Most people who are familiar withShow Boatlikely know the1951 MGM Technicolor version, starringKathryn GraysonandHoward Keel, as it is the more recent and easily available version. However, the earlier 1936 black-and-white production, directed byJames Whalefor Universal Pictures, climaxing his streak of successes (includingFrankenstein), and starringIrene Dunne, is correctlyconsidered definitive by many and the better of the two.
NovelistEdna Ferber’s story, on which the film’s script is based,spans sixty years, beginning in the 1880s with The Cotton Blossom, one of the many showboats that were floating theaters of the time, bringing entertainment to the isolated towns and cities along the Mississippi River andnavigating through the patchwork of the manystates’ differing Jim Crow racial laws.
What is ‘Show Boat’ About?
As theCotton Blossom pulls into a new Mississippi town, the excited townsfolk flock to the dockto greet it. Among the crowd is a handsome young gambler, Gaylord Ravenal (Allan Jones), who is looking for a ride. Gay meets and flirts with Nola, short for Magnolia (Irene Dunne), the 18-year-old daughter of the showboat’s captain and owner, and they are immediately attracted to one another. On the dock, a fight breaks out between Frank Schultz (Sammy White), the show’s character actor, and Pete (Arthur Hohl), the tugboat engineer trying to force himself on Frank’s wife and leading lady Julie (Helen Morgan). Pete skulks off, threatening revenge.
Pete returns with the local sheriff accusing Julie of “miscegenation,” that is, being interracially married, a crime in Mississippi at the time, which she and Frank admit is true. The showboat’s captain, Cap’n Andy (Charles Winninger), reluctantly fires Julie and Frank, giving their roles to Nola and Gay, who fall in love and are soon married. When Nola gives birth to a little girl, Kim, they move to Chicago, living well for a while off Gay’s gambling winnings. Ten years later, Gay’s luck plays out, and he abandons Nola and Kim.Nola finds work when her old friend from the showboat, Julie, quits her jobin a nightclub, so Nola can step in. Nola enjoys a long and successful career on the stage, finally retiring in old age as Kim is launching her own Broadway career. By chance,Nola runs into Gay, now the stage door attendantat Kim’s theater, and the family is reunited.
Ironically,Dunne had previously played a similarly abandoned wife in another successful Ferber adaptation (1931’sCimarron) with the same melodramatic ending (apparently a trope for the unmarried Ferber) of the wife reunited with her once successful husband, who has been reduced to penury.Both Ferber and director Whale courageously desired to spotlight and elevate the humanity of the downtrodden, especially their Black characters. This prompted Whale to give the legendary singer and civil rights activistPaulRobesonand the inimitableHattieMcDaniel(as servants Joe and Queenie) an additional duet, despite the threat that film distributors in Southern states might edit the scene out because of those areas' racist attitudes.
1936’s ‘Show Boat’ Is a Valuable Piece of History
There is no denying thatShow Boatis an expression of a much more blatantly racist time in America, and for that reason, it is alsoa valuable piece of living history of both the shamefully racist practices of the day and a document of the original artistic responseto them. This production, with the participation of many of the creators ofthe original stage showand with a director whose focus was on story rather than spectacle, is a much more accurate and essential representation of the spirit of the piece than the MGM remake.
Many of the original Broadway cast members, still performing on stage after the 1927 premiere,were scooped right off the stage and brought to Hollywoodwith their original performances intact, including the legendary and tragic Helen Morgan (who, much like her character, would die of alcoholism six years later) as Julie,Charles Winningeras Cap’n Andy andSammy Whiteas Frank Schultz. Whale also imported the show’s musical director (Victor Baravalle) to help maintain its musical vision. Irene Dunne and HattieMcDaniel (three years beforeGone With The Windwould earn her a landmark Oscar) had both beenon tours of the showbefore making the film and knew their roles well. PaulRobeson, for whom the role of Joe was created and intended, hadfinally brought it to Broadway in 1932and made it his own. Additionally, the film was directed by Universal’s visionary, James Whale, focusing first and foremost on capturing the performances and story in glorious black and white.
What Makes ‘Show Boat’ So Good?
Show Boatwastes no time getting to the hard facts of its story withPaul Robeson’s rendition of “Ol’ Man River,” a lament to the hardness of life, which is, in a word, definitive. It is enhanced ably by director Whale’s camera framing and expressionistic vignettes illustrating the song’s mournful lyrics. Despite the show’s natural focus on its women characters and female stars,the heart and soul of the movie is veteran comedic actor Charles Winningeras Cap’n Andy. Blissfully and naturally energetic, he drives the show forward, whether as Nola’s ever-present cheerleader (“Smile, Nolie, smile!”), his shrewish wife’s long-suffering husband or the showboat’s soft-hearted boss. His one-man re-enactment of the show’s finale in the face of absent actors is a classic tour-de-force, exemplifying the journeyman actor’s necessary eternal optimism.
Dunne and Jones’ duets are simply staged and lovely. Dunne’s shuffling dance to “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” is meant as loving, albeit regressive, mimicry. Morgan’s sad rendition of the torch song “Bill” is heartfelt and for the ages. AndHattie McDaniel as Queenie, with her joyful and indomitable larger-than-life spirit, is simply irreplaceable.
The film was withdrawn from circulation in the 1940s when MGM bought the rights and prints from Universal in anticipation of its own production, which wasn’t made until 1950. It was held back further whenHUAC blacklisted Paul Robesonand was not seen again until after he died in 1976.We should treasure it nowas a true piece of Americana, show business, and Hollywood history. The film has a100% critics and 73% audience approval ratingon Rotten Tomatoes, and in 1996, it was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress, a deserving honor for an underrated classic.
