
Show Boat
by Kathryn Grayson (Magnolia Hawks),
Howard Keel (Gaylord Ravenal),
Ava Gardner (Julie Laverne),
Joe E. Brown (Capt. Andy Hawks),
Agnes Moorehead (Parthy Hawks),
Marge Champion (Ellie May Shipley,Frank Schultz),
William Warfield (Joe),
Leif Erickson (Pete),
Robert Sterling (Stephen Baker),
Adele Jergens (Cameo McQueen),
Owen McGiveney (Windy McClain),
Frances Williams (Queenie),
Regis Toomey (Sheriff Ike Vallon),
Frank Wilcox (Mark Hallson),
Chick Chandler (Herman),
Emory Parnell (Jake Green),
Sheila Clark (Kim Ravenal),
Ian MacDonald (Drunken Sport),
Fuzzy Knight (Troc Piano Player),
Norman Leavitt (George the Calliope Player),
Anne Dore (Showboat Cast Girl),
Christian Lind (Showboat Cast Girl),
Lyn Wilde (Showboat Cast Girl),
Marietta Elliott (Showboat Cast Girl),
Joyce Jameson (Showboat Cast Girl),
Bette Arlen (Showboat Cast Girl),
Helen Kimball (Showboat Cast Girl),
Tac Porchon (Showboat Cast Girl),
Mitzie Uehlein (Showboat Cast Girl),
Judy Landon (Showboat Cast Girl),
Nova Dale (Showboat Cast Girl),
Mary Jane French (Showboat Cast Girl),
Marilyn Kinsley (Showboat Cast Girl),
Alice Markham (Showboat Cast Girl),
Michael Dugan (Showboat Cast Boy),
Robert Fortier (Showboat Cast Boy),
George Ford (Showboat Cast Boy),
Cass Jaeger (Showboat Cast Boy),
Boyd Ackerman (Showboat Cast Boy),
Roy Damron (Showboat Cast Boy),
Joseph Roach (Showboat Cast Boy,Drunk),
George Lynn (Dealer),
Louis Mercier (Dabney),
Lisa Ferraday (Renee),
Anna Q. Nilsson (Seamstress),
Ida Moore (Little Old Lady),
Alphonse Martell (Headwaiter),
Edward Keane (Hotel Manager),
Tom Irish (Bellboy),
Jim Pierce (Doorman,Doorman),
William Tannen (Man with Julie),
Earle Hodgins (Bartender,Bartender),
Mary Bezemes (Minor Role),
Carol Brewster (Girl),
Peter Camlin (Croupier),
Linda Christian (Chorus Girl),
John Crawford (Hotel Clerk),
Frank Dae (Doctor),
George Sidney (Director),
George Sidney (Director),
John Lee Mahin (Screenwriter),
John Lee Mahin (Screenwriter),
Arthur Freed (Producer),
Edna Ferber (Author,Screenwriter),
Jerome Kern (Composer),
Jerome Kern (Composer,Screenwriter),
Oscar Hammerstein II (Composer),
Oscar Hammerstein II (Composer,Screenwriter),
Charles Rosher (Cinematographer),
John Dunning (Editor,Editor),
Robert Alton (Choreographer),
Cedric Gibbons (Art Director),
Jack Martin Smith (Art Director),
Peter Ballbusch (Special Effects),
Warren Newcombe (Special Effects),
Jerome Kern (Screenwriter),
Oscar Hammerstein II (Screenwriter),
Edna Ferber (Screenwriter),
George Wells (Screenwriter),
George Wells (Screenwriter),
Conrad Salinger (Composer),
Conrad Salinger (Composer),
Adolph Deutsch (Composer),
Adolph Deutsch (Composer),
Douglas Shearer (Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer),
Jack McGowan (Screenwriter),
Jack McGowan (Screenwriter),
Richard Pefferle (Set Design),
Alfred E. Spencer (Set Design),
Edwin Willis (Set Design)
Format: DVD
ISBN: 12569509429
Publication Date: 08/08/2000
Edition Description: Mono
"MGM's 1951 version of Show Boat has always been artistically suspect. It's a very superficial interpretation of the play, more akin to a fancy-dress dinner-theater version, than a serious adaptation. Apart from the major alterations made in the score and plot, and the sheer radiance of its Technicolor photography, which makes it look too good, the 1951 movie's production caused the 1936 Universal version (made within hailing distance of the original stage production and utilizing members of that cast) to be withdrawn from circulation for many years. On the other hand, this is the version of Show Boat that, for better or worse, most filmgoers and most people have come to know for a half century. It has had a mixed history on video. The original VHS and laser editions from the early and mid-'80s, based on existing elements for television presentation, suffered from muddy colors and muffled sound. A laser upgrade in the late '80s improved both modestly, and another in the early '90s restored most of the luster to the picture and the music. The DVD release takes the next step -- the movie glows from its first frame to its last; what's more, the detail that shows through now makes even the last laserdisc edition look pale, muted, and anemic by comparison. The sound is also very good, although here the movie has always been at a disadvantage -- Show Boat was made a little too early to avail itself of the best recording technology, and the audio has always lacked the range and richness of later musical productions from MGM and other studios; it's decent, and carefully balanced, but still a bit bass-heavy and lacking a layer of clarity that is evident in other musical scores of the period -- the orchestral transitions lack some of the majesty that one expects in their volume and texture, and most of the songs miss the highs and rich undertones that belong in this kind of a rich score. This may be as good as it gets, however, and it is cleaner than the laser track. Despite its artistic shortcomings, one sort of wishes that Warner Home Video had given this disc special treatment. There should have been an audio track discussion of the film and the underlying work. This would have been a chance to show those who might never purchase the 1936 version (assuming it ever comes out on DVD) what was missing here and also what was good about it -- and there is some good about it, especially several of the performances: Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Agnes Moorehead, William Warfield, and Kathryn Grayson. As it is, it's a very good disc, one of the prettiest to look at in the MGM musical library, well mastered and priced attractively. The only bonus material is the original trailer, which is as faded and fuzzy as the movie used to look on video, but the 28 chapters divide the movie up into all of its essential musical and dramatic points. The movie starts up automatically, so the menu must be accessed manually."
Choose options

Show Boat
Sale price$19.99
New Releases
Storm Breaker: An Epic Enemies-to-More Slow-Burn Dystopian Romantasy
Nisha J. Tuli
Hardcover
Sale price$24.99
The New Girl: First Crush: A Graphic Novel (The New Girl #2)
Cassandra Calin
Paperback
Sale price$14.99
















