TCM Pick O’ The Day: Sunday, January 25th
by John Nolte
5am PST – Show Boat (1951) – Riverboat entertainers find love, laughs and hardships as they sail along “Old Man River.” Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown Dir: George Sidney C-108 mins, TV-G
“Show Boat” is all about Ava Gardner, who was so much more than just a pretty face. Here, as the victim of racial prejudice, or films such as “On the Beach” and “Night of the Iguana,” she was able to put across a tragic-laced melancholy that transcended her beauty and added an entire dimension to a character without a word of exposition. The above clip is a perfect example. Ava’s singing voice may be dubbed but she sells the moment like few others could. I gotta love one man till I die…
YouTube’s removed the audio from their clips, but on the “Show Boat” DVD you can watch the same scene with Gardner’s original singing voice, and for my money it’s much better than the dub. A rare misstep by MGM.
“Show Boat” is also a reminder that wayyyy back in 1951, stuffy old, white-shoe Hollywood was both concerned with and handling matters of racial prejudice with a maturity, and yes, a nuance, Big Hollywood can’t seem to grasp. Classic Hollywood wanted to change hearts. Big Hollywood wants to strut their supposed superiority.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
| 
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?
17 Comments
Well, to me Helen Morgan will always be the ultimate Julie, but Ava did a phenomenal job in her version of the movie too.
Let’s not forget William Warfield singing Ol’ Man River. Kills me every time. (Robeson sang it in the previous version, not this one.)
Jeez, Carolyn! A little harsh on Ms. Grayson, maybe!? I also prefer the earlier version, but this one is good, although there’s bizarre irony in a story about racial prejudice casting Ava over Lena. And I’d respectfully argue that old Hollywood talking about prejudice AT ALL is what makes the movie unusual–but it’s about as nuanced as a sledgehammer. It may have been daring in 1951, when mixed marriages were still illegal in parts of the U.S., but I don’t think it ages very well, although the music is, of course, sublime, and the show’s place in the American musical theater canon unassailable. (As cornball as they are, the various versions of “Imitation of Life” hold up slightly better) In any case, thanks, John, for keeping “Pick O’ The Day” from Dirty Harry’s place!
I have seen Show Boat on stage 8 times as well as the 1936 version and the Paper Mill production from PBS back in 1989. The first act of Show Boat may be the greatest of any musical with so many great numbers.
The thing I don’t like about this movie is that they cut some songs short and rearranged them. I consider the songs Make Believe, Ol’ Man River and Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man the best three in a row of any musical (even better than Maria, Tonight and America from West Side Story). The Ol’ Man River number (directed by Roger Edens) is the best in the movie but Can’t Help Lovin Dat Man needs to be big and sassy with Queenie and a chorus. Ol’ Man River should always come after Nola meets Gay as well as when Julie and Steve leave. You Are Love is another number that was cut short. Plus they eliminated the entire scene where Nola and Gay get married when Parthy is away.
I have never had a problem with Ava Gardner playing Julie. Julie has to pass and Gardner could do it better than Lena Horne. Ava couldn’t sing anywhere close to Lena but she could pass better.
Robeson will always have the best version of Ol’ Man River but Warfield is very good here.
Kern and Hammerstein really wrote such great numbers that it is almost impossible to do a bad version of Show Boat. I only wish MGM had produced the songs the way they were meant to be. Kern’s score is almost operatic and if you want to hear how it should sound get the Frederica Von Stade/Jerry Hadley version on CD.
As important as Show Boat is in the history of Broadway it has never gotten a proper film version. The 1936 version is best but anyone that loves American musicals should see this movie.
Carolyn:
I agree Grayson was not a good fit for Nola. Magnolia should be about 18 and just beginning to find her voice. Grayson was a little too strong for You Are Love or Make Believe where she overwhelms the orchestra. When a non opera singer tries to sound like one it can be a disaster.
But again my biggest problem is that Show Boat should have all the songs of the original stage production in something resembling their original order and arrangement. I have a lot of movie soundtracks in my cd collection but for Show Boat I only have the London cast recording and the Von Stade/Hadley version.
Pete, not speaking for John Nolte, but I think he tries to point out films that may not be seen as many times as the big ones that are rotated regularly on TCM. (Strangelove, Singin’ In the Rain, etc.Hell–Witness for the Prosecution was on for the umpteenth time yesterday…and I watched part of it for the umpteenth time.) So he tries to highlight slightly lesser-seen gems.
Pete: My memory might be off, but at my old blog I think I did spotlight TSL the last time it aired.
Those are exactly the kind of films I want people to see. Everyone knows to watch Stranglelove, but a gem like TSL can slip through and that would be a real shame.
You must be logged in to post a comment.