Show Boat (1936) (Edna Ferber's Show Boat)

Watched in 2023: Movies (132 movies items)

" Director: James Whale His 12th movie My 4th movie watched from the director "Old Man River", the famous song, is so beautifully directed and presented in this movie. It's the best part of the movie, sadly it's in the beginning, so it's all down hill from there. The rest shows a bunch of annoying people who don't know what they want. It's really not a bad movie overall, I just didn't care about the characters... everything else is somewhat impressive for 1936 filmmaking. Added to Lists:"

Show Boat

“My knowledge of the film versions of Show Boat is limited to the 1951 version with Ava Gardner and the heavily truncated version wedged into the opening of Till the Clouds Roll By. I had heard of this version, and knew that James Whale, one of the great-underrated talents of the era, directed it, but it wasn’t easily available. Widely considered the greatest movie musicals, and the penultimate adaptation of the stage show, this 1936 version of Show Boat was an object of my obsession in tracking down to view. So, thank god for the internet is all I’ll say.   For a movie that placed into the National Film Registry thirty years ago, this version of Show Boat has been a ghostly presence in the home-video market. Along with a 1929 half-silent/half-talkie version also produced by Universa” read more