USA music
1936
bw 110 min.
Director: James Whale
CAV: out-of-print collectible
           3 discs, catalog # CC1144L
CLV: out-of-print collectible
           1 disc, catalog # CC1191L
When Edna
Ferber's novel, Show Boat, was published in August 1926, little
could she imagine that her story would become the basis for a 1927
Broadway musical play that would alter the entire course of musical
theatre. The adaptation by composer Jerome Kern and librettist Oscar
Hammerstein II broke fresh ground in countless ways.It was the
first musical in which a leading character grew and matured before the
audience's eyes, as she faced the adversities of life; the first
musical to present a panoramic history of America from the Mississippi
levees of the 1880s to the Broadway of the 1920s; the first to depict
alcoholism in a poignant, rather than a farcical manner; the first to
deal with wife desertion, miscegenation, and the contrasting dreams
and life styles of black and white people living side-by-side along
the river.
This revolutionary stage work, produced by the celebrated
Florenz Ziegfeld, ran for more than 500 performances on Broadway and
toured for a year. During that time, Universal Pictures made a silent
film, based directly on the novel, with no reference to the show's
revision of the material at all. At the last minute, Universal wisely
felt that the public of 1929 would demand to hear the now-popular
songs from the show. Rights to the stage score were acquired from
Ziegfeld, and songs were awkwardly grafted into the completed film. An
accompanying prologue contained more songs, performed by their
Broadway creators. This variant version of the movie was prepared for
theatres wired for sound.
Almost at once, Universal felt it would be
necessary to refilm Show Boat as a pure musical, based directly
on the stage masterpiece. Producer Carl Laemmle, Jr., went out of his
way to hire as many original Ziegfeld players as he could, and even
used the original Broadway orchestrator, Robert Russell Bennett, and
conductor, Victor Baravalle, for musical authenticity.
From the
original Broadway cast, Charles Winninger re-creates his spirited
performance as Cap'n Andy. Helen Morgan once again is the tragic
Julie, the mulatto whose life withers away when she is deserted by her
white husband. The singing comic Sammy White again plays Frank, the
showboat troupe's villain; and Francis X. Mahoney continues to
astonish as a man with a rubber face.
The film's star, Irene Dunne,
toured as Magnolia with the original stage company for a year; her
leading man, Allan Jones, played Gaylord Ravenal in the St. Louis
Municipal Opera; and Hattie McDaniel played Queenie in the 1933 West
Coast production. The distinguished bass-baritone Paul Robeson first
stunned audiences with "Ol' Man River," when he played Joe in London
in 1928.
In a story in which the interplay of characters is so
crucial, this cast, long familiar with their roles, brings them to
life so vividly one sometimes forgets that one is simply watching a
movie. The viewer truly comes to care for these people as old,
treasured friends.
Although director James Whale is best remembered
as Universal's master of the horror film (Frankenstein, The
Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, Bride of
Frankenstein), he also directed many dramas involving the subtle
interplay of well-bred people of manners (The Kiss Before the
Mirror, By Candlelight, One More River). Whale's
combined flair for the cinematic and visual daring of the first genre,
and his delicate handling of dramatic situations in the latter, made
him a natural choice as director for Show Boat. Aided by John
J. Mescall's probing camerawork and exquisite composition and
lighting, Charles D. Hall's evocative period settings, and Doris
Zinkeisen's witty costumes, Show Boat, more than any other
movie musical of the 1930s, unfolds like the vision of America as seen
on the pages of a well-worn family album.
Show Boat's drama
is deeply moving; its acting sensitive; and its songs among the finest
ever composed for Broadway, including "Ol' Man River," "Can't Help
Lovin' Dat Man," "Bill," "You Are Love," and "Make Believe." In
addition, the score to this 1936 film offers three original songs by
Kern and Hammerstein: "Gallivantin' Around," "I Have the Room Above
Her," and "Ah Still Suits Me." The score also features several
authentic airs from the 1890s, including "After the Ball" and
"Good-bye, Ma Lady Love."
For many years, this 1936 screen version
of Show Boat was restricted from viewing. Now it is possible to
own a glistening, complete print of a work that honors the twin media
of musical theatre and musical film.
-- MILES
KREUGER
Credits
Director: James Whale
Producer: Carl
Laemmle, Jr.
Stage Play, Screenplay & Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein
II
Music: Jerome Kern
Cinematographer: John J. Mescall,
A.S.C.
Special Cinematographer: John P. Fulton
Art Director:
Charles D. Hall
Musical Director: Victor Baravalle
Costumes:
Doris Zinkeisen
Choreography: LeRoy Prinz
Editors: Ted Kent,
Bernard Burton
Musical Arrangements: Robert Russell Bennett
Transfer
This edition of Show Boat was
trans-
ferred from the 35mm black & white master fine grain
composite film ele-
ments. Excerpts of the 1932 Broadway revival
that appear in Chapter 35 will not still frame properly as they were
shot with a wind-up home movie camera.