Show Boat [Criterion Collection]

Show Boat [Criterion Collection]

Director: James Whale Cast: Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
, Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
, Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne
, Allan Jones
Allan Jones
James Whale
Show Boat [Criterion Collection]

Show Boat [Criterion Collection]

Director: James Whale Cast: Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
, Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
, Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne
, Allan Jones
Allan Jones
James Whale

DVD (Black & White)

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Overview

This second film version of the Edna Ferber/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Show Boat is considered by many film buffs to be the best of the three. Covering nearly four decades (was there ever an Edna Ferber novel that didn't?), the film stars Irene Dunne as Magnolia Hawks, a role she'd previously played on stage, though not in the Broadway version. The daughter of showboat impresario Captain Andy (Charles Winninger, who was in the Broadway original), Magnolia is swept off her feet by dashing gambler Gaylord Ravenal (Allan Jones). Yearning to appear on the showboat stage, Magnolia gets her chance when Captain Andy's leading lady, the tragic Julie (Helen Morgan, likewise a holdover from Broadway), is ordered not to perform by a small-town sheriff because she is Mulatto. Julie's husband Steve (Donald Cook) loyally walks out with his wife, thereby leaving the leading-man position open--but not for long, since Gaylord Ravenal agrees to take over for Steve, the better to stay close to Magnolia. Despite the disapproval of Magnolia's mother Parthy Hawks (Helen Westley), Magnolia and Ravenal are married. Later on, the couple has a baby girl named Kim. At first, the young family is blissfully happy, but as Ravenal's gambling debts begin to mount, things turn sour. Unable to support Magnolia and Kim, Ravenal walks out on them both. Desperately, Magnolia tries to get a job as a singer in Chicago. She auditions at a night spot where, fortuitously, Julie is the featured attraction. Hoping to give Magnolia a break, Julie gets drunk, forcing the manager to hire Magnolia as a replacement. During her New Years' Eve debut, Magnolia "chokes up" in front of the raucous audience--and then, who should emerge from the crowd but lovable Captain Andy, who gives Magnolia the encouragement she needs. Magnolia goes on to become a famous musical comedy star, as does her grown-up daughter Kim (played as an adult by Sunnie O'Dea). On the eve of Magnolia's retirement from the theater, she is reunited with her now-contrite husband Gaylord Ravenal. While the second half of Show Boat departs radically from both the novel (in which Ravenal never returns ) and the Broadway show, the film manages to capture the spirit of its literary and theatrical ancestors. Of the original score, "Cotton Blossom," "Ol' Man River," "Where's the Mate for Me?" "Make Believe," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," "You are Love" and "Bill" are retained, while most of the other songs are heard as background accompaniment. Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II penned three new tunes for the film version: "Ah Still Suits Me," "Gallavantin' Around" and "I Have the Room Above."" As in all stage and screen versions of Show Boat, the Charles K. Harris standard "After the Ball" is heard in the New Year sequence. In addition to the aforementioned Dunne, Jones, Winninger, Westley, Morgan, and O'Dea, the Show Boat cast includes the magnificent Paul Robeson as Joe (his rendition of "Ol' Man River" can still induce goosebumps), Hattie McDaniel as Queenie and Sammy White and Queenie Smith as the engagingly second-rate vaudeville team of Frank and Ellie Schultz. Though James Whale of Frankenstein fame seems an odd choice for director, he brings a vibrant theatricality to the proceedings that is lacking in other versions. Show Boat literally saved the financially strapped Universal Pictures from receivership--but not soon enough to prevent the ousters of Carl Laemmle Sr. and Jr. in favor of a new administration.

Product Details

Release Date: 03/31/2020
UPC: 0715515243315
Original Release: 1936
Rating: NR
Source: Criterion Collection
Region Code: 1
Presentation: [B&W]
Sound: [Dolby Digital Mono]
Language: English
Time: 1:53:00
Sales rank: 5,019

Special Features

New, restored 4k digital transfer; Audio Commentary from 1989 featuring American-musical historian Miles Kreuger; New interview with James Whale biographer James Curtis; Recognizing Race in "Show Boat," a new interview program featuring professor and author Shana L. Redmond; Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist (1979), an Academy Award-winning short documentary by Saul J. Turell, newly restored; Four performances from the sound prologue of the 1929 film version of Show Boat, including songs from original Broadway cast members Helen Morgan, Jules Bledsoe, and Tess Gardella, plus twenty minutes of silent excerpts from the film, with Audio Commentary by Kreuger; Two radio adaptations of Show Boat, featuring stage and screen cast members Morgan, Allan Jones, and Charles Winninger; Producer Orson Welles; and novelist Edna Ferber; Plus: An essay by critic Gary Giddins

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Irene Dunne Magnolia Hawks
Allan Jones Gaylord Ravenal
Charles Winninger Capt. Andy Hawks
Paul Robeson Joe
Helen Westley Parthy Hawks
Helen Morgan Julie
Sammy White Frank Schultz
Queenie Smith Ellie
Donald Cook Steve
J. Farrell MacDonald Windy
Arthur Hohl Pete
Charles Middleton Sheriff Vallon,Sheriff Vallon
Hattie McDaniel Queenie, Joe's Wife
Francis X. Mahoney Rubberface
Sunnie O'Dea Elder Kim
Marilyn Knowlden Younger Kim
Patricia Barry Baby Kim
Dorothy Granger Chorus Girl
Barbara Pepper Chorus Girl
Renee Whitney Chorus Girl
Harry Barris Jake
Clarence Muse Sam the Janitor
Stanley Fields Zebe
Tiny Sandford Backwoodsman,Backwoodsman
May Beatty Landlady
Bobs Watson Lost Child,Lost Child
Jane Keckley Mrs. Ewing
E.E. Clive Englishman
Helen Jerome Eddy Reporter
Donald Briggs Press Agent
LeRoy Prinz Dance Director
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson Young Black Man
Patti Patterson Banjo Player
Helen Hayward Mrs. Brencenbridge
Flora Finch Woman
Theodore Lorch Simon Legree
Arthur Housman Drunk
Elspeth Dudgeon Mother Superior
Monte Montague Old Man
Lois Verner Small Girl
Grace Cunard Mother
Selmar Jackson Hotel Clerk,Young Man,Hotel Clerk
Marilyn Harris Little Girl
Eddy Chandler Gambler
Lee Phelps Gambler
Frank Mayo Gambler
Edward Peil Sr. Gambler
Edmund Cobb Gambler
Al Ferguson Gambler
Maude Allen Fat Woman
Artye Folz Fat Girl
LeRoy J. Prinz Dance Director
Barbara Bletcher Fat Girl
George Reed Old Black Man,Old Black Man
Forrest Stanley Theater Manager
Jack Latham Juvenile
Georgia O'Dell Schoolteacher
Charles Wilson Jim Green
George Hackathorne YMCA Worker
Ernest Hilliard Race Fan
Jack Mulhall Race Fan
Brooks Benedict Race Fan

Technical Credits
James Whale Director
Oscar Hammerstein II Screenwriter
Carl Laemmle Jr. Producer
John P. Fulton Special Effects

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Show Boat
255. Chapters
1. The Cotton Palace [8:53]
2. "Where's the Mate for Me?" [1:50]
3. "Make Believe" [4:33]
4. "Ol' Man River" [4:33]
5. "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" [5:08]
6. Julie's Secret [11:08]
7. "Life Upon the Wicked Stage" [2:37]
8. "I Have the Room Above Her" [7:02]
9. The Parson's Bride [10:53]
10. "Gallivantin' Around" [3:02]
11. "You Are Love" [3:04]
12. The Wedding [2:20]
13. "Ah Still Suits Me" [3:36]
14. Kim is Born [4:38]
15. Living the High Life [3:04]
16. Ravenal's Letter [5:15]
17. "Make Believe" (Reprise) [2:58]
18. "Bill" [5:19]
19. "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" (Reprise) [4:19]
20. New Year's Eve [2:18]
21. "Goodbye, My Lady Love" [2:33]
22. "After The Ball" [3:10]
23. Rise to Stardom [4:09]
24. "Gallivantin' Around" (Reprise) [4:37]
25. "You Are Love" (Reprise) [2:38]
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