IMDb RATING
7.4/10
3.6K
YOUR RATING
Despite her mother's objections, the naive young daughter of a show boat captain is thrust into the limelight as the company's new leading lady.Despite her mother's objections, the naive young daughter of a show boat captain is thrust into the limelight as the company's new leading lady.Despite her mother's objections, the naive young daughter of a show boat captain is thrust into the limelight as the company's new leading lady.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
Maude Allen
- Fat Woman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Edna Ferber
- Oscar Hammerstein II
- Zoe Akins(material unused) (uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSpecial permission had to be granted from the Hays Office in order to retain the famous miscegenation (interracial marriage) sequence in the movie. Miscegenation was banned as a film subject and the scene had been excluded from the 1929 film version.
- GoofsAbout five minutes in, Cap'n Andy Hawks is introducing Miss Ellie May Chipley, the toast of Cairo, Illinois. He mispronounces Cairo. His pronunciation is for the capital of Egypt. Cairo, IL is pronounced Kay'ro, with perhaps other local variants. But NEVER as the Egyptian capital.
- Crazy creditsThe rights to this film were bought by M-G-M in 1942, so all prints shown on TV until the mid 1990's had the roaring lion logo at the beginning. However, despite having bought the rights, M-G-M retained Universal Pictures' spinning globe for the "The End: A Universal Picture" credit at the film's close.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The All Talking, All Singing, All Dancing Show (1973)
- SoundtracksCotton Blossom
(1927) (uncredited)
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Sung by offscreen mixed chorus (during opening credits) and in opening scene by mixed chorus of dock workers
Featured review
It just keeps rollin' along...
This is by far a superior film to the glossy, Technicolor 1951 version, which (among other things) totally weakens the character of Magnolia. The cast is uniformly wonderful and the film forever preserves the legendary performances of Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson and Charles Winninger. The Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern score is wonderful--particularly the immortal "Ol' Man River".
Directed by James Whale (recently the subject of "Gods and Monsters"), this version shows a real sensitivity towards blacks and women. Both groups were severely oppressed in American society at the time, and one can't help but feel that Whale brought his own unique perspective as an outsider to this story.
Yes, there are a couple of uneasy moments (ie-Magnolia's number in blackface), but remember that such practices were commonplace in the theatre in late 19th century America. It is important that we do not gloss over these facts, but rather fully recognized the prejudices and bigotry of the past.
A great movie and important view into our past.
Directed by James Whale (recently the subject of "Gods and Monsters"), this version shows a real sensitivity towards blacks and women. Both groups were severely oppressed in American society at the time, and one can't help but feel that Whale brought his own unique perspective as an outsider to this story.
Yes, there are a couple of uneasy moments (ie-Magnolia's number in blackface), but remember that such practices were commonplace in the theatre in late 19th century America. It is important that we do not gloss over these facts, but rather fully recognized the prejudices and bigotry of the past.
A great movie and important view into our past.
helpful•71
- angelcitygal
- Jun 18, 1999
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Edna Ferber's Show Boat
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 53 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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