Show Boat (1936)

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.

Director:

James Whale

Writers:

Edna Ferber, Oscar Hammerstein II (stage play)

Stars:

Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Irene Dunne	...	Magnolia
Allan Jones	...	Gaylord Ravenal
Charles Winninger	...	Cap'n Andy Hawks
Paul Robeson	...	Joe
Helen Morgan	...	Julie
Helen Westley	...	Parthy Ann Hawks
Queenie Smith	...	Elly May Chipley
Sammy White	...	Frank Schultz
Donald Cook	...	Steve Baker
Hattie McDaniel	...	Queenie
Francis X. Mahoney	...	Rubber Face
Marilyn Knowlden	...	Kim (as a Child)
Sunnie O'Dea	...	Kim (at Sixteen)
Arthur Hohl	...	Pete
Charles Middleton	...	Vallon

Storyline

Adaptation of the Broadway musical. Magnolia Hawks is the lovely but protected, and thus very naive, daughter of Cap'n Andy Hawks, the genial proprietor of a show boat that cruises the Missisippi, and his nagging wife, Parthy. She is best friends with the show boat's star, Julie LaVerne, but Julie and her husband Steve are forced to leave when it is revealed that Julie has "Negro" blood in her, thereby breaking the state law by being married to the white Steve. Magnolia replaces Julie as the show boat's female star, and the show's new male star is the suave gambler Gaylord Ravenal. "Nola" and Gaylord fall in love and marry against Parthy's wishes. They and their young daughter lead the high life when Gaylord is lucky in gambling, but live like dirt when he's unlucky. During one such unlucky streak, a broken Gaylord leaves Nola, and she is forced to start over by returning to the stage. Like Old Man River, as the famous song from this show goes, she just keeps rollin' along.

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Plot Keywords:

remake | national film registry | younger version of character | miscegenation | biracial | 

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Taglines:

Sensation of 1936!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 May 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Edna Ferber's Show Boat

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Noiseless Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Flora Finch (Hard-of-Hearing Woman), George Hackathorne (YMCA Worker), Theodore Lorch (Simon Legree) and Max Wagner (Soldier) were filmed in scenes which were cut before the movie's release.

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Goofs

When Ravenal first meets Magnolia, just after he sings "Where's The Mate For Me?", she mentions that she plays the piano. He asks, "Was that you I heard just now?", but there is no indication in the film that he actually has heard her. This is probably because part of the scene may have been edited out before the film's release. In the original show, Ravenal sings the first verse of "Where's The Mate For Me?", and then hears Magnolia practicing offstage. Then he goes on to sing a part of the song which is not included in the film. Immediately afterwards, his first conversation with Magnolia takes place, and so, in the stage version, the audience knows exactly when he heard her practicing.

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Quotes

Joe: [singing] I gits weary / An' sick o' tryin' / I'm tired o' livin' / An' scared o' dyin' / But Ol' Man River / He jes' keeps rollin' along!

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Crazy Credits

The credits for this film say "A James Whale Production" although Whale did not produce the film, while the film's posters say "A Carl Laemmle, Jr. Production", and Laemmle did produce the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women (1978)

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Soundtracks

After the Ball
(1892) (uncredited)
Written by Charles Harris
Sung by Irene Dunne and Trocadero nightclub audience
(from the musical "A Trip to Chinatown")

User Reviews

Wonderful Musical!

This movie is a wonderful stage-to-screen musical film. It stuck to the original musical play and had wonderful stars. Irene Dunne as the young innocent Magnolia Hawks, Allan Jones as the charming gambler Gaylord Ravenal, Charles Winninger as Cap'n Andy Hawks, Paul Robenson as Joe, and Helen Morgan, in the role she originated on stage, as Julie LaVerne. This film is a musical drama with comedy and racial references. This film is a great musical about racial differences and the reactions of people, back then, with different races. That is what makes this film a landmark musical and also one of AFI's 100 Years of Musicals and was #24 out of 25 musicals. This version of "Show Boat" is known to be the best movie version of all three movie versions. The 1929 version was not done very well because it was a very early talkie and the numbers weren't heard correctly. The 1951 version was much too sanitized and it took out the value of the whole show. "Show Boat" is a very entertaining and beautiful film.