Show Boat (1951)

MGM, 1951
Starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ava Gardner, and Joe E. Brown
Directed by George Sidney
Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein

MGM bought the rights to Show Boat in the 1940's, hoping to make it into a vehicle for their then-stars Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. It took so long for them to get it off the ground, it was switched to featuring Grayson and Keel, along with the wildly popular Gardner. How does this glossy Technicolor retelling compare to other versions, including the one I reviewed on Tuesday? Let's return to the docks along the Mississippi as the Cotton Blossom is arriving and find out...

The Story: We kick things off with the boat's leading man Steve (Robert Sterling) and engineer Pete (Leif Erickson) fighting over leading lady Julie (Gardner), and Pete running off to tell the sheriff about them. Having gambled his ship ticket away, Gaylord Ravenal (Keel) tries to get passage on the ship as an actor. The head of the troupe Cap'n Andy (Brown) turns him down, but he still falls in love with Andy's stage-struck daughter Magnolia (Grayson). When Julie is discovered to be part-black, she and Steve are forced to leave the Show Boat, leaving an opening for Magnolia and Gaylord to become the new leads.

Magnolia and Gaylord are huge hits on the river. Over the objections of Magnolia's mother Parthy (Agnes Moorehead), they marry and move to Chicago, living the high life on Gaylord's winnings. Their "high life" ends abruptly when Gaylord's luck ends and he runs out, leaving a pregnant Magnolia destitute. She takes over Julie's job in a Chicago nightclub, making a big hit (with encouragement from Cap'n Andy) on New Year's Eve. She goes back to the show boat to bear her child, Kim. Gaylord is still gambling, but he never forgot his wife...and Julie's not about to let him abandon his woman like she was abandoned.

The Song and Dance: The movie mostly benefits from the bright and glossy Technicolor production. The jewel tones of the dancers and performers pop off the screen and make for a nice contrast with the less bold colors of the river workers, Magnolia and Parthy, and the river itself. Keel and Gardner have the best performances here. Keel is a far stronger Ravenal than Jones and handles the dramatic scenes a little bit better. Gardner, despite being dubbed, puts in one of her best performances as the tortured Julie.

Favorite Number: "Ol' Man River" is almost as strong here, with William Warfield's stirring performance matched by Roger Edens' simple and touching direction. (Sidney was sick and Edens took over the sequence.) Dancers Gower and Marge Champion have a blast with their adorable routines to two of my favorite songs from this score, "I Might Fall Back On You" and "Life Upon the Wicked Stage." Grayson and Keel's "Make Believe" and "Why Do I Love You?" are gorgeous and moving.

What I Don't Like: No amount of gorgeous scenery or cute dance numbers can mask the fact that this movie isn't as authentic or as interesting as the 1936 version. We'll start with Gardner being dubbed. Her real vocals were used on the soundtrack album, and they're not that bad. The entire premise of racism is pushed aside. The scene with Steve and Julie after Julie is accused of being black is rushed and mostly brushed aside.  Joe is seen only for "Ol' Man River," and Queenie is barely seen at all. While I am glad they brought Julie back in for the ending and it does come off as a little less sentimental than in 1936, it also loses the point of how love - and the river - endures for generations.

The Big Finale: While not as good as the previous version, it does have some things of interest for fans of MGM musicals or Gardner and Keel, including songs that didn't make the cut in '36.

Home Media: As one of the most popular MGM musicals of the 1950's, this is fairly easy to find on DVD and streaming.

DVD
Amazon Prime