Show Boat (1936)

Universal, 1936
Starring Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, and Paul Robeson
Directed by James Whale
Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein

Last week, we looked at two musicals that were remakes of non-musical comedies. For the next two weeks, we'll be checking out musicals that were remade as musicals...but in both cases, the remake wound up being subtly different from the original. And in both cases, they in themselves were remakes. Universal released their first version of Show Boat in 1928, a year after its first run on Broadway...but it only a part-sound film, with the songs in a prologue in the beginning. Producer Carl Laemmle Jr. and director James Whale wanted to try again and make it as authentic to the original show as possible at the time. Did they succeed? Let's head to the docks on the Mississippi River, just as the titular show boat is arriving, and find out...

The Story:  Captain Andy (Winninger) is the head of the Cotton Blossom, a traveling show boat plying the Mississippi in the 1880's. His teenage daughter Magnolia (Dunne) would give anything to be on the stage, but her mother Parthy (Helen Westley) disapproves. She falls in love with a wandering gambler named Gaylord Ravenal (Jones) and marries him despite Parthy's protests. Despite her lack of experience, Magnolia eventually takes over from the leading lady Julie (Helen Morgan) when it's discovered that her husband is white and she's partly black. Their marriage is illegal in the Deep South, forcing them off the boat.

Gaylord and Magnolia have a daughter, Kim, and then become rich off his winnings...until his luck runs out. By 1899, he's abandoned Magnolia in Chicago, since he's unable to support her any longer. She takes a job at a local club, where Julie and fellow former Cotton Blossom players Frank (Sammy White) and Ellie May (Queenie Smith) are working. Magnolia takes over from Julie on New Year's Eve and becomes a sensation. She eventually goes on to become one of the most beloved stars in the world, with her daughter Kim following in her footsteps...but Gaylord has never forgotten them.

The Song and Dance: Universal didn't usually throw themselves into musicals, but they really went all out for this one. The costumes and sets are lavish and gorgeous, beautifully reflecting their late 19th-early 20th century Deep South setting. Winninger and Westley are hilarious as the head of the show boat troupe and his sensible and rather prissy wife. Check out the scene where Winninger re-enacts the plot of an entire melodrama by himself!

Definately my favorite thing about this one are the hilariously laid-back Robeson and tough Hattie MacDaniel as Joe the dock worker and his wife Queenie the cook. They get some of the best lines, and my favorite of the new songs, "Ah Still Suit Me." They play off each other perfectly and really elevate the first half of the film.

Favorite Number: "I Have the Room Above Her," a charming ballad performed by Gaylord when he's trying to get Magnolia's attention, is so adorable it's been used in several subsequent stage versions. Morgan, MacDaniel, and Dunne have a blast with the black workers with "Can't Help Lovin' That Man." Dunne and Jones have a gorgeous "Make Believe" and also do fairly well with "You are Love." "Ah Still Suits Me" gives us some hilarious banter between MacDaniel and Robeson, as she complains of being fed up with his shiftless ways.

Two performances here have never been equaled. Morgan gives the definitive poignant version of "Bill" on the piano just prior to Julie's audition. Robeson sang "Old Man River" live, directly for the cameras...and he's nothing short of magnificent, his voice aching with the bittersweet life of the black river-dweller.

What I Don't Like: The other newly added song is "Gallavantin' Around" for Dunne and the chorus on the show boat. While it is fairly true to the place and time period, the blackface and banjo stereotypes are more wince-inducing than rousing today.

I wish they'd used some of the other songs from the show. Frank and Ellie May's roles are greatly reduced from other versions, as two of their three big songs, "I Might Fall Back On You" and "Life Upon the Wicked Stage," were dropped. Queenie also loses her only solo, "Queenie's Ballyhoo." "Why Do I Love You" was apparently filmed, but not used. There was also supposed to be a lot more to Kim's big dance number in the finale, including a modern routine to contrast with the Old South dance.

MacDaniel and Robeson are such stand-outs, once they disappear during the second half of the film, things become considerably less interesting. Dunne is more believable as the adult Magnolia dealing with her husband's abandonment in Chicago than as a hopefully teenager, and Jones isn't up to the heavier dramatics. Their final moments come off as overly sentimental and rather cliched.

The Big Finale: Even with all the problems, this is still a legendary Show Boat, and the closest you'll get to the original 1927 Broadway show at this point. If you love Show Boat, darker shows, or the cast, this is one ballyhoo you'll definitely want to get behind.

Home Media: Currently only available on DVD via the Warner Archives (which is how I have it).

DVD