Much of the last act of "Show Boat" shows the characters of Magnolia, Captain Andy and Parthy years after Gaylord has abandoned his wife, unaware that she is carrying his child. Whatever reason that was done is only known in the letters of the MGM vault or those who had access to them, but somehow the film feels a bit tighter, if not complete. The 1936 version is the definitive "Show Boat", classic in every way that made the musical such a ground-breaker, the "Hamilton" of its time when it opened on Broadway in 1927. But for years, this MGM remake was the only version available, with the earlier versions shelved along with other studio versions of films that MGM got the rights to and re- made. It was the first of three teamings of the beautiful Kathryn Grayson and the dashing Howard Keel, and when they were reunited years later on the Oscars to reprise a bit of "Make Believe", Academy Award audience members went wild.
This was not the first time that Ms. Grayson had played Magnolia; She had appeared in the abbreviated version as a part of the Jerome Kern musical biography "Till the Clouds Roll By" which featured Tony Martin instead of the yet undiscovered Keel. But by 1951, Keel was a film star, having scored a success in the movie version of "Annie Get Your Gun", and was perfectly cast as her leading man. While Lena Horne performed "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" as Julie in "Till the Clouds Roll By", for some reason, MGM would not cast her (obvious reasons considering the political climate of the time) and Ava Gardner (dubbed) was cast. Years later, Horne would write about her disappointment and narrated part of "That's Entertainment III", but her bitterness was towards the studio, not Ava. Either way, it was an unfortunate oversight, although Ava in her acting is outstanding.
The rising song and dance team of Marge and Gower Champion take on the lighter roles of Ellie and Frank, performing "Life Upon the Wicked Stage" and "I Might Fall Back on You", but they are rather inconsequential to the story other than to provide friendship to Magnolia after she runs off with Gaylord and is abandoned by him. Joe E. Brown is a delightful comic surprise as Captain Andy, both lovable and poignant, his tears over hearing daughter Magnolia singing "After the Ball" quite emotional. Agnes Moorehead as the nagging Parthy fills her character with an underlying sentimentality that shows through her strict temperament, but it is still a variation of future "Bewitched" character Endora (and her "Singing Nun" character as well) that she is basically portraying.
As much of the score was cut out for this movie version, this is not the perfect "Show Boat", but for what remains, it is colorful, well acted, beautifully sung and energetically danced. I'm glad that some of the rather dated comedy was deleted, and want to give special praise to William Warfield who outside of Paul Robeson delivers the very best "Old Man River" I've ever heard. In fact, I really feel that both Robeson and Warfield deserved Oscar nominations for their performances which capture so much of the emotional heartbreak that strong black men were undergoing when racism was rampant and accepted.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Grayson at a screening of "Kiss Me Kate", and she was joined by Annette Warren who dubbed for Gardner. The shots of Gardner as she goes from lovely leading lady to drunken has-been are heartbreaking, as is the scene where she hides from old friend Magnolia (not wanting to be seen for what she's become), and that final shot of her on the docks looking on. Kleenex is a must for those parts and makes up for the lapse of what was taken out to cut down on running time or be accepted in a politically tumultuous time in American history.
This was not the first time that Ms. Grayson had played Magnolia; She had appeared in the abbreviated version as a part of the Jerome Kern musical biography "Till the Clouds Roll By" which featured Tony Martin instead of the yet undiscovered Keel. But by 1951, Keel was a film star, having scored a success in the movie version of "Annie Get Your Gun", and was perfectly cast as her leading man. While Lena Horne performed "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" as Julie in "Till the Clouds Roll By", for some reason, MGM would not cast her (obvious reasons considering the political climate of the time) and Ava Gardner (dubbed) was cast. Years later, Horne would write about her disappointment and narrated part of "That's Entertainment III", but her bitterness was towards the studio, not Ava. Either way, it was an unfortunate oversight, although Ava in her acting is outstanding.
The rising song and dance team of Marge and Gower Champion take on the lighter roles of Ellie and Frank, performing "Life Upon the Wicked Stage" and "I Might Fall Back on You", but they are rather inconsequential to the story other than to provide friendship to Magnolia after she runs off with Gaylord and is abandoned by him. Joe E. Brown is a delightful comic surprise as Captain Andy, both lovable and poignant, his tears over hearing daughter Magnolia singing "After the Ball" quite emotional. Agnes Moorehead as the nagging Parthy fills her character with an underlying sentimentality that shows through her strict temperament, but it is still a variation of future "Bewitched" character Endora (and her "Singing Nun" character as well) that she is basically portraying.
As much of the score was cut out for this movie version, this is not the perfect "Show Boat", but for what remains, it is colorful, well acted, beautifully sung and energetically danced. I'm glad that some of the rather dated comedy was deleted, and want to give special praise to William Warfield who outside of Paul Robeson delivers the very best "Old Man River" I've ever heard. In fact, I really feel that both Robeson and Warfield deserved Oscar nominations for their performances which capture so much of the emotional heartbreak that strong black men were undergoing when racism was rampant and accepted.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Grayson at a screening of "Kiss Me Kate", and she was joined by Annette Warren who dubbed for Gardner. The shots of Gardner as she goes from lovely leading lady to drunken has-been are heartbreaking, as is the scene where she hides from old friend Magnolia (not wanting to be seen for what she's become), and that final shot of her on the docks looking on. Kleenex is a must for those parts and makes up for the lapse of what was taken out to cut down on running time or be accepted in a politically tumultuous time in American history.