riled up over things. Besides, Mister Steve and Miss Julie, they gotta play performances here. Pete:
Yeah? Well I know a thing or two; we'll see how many performances they play in this town! See more »
Crazy Credits
Some prints of this film spell Leif Erickson's name the correct way in the
opening credits; others spell it as "Lief Erickson".
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