Show Boat 1951

Show Boat


MGM, 1951, Color, 115 minutes, ****

Premiere release July, 1951

General release September, 1951


If I had to pick the all-time greatest musical, "Show Boat" would probably be my choice. It has become an American institution. From it's first presentation in 1927, the play has been staged all over the country by professional and amateur theater groups. It has been in production by as many as 1200 companies each year! Few (if any) Americans are not familiar with the song "Ol' Man River." A total of three major feature films were made. Though this version is the least true to the original story, it is by far the most beautifully staged and filmed. Anyone who hasn't seen this film certainly should.


Ava Gardner (as Julie) turns in one of the best performances of her career in this film. She pre-recorded "Bill" and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," but MGM decided that it would be a slight to Helen Morgan - the original Julie - to have Ava sing it in the movie because she was not known as a singer. So they had Annette Warren dub her singing for the screen. The soundtrack CD has Ava's original recordings, and they are wonderful!



This cast is perfect. Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel are two of the greatest singers MGM ever had, and both were at the peak of their careers when this film was made. William Warfield's rendition of "Old Man River" is flawless, and probably the best-known, second only to Paul Robeson's original. Ava Gardner as Julie is positively magnificent. Marge and Gower Champion - the country's best-loved song and dance team at the time - provide some light and beautiful moments. Joe E. Brown and Agnes Moorehead are excellent as Cap'n Andy and wife Parthy, the owners of the showboat "Cotton Blossom." The boat was built on the backlot at MGM from original plans from an authentic 19th century river boat that spent its life on the Mississippi. Jerome Kern's song score is one of the most moving and best-known ever. Everything here is Americana at its best!



Produced by: Arthur Freed

Associate Producer: Ben Feiner, Jr.

Directed by: George Sidney

Screen Play by: John Lee Mahin

Based on the Immortal Musical Play "Show Boat" by:

Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, II

from Edna Ferber's Novel

Musical Direction: Adolph Deutsch

Orchestrations: Conrad Salinger

Vocal Arrangements: Robert Tucker

Music: Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II

Lyircs for "Bill" by: Oscar Hammerstein II and P. G. Wodehouse

Additional Orchestrations by: Alexander Courage

Dances by: Robert Alton

Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons and Jack Martin Smith

Special Effects: Peter Ballbusch and Warren Newcombe

Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis

Associate: Richard A. Pefferle

Costumes by: Walter Plunkett

Hair Styles Designed by: Sydney Guilaroff

Make-Up Created by: William Tuttle

Recording Supervisor: Douglas Shearer

Special Effects: Warren Newcombe

Montage Sequences by: Peter Ballbusch

Director of Photography: Charles Rosher

Technicolor Color Consutlants: Hanri Jaffa, James Gooch

Film Editor: John Dunning



Awards: Academy Award Nominations for Best Color Cinematography (Charles Rosher) and Best Score, Musical (Adolph Deutsch and Conrad Salinger)



Cast: Kathryn Grayson [Magnolia Hawks], Howard Keel [Gaylord Ravenal], Ava Gardner [Julie LaVerne], Joe E. Brown [Captain Andy Hawks], Marge Champion [Ellie May Shipley], Gower Champion [Frank Schultz], Robert Sterling [Stephen Baker], Agnes Moorehead [Parthy Hawks], Adele Jergens [Cameo McQueen], William Warfield [Joe], Leif Erickson [Pete], Owen McGiveney [Windy McClain], Frances Williams [Queenie], Regis Toomey [Sheriff Ike Vallon], Frank Wilcox [Mark Hallson], Chick Chandler [Herman], Emory Parnell [Jake Green], Sheila Clark [Kim Ravenal], Ian MacDonald [Drunken Sport], Fuzzy Knight [Trocadero Piano Player], Norman Leavitt [George the Calliope Player], Anne Dore, Christian Lind, Lyn Wilde, Marietta Elliott, Joyce Jameson, Bette Arlen, Helen Kimball, Tac Porchon, Mitzie Uehlein, Judy Landon, Nova Dale, Mary Jane French, Marilyn Kinsley, Alice Markham [Showboat Cast Girls], Michael Dugan, Robert Fortier, George Ford, Cass Jaeger, Boyd Ackerman, Roy Damron, Joseph Roach [Show Boat Cast Boys], George Lynn [Dealer], Louis Mercier [Dabney], Lisa Ferraday [Renee], Anna Q. Nilsson [Seamstress], Ida Moore [Little Old Lady], Alphonse Martell [Headwaiter], Edward Keane [Hotel Manager], Tom Irish [Bellboy], Jim Pierce [Doorman], William Tannen [Man with Julie], Bert Roach [Drunk], Earle Hodgins [Bartender]



Musical Program: [0:00] Main Title (performed by the MGM Studio Orchestra and Chorus behind titles); [0:01] Cap'n Andy's Calliope (played by MGM Studio Orchestra with Roger Edens on Calliope) / Natchez (Orchestra) / Cap'n Andy's Presentation (Cotton Blossom sung by MGM Studio Chorus) / Cap'n Andy's Ballyhoo (played by Orchestra, danced by Marge and Gower Champion) / Encore on Dock (Orchestra); [0:12] Where's the Mate for Me? (sung by Howard Keel); [0:16] Make Believe (sung by Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson); [0:24] Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (sung by Annette Warren dubbing for Ava Gardner); [0:28] Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (reprised by Kathryn Grayson and Annette Warren dubbing for Ava Gardner, "shuffled" by Ava Gardner and Kathryn Grayson); [0:29] I Might Fall Back on You (sung and danced by Marge and Gower Champion); [0:39] Ol' Man River (sung by William Warfield); [0:43] Ol' Man River (reprised by William Warfield and the MGM Studio Chorus); [0:49] Make Believe (reprised by Chorus); [0:51] You Are Love (sung by Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel); [0:58] Why Do I Love You? (sung by Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel); [1:09] Bill (sung by Annette Warren dubbing for Ava Gardner); [1:14] Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (sung by Kathryn Grayson); [1:19] Life Upon the Wicked Stage (sung and danced by Marge and Gower Champion); [1:25] After the Ball (sung by Kathryn Grayson and Audience at Trocadero); [1:32] Joe E. Brown and Sheila Clark dance; [1:53] Make Believe (reprised by Howard Keel singing to Kim]; [1:54] Ol' Man River (reprised by William Warfield and the MGM Studio Chorus]