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Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ava Gardner, Joe E. Brown, Marge Champion ... see more see more... , Gower Champion , Robert Sterling , Agnes Moorehead , William Warfield , Chick Chandler , Leif Erickson , Lisa Ferraday , George Ford , Robert Fortier , Earl Hodgins , Tom Irish , Joyce Jameson , Edward Keane , Fuzzy Knight , Judy Landon , Norman Leavitt , George Lynn , Ian MacDonald , Alphonse Martell , Owen McGiveney , Louis Mercier , Ida Moore , Anna Q. Nilsson , Emory Parnell , James Pierce , Bert Roach , Regis Toomey , Frank Wilcox , Lynn Wilde , Michael Dugan , William Tannen , Bette Arlen , Roy Damron , Anne Dore , Marietta Elliott , Mary Jane French , Marilyn Kinsley , Mitzie Uehlein , Frances E. Williams

The third and (to date) last film version of the Edna Ferber/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Show Boat falls just short of greatness but is still a whale of a show. Howard Keel and Kathryn Gr... read more read more...ayson are in fine fettle as irresponsible gambler Gaylord Ravenal and showboat ingenue Magnolia Hawks. The plot adheres closely to the Broadway original making several welcome improvements in the final act (which was always a bit shaky). Magnolia, daughter of showboat impresario Captain Andy (Joe E. Brown) and Parthy Hawkes (Agnes Moorehead), falls head over heels in love with the raffish Ravenal. When the show's leading lady, Julie (Ava Gardner), and leading man, Steve (Robert Sterling), are forced to leave when Julie's mulatto heritage is revealed by disgruntled suitor Pete (Leif Erickson), Magnolia and Gaylord step into the vacant stage roles and score a hit. Eventually, the two are married and for several months are quite happy. After incurring serious gambling losses, however, Gaylord walks out of Magnolia's life never realizing that his wife is expecting a baby. With the help of her former showboat colleagues Ellie and Frank Schultz (Marge and Gower Champion) and a behind-the-scenes assist from the tragic Julie, Magnolia secures work as a Cabaret singer in Chicago. Her new year's eve debut threatens to be a bust until her father Captain Andy quells the rowdy crowd and guides his daughter through a lovely rendition of After the Ball (a Charles K. Harris tune that pops up in every stage version of Show Boat). Magnolia returns to her family, with her daughter Kim in tow. Upon learning from Julie that he has a daughter, Gaylord returns to Magnolia and Kim, setting the stage for a joyous ending. Virtually all of the Kern-Hammerstein songs are retained for this version of Show Boat (though none of the songs specially written for the 1936 film version are heard). These cannot be faulted, nor can MGM's sumptuous production values. Still, the 1951 Show Boat leaves one a bit cold. Perhaps it was the removal of the racial themes that gave the original so much substance (as black stevedore Joe, William Warfield exists only to sing a toned-down version Ol' Man River while Joe's wife Queenie is virtually written out of the proceedings). Also, MGM reneged on its original decision to cast Lena Horne as Julie; the role was recast with Ava Gardner and rewritten with an excess of gooey sentiment). Or perhaps it was the production's factory-like slickness; typical of the film's smoothing out of the original property's rough edges was the casting of Marge and Gower Champion, who are just too darn good to be convincing as the doggedly mediocre entertainers Frank and Ellie. Even so, Show Boat does have Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson at their peak, not to mention the peerless Joe E. Brown as Captain Andy. And the film was a financial success, enabling MGM to bankroll such future musical triumphs as Singin' in the Rain and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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68% liked it

5,293 ratings

Critics

89% liked it

9 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 47 min.

Directed by: George Sidney II, George Sidney

Release Date: January 1, 1951

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DVD Release Date: August 27, 1997

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Flixster Reviews (197)

  • jjnxn
    June 20, 2007
    jjnxn
    beautiful music, great cast and Ava Gardner will break your heart
  • chelseafeller
    March 22, 2009
    chelseafeller
    Oh Lord. This film is so unintentionally racist but so good. Great music, the characters. definitely see this one.
  • x0hn0th3r4nc0rx
    August 22, 2007
    x0hn0th3r4nc0rx
    I never finished watching this movie--too little plot and too many songs. I'm a fan of musicals, but it was too much, even for me.
  • wolfpup106
    May 7, 2007
    wolfpup106
    This movie was in a lot of ways sad, but it had great musical numbers and I really liked how the friends were loyal to each other in their own way, with the older one looking out for the other as best she could.
  • jennalynde
    March 4, 2007
    jennalynde
    Star dust fell to earth one night and a baby boy inhaled it all ... that was Howard Keel; the man with the richest singing voice ever put to the screen. The whole cast is superb in performing Jerome Kerns and Oscar Hammerstein III's music, but Keel is the most charming of them a... read morell. "Can't he'p lovin' dat man o' mine."

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Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz
February 2, 2006
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A much weaker Show Boat version than the 1936 one by James Whale. Full Review

Ken Hanke
August 11, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Okay, but not a patch on the 1936 James Whale film.

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 15, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Philip Martin
February 11, 2005
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

Christopher Null
January 15, 2005
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

Click to read the article Full Review

Carol Cling
December 5, 2003
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

Josh Gilchrist
April 6, 2003
Josh Gilchrist, Billings Outpost (Montana)

No review available.

David Poland
July 26, 2002
David Poland, Hot Button

No review available.

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Show Boat Trivia

  • what is the name of Trueman's boat in "The Trueman Show"  Answer »
  • what two actors/actresses connect these old musicals? Show Boat and Kiss me Kate  Answer »
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